Sasha: Chapter 32

“You owe me a favor,” I reminded him. “And to Mia.”

Jason, an old military buddy, stared back at me with an annoyed expression on his face.

He’d had the hots for Mia. We both served in the same regiment with her. But he failed her. He was supposed to keep an eye on her when I was on short assignments. That day he failed, big time. He didn’t help her. Unlike the others, I spared his life. With a caveat.

That he’d owe me a favor. No questions asked. He agreed – reluctantly.

Although, just as he predicted, I came to collect at the most inconvenient time. As he readied to be deployed. But he could take a little detour.

“Why can’t you go yourself?”

Thick silence crept through the room. He knew what he owed me, what he owed to Mia. Those men who attacked Mia had done it to another woman before her. If he’d reported them, they wouldn’t have done it to Mia. She might have still been alive.

“Because you owe me,” I said in a cold tone. “And I came all the way to Timbuktu to collect.”

He knew those assholes had their sights set on Mia. He kept watching, but not well enough. They got to her and now she was dead.

I killed the men who touched her. The only reason I spared Jason was because Mia liked him, and he hadn’t touched her.

My eyes traveled over the property. The guy did okay for himself. Ten acres of land. Horses. Single level ranch home with a wraparound porch. Cozy. Cute. Boring.

“Nice place you’ve got here.”

He narrowed his eyes on me. “Are you insinuating something?”

I cocked my eyebrows, pinning him with an innocent look. “Was I insinuating something?”

He sighed and I knew he was about to cave in.

“What the fuck do you want me to do with her?”

Handing him the envelope, I grinned. “I want you to hand deliver this to her.”

“Are you for fucking real?” he groaned. “The debt repayment is me being your delivery boy.”

“You should thank me on your knees,” I said, my voice unnaturally calm. “I could have demanded you kill someone for me.”

He snatched the envelope and headed towards his cozy little ranch home.

Two more attempts to get her to come to her senses before the wedding.

My little kotyonok would learn that I’d never let her go.

One week until the wedding.

The countdown was a loud ticking in my head. Tick. Tock.

I was alone in the manor. Again. Alessio, Kol, and Autumn stayed at the penthouse, after visiting Autumn’s parents. Oddly enough, I opted to stay home. Alone.

Alessio’s odd look didn’t escape me. Usually I disliked being by myself. I hated being alone, but the truth was that since Father had been buried six feet under, I didn’t fear it. But that dull ache in my chest and longing still lingered.

Roaming from room to room, as if saying goodbye, my fingers lightly swept over the furniture. I still remembered those first few weeks when I moved here. Alessio saved me, just as I knew he would. Although sometimes I wondered if he hadn’t come back too late.

My father’s cruelty had already ruined me. Tainted me.

It had to be the reason I felt things with Sasha that I never felt with anyone else. Maybe I was never meant to be everything to someone. Killian would never look at me the way Alessio looked at Autumn. But he’d also never treat me like my father treated our mother.

The floorboards creaked behind me and I whirled around, coming face to face with a man.

There was a sophisticated aura about him. A designer shirt and trousers. Tall. Broad shoulders. Sharp features. Mid-thirties. Military cut.

“Who are you?” I demanded to know.

Our gazes locked, while my brain worked on evaluating my options. Alessio usually kept a gun in his desk but it wasn’t close enough to reach it. The knife, on the other hand, I’d be able to get to.

“A guy paying a debt,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Alessio’s guard finally showed up, and I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. He was late. If this guy had come to kill me, I’d be dead already.

“Can you explain what you mean about the debt?” I demanded.

He remained quiet for a while, studying me. “You look a lot like your sister.”

My heartbeat paused for a second before it resumed its fast paced thundering. “You knew Mia?”

He nodded. “We were friends.”

“Friends?”

“Yes.”

My gaze flickered to the guard.

“It’s okay,” I told him, dismissing him. “I can handle him.”

I waited until he was gone, before I turned my attention back to the guest.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded to know.

“Paying back a favor to a mutual friend,” he answered.

I scoffed. “I doubt we have any mutual friends.”

Amusement passed his expression. “This friend is a major pain in my ass.”

My brows furrowed. “What friend?”

“Sasha Nikolaev.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Get the fuck out,” I muttered, although I agreed with the sentiment. Sasha was a major pain in my ass. “How do you know him?”

“Believe it or not, we served together.”

“In the military?” Sasha Nikolaev was full of surprises.

“Yes.” He took a step closer and handed me an envelope. “He wanted me to give you this.”

Hesitantly, I took it, then opened the note. It was short and not sweet. Remember your promise, kotyonok. And I’ll let him live.

“Okay, I’ve done my thing,” he announced. “I’m out of here. I should be over in the Middle East right about now. Not in Canada.”

He sauntered towards the door, when an idea struck me.

“Hey, can I ask you a favor?”

He turned around, watching me with a guarded expression. “What kind of favor?”

This time I grinned mischievously. “The kind that will make Sasha Nikolaev think I killed you.”

It was the next best thing to carving my initials into Sasha’s heart.

A choked laugh escaped him. “Pull one over on Sasha,” he cackled. “I’m all in. Tell me what you have in mind?”

I rubbed my hands together. “Go silent on him.” It was hard to hide my smugness. “And I’m going to buy a heart and ship it to Satan’s spawn with a little note.”

I should have known the psychotic mobster would have taken the threat the wrong way.