Vasily's Revenge: The Complete Story (The Medlov Men Book 1) (5 page)

Seeing her again had been earth-shattering for him. When he had held her in her living room, it had been torture to let go. She felt warm and gentle, just the way that she had felt the first time that he had held her. Being around her had sent him back 10 years in life and suddenly for the first time in a very long time, he felt vulnerable.

He had so many questions. Did she love another man now? Was she leaving someone that she truly cared for? Had he been just an instrument to keep her safe?

His questions were endless and his solitude even more so than the moment that he walked away from her.

As they pulled up to the address that she had put into the GPS, he put the car in park and turned off the lights. Staring at the building, he realized just how poor Lilly was now.

“This it?” he asked as a man with a Colt 45 walked pass the car and looked inside.

With a nod, she opened the door. “I’ll be right back.”

“I will go with you,” he insisted, getting out also.

“Do you think that’s wise? You sort of… ” She squint her eyes. “Stick out.”

“Someone could be in there waiting on you,” he said, rubbing his hand over his guns in their holsters. “I can’t risk it.” Plus, he was used to sticking out, especially in the south.

They walked side-by-side through the low-income apartment complex past the people standing outside congregating under the street lights to a unit on the first floor. It was the only one with a welcome mat out front.

Feeling mildly embarrassed, Lilly rang the doorbell.

An older black woman came to the door with an apron on, holding a small baby in her arms.

Vasily noticed the brown and chubby baby, and wondered if that was Lilly’s.

“You’re early,” the woman said, opening the door so that they could both come in. She gave Vasily a look that he couldn’t shake, like she knew him from somewhere.

“Is Dylan still up?” Lilly asked, looking around.

The woman cut a look one more time at Vasily before she answered. “Yes, he’s on the couch watching television. He’s already eaten and had a bath. I was expecting him to spend the night and go to church with us in the morning.”

Lilly looked back at Vasily as he followed her into the small living room. “This is my… ” She was lost for an explanation.
Who was he to her anyway?

“I’m Marcus Weaver,” Vasily said in his best American accent. He offered his hand to the woman and gave a deceivingly welcoming smile. “I’m a friend of Lilly’s from back home. Where’re driving back to New York for a family member’s funeral.”

“I’m Maxine Clemmons,” the woman said, shaking his hand gently. She looked over at Lilly. “I’ve never heard her mention any family to speak of.”

Lilly’s mouth dropped open at Vasily’s accent. Nearly speechless, she blinked hard. “Yes,” she said, clearing her throat. She tried to focus, to speak up. Ms. Clemmons wouldn’t believe them otherwise. “Well, I’m not really close with my family, but I felt like I should go pay my respects. We’ll be gone for about a week.” She looked back up at Vasily.

“Give or take,” Vasily added. “There will be a will to review. She has quite a sizeable inheritance coming to her.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry for your loss,” Ms. Clemmons said to Lilly. Moving the baby to her other hip, she called into the next room. “Dylan, grab your backpack. Your mother is here.”

Vasily’s curiosity peaked.
The child on the old woman’s hip wasn’t Lilly’s? How old was her son?

A moment later a young boy, around eight years old, came around the corner in a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt with his backpack hanging off one arm.

He was tall for his age with a wide, healthy build. He had curly chocolate locks, fair skin, rose-colored cheeks and lips and bright green eyes the color of jade.

“Hey, mom,” he said, walking up to her and hugging her around her waist.

“Hey, baby,” she said, kissing the crown of his head.

Dylan looked over at Vasily and tilted his head. “Who’s that?” he asked.

Lilly looked up at Vasily, seeing the shock paralyze him. “That’s Mommy’s old friend, Marcus,” she said, grabbing his small hand.

Chapter 4

Vasily couldn’t breathe. No matter how he tried to take in deep breaths, no matter how much oxygen filled his lungs, he still couldn’t breathe.

As he watched Lilly and her son load into his car, he felt like fainting right there in the apartment complex—a first for him in all of his life. He had witnessed and committed murders; he had seen men tortured; he had done unspeakable acts without question, but never in his life had he experienced this.

Lilly closed the back door and looked across at him. “Can we just talk about this in private?” she asked as she studied the range of emotions that were crossing his face.

Vasily leaned both arms over the black Cadillac in utter emotional exhaustion and looked her square in the eye. “Just answer one question for me and we can go. Is he… ”

“Yes,” she interrupted, unable to wait another second.

“Leo’s?” he finished.

“What?” her voice shrieked. “No, of course not. He’s… ” She huffed. “Isn’t it obvious, Vasily?” With a spiked brow, she shook her head and took a deep breath. Rubbing a hand through her hair, she shrugged her thin shoulders. “He’s yours,” she whispered, afraid her son would hear her.

Vasily bent down and looked into the car’s backseat at the boy. As he did, Dylan waved at him and smiled. Quickly he rose back up, and gawked at her. “Why did you not tell me in all these years?” he grunted.

Lilly opened the passenger door and raised a finger. “You said
one question
. I answered it. Now can we go? We can talk more when we are alone
and safe
.”

Getting in the car and slamming the door, he pulled off and headed for the private airstrip. Now more intense than ever, he refused to look over at her. A million thoughts assailed him, nearly all at once. But more than that, he worried.

Glancing back in the rearview mirror at the boy, he tried to wrap his mind around the fact that he had fathered a son.

“How could you have done this to me?” he finally asked.

“What?” she said, turning to him.

“I showed you nothing but kindness and you do this?”

Lilly snapped her mouth shut and folded her arms. “Vasily, I didn’t tell you for the same reasons that you didn’t want to check on me. I didn’t want to put him in harm’s way. If anyone knew who you were or who he was… ” She shook off the thought. “He would have never seen his first birthday.”

Despite his growing anger, Vasily tried to keep his voice low. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the boy.
That would just be a great first impression.
Still the point had to be made. “I could have kept him safe. I could have kept you both safe. Besides, in the end, I’m forced to anyway.”

Lilly instantly took offense. “You’re not forced to do anything. I was going home to pack and leave. We were going to disappear,” she said, looking out of the window. “It’s not like I called you. You just showed up back there.”

“Leo would have found you in days, Lilly.” Vasily knuckles turned bone white as he gripped the steering wheel. “He would have done horrible things to you
and him
.” Pure evil Vasily remembered of his old boss. “Especially him,” he croaked out.

Lilly knew that he was telling the truth. She also knew Vasily coming to get her was a blessing. It was just that it had been so many years since she had been able to depend on any man for anything until it was hard to accept his protection. And she hated herself for it.

Cutting her eyes over to his hands, she twisted up her mouth. “I don’t want to fight,” she said a little softer. “I never meant for you to find out this way. I had it all played out in my mind and it wasn’t like this. You have to believe me.”

He took his eyes off the road for a brief moment and looked over at her. He could see the determination in her eyes, the will to survive.
How could he not respect that?
With a nod, he focused back on the road. “
Da, da
. I know.”

That small recognition was enough to satisfy Lilly, if only for the moment. Uncrossing her arms, she reached for the radio. “Do you mind?” she asked. The silence of the ride was forcing her to talk and at the moment that was the last thing that she needed to do. Maybe the music would lighten the mood and give her time to think about something that was not stupid or callous to say.

“Nyeht,” Vasily answered. “Help yourself.”

As she turned on the radio, she was hit with another untimely coincidence. Marvin Gaye’s
Distant Lover
played, taunting them both with not only the gravity of their current situation but also the reminder of how Dylan got here in the first place.

Shaking her head, she sat back in the seat and looked out the window with a condescending smirk.

What a day?

***

It was time for his dogs’ midnight snack, and he couldn’t stand the idea of someone else feeding them. It was his only time to relax and do something that he enjoyed that didn’t require an army around him or interaction with other asshole humans.  Anatoly trotted through the carefully manicured grass with his head down, dragging on a cigarette and enjoying the serene peacefulness while making his way to the kennel.

Of course, his men weren’t far. They watched him from less than 50 feet away while he went about his business. But at least they were not on his flank, which lately his father preferred.

Anatoly had a rule about his backyard. If his men were close enough to smell a fart, then they were too close. But his father always worried about ambushes and felt that if they were too far away, then they couldn’t take a bullet for him. It was two schools of thought. One family. Such was the story of his life.

Boris, the newly in-charge head of security, observed him most intently. There was no way in hell that he was going to let anything happen to his boss on his watch. Instead of hanging back, he walked toward his boss slowly, hoping that he wouldn’t notice him closing in.

Anatoly did of course notice, but did not say anything. He had been in Boris’ shoes not too long ago in his life and knew what the job was like.

As he opened the kennel, one of his larger German Shepard’s leaped out into his arms, excited to see his master after many hours. Hugging and kissing his canine companion, he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in the back pocket of his jeans. Considering his wife, cousin and his father were inside the compound, he was certain it was only one person at this time of night.

“You find her?” he asked as he answered his phone.

Lilly and Dylan were escorted up the steps and then inside the jet as Vasily watched. “Da, boss. But there is a glitch.” He smacked his lips together. “She’s got a kid.”

“How’s that a glitch? Just put them both up somewhere until this blows over.”

“It’s my kid,” Vasily answered more specifically.

Anatoly paused. He wanted to laugh at the irony, but opted not to.

“That kind of glitch, eh?” Anatoly took another drag of his cigarette and looked up at the clear night’s sky. “Alright. Bring them here.”

“Are you sure?” Vasily was expecting to be sent to Miami or even to Denver, but he wasn’t expecting his boss to open up his home.

“
Brat
, we’re family. Now, if the kid wasn’t yours, I’d tell you to take them somewhere else, but… ” He hesitated. “Wait, you sure he’s yours?” Anatoly couldn’t help his cynicism. He didn’t trust anyone but family.

“It’s a good possibility.”

“Does he look like you? Is the timeline right?” Anatoly hated to ask, but he had had more than a few experiences with desperate women and their lies.

“Timeline’s right. He looks like his mother.” Vasily grunted. “And my father a little.”

“Ouch. That’s gotta suck,” Anatoly cracked. He exhaled a deep breath. “Bring them here. I’ll tell Papa. We’ll figure out the rest when you get here.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Vasily answered as a thousand-pound weight lifted off his shoulders.

Anatoly was a little taken back although he didn’t say it. Vasily had never once in all of his years said those words to him. “We all have to take care of our own. Besides if my father protected that cop’s family a year ago then we damn sure are going to protect our own now.”

Vasily brow rose. Anatoly had a point. “I’ll be there in two hours,” he said, hanging up the phone.

***

It had been a long time since Lilly had been on a jet. She sat back in the white leather seat with her son tucked beside her and waited as the attendant checked to ensure that they were locked in properly. She noticed that even though the blond woman was extremely petite and pretty, she carried weapons in holsters like most women wore earrings.

Graceful in her movements, the flight attendant gave them both warm assuring smiles.

“Would you like anything to drink before we begin take off?” she asked Lilly.

“No,” she said, eyeing the guns again. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to explain this to Dylan later. She rubbed his hand. “Are you thirsty, baby?”

“I want a Sprite,” Dylan answered. He rested his head on his mother’s arm and stared across the plane. “Mommy, I’m scared.”

“Why?” she asked, voice pitched high.

“I’ve never been on a plane before. I’m scared of planes. I saw one on the news that went down in the ocean. Nobody lived,” Dylan answered.

It explained why the boy hadn’t noticed the guns.
Dylan was deathly afraid of heights. He had turned pale as he approached the plane and terrified as he boarded, but she was wrapped in her own worry to notice.

The flight attendant in her kindest voice bent to him and rubbed his head. “Well, you’re in luck. You see, this isn’t a plane. It’s a jet… a very good jet. And I promise you that you sail through the sky without ever knowing that you left the ground. In fact, we’ll put on a fun movie for you. I’ll pop you some popcorn.”

Winking at Lilly, who smiled back at her gratefully, the flight attendant went to the back of the plane and brought back a snow white bear that Dmitry’s daughter Anya played with often.

“Thank you,” Dylan said, taking the bear. He rubbed his fluffy fur and eased his shoulders.

It was funny what a simple toy could do to change a child’s disposition.

“His name is Goober,” the woman said. “I’m sure that his former owner would like for you to have him.”

“Really?” he asked, eyes lighting up.

“Absolutely,” she said, rubbing through his curly locks.

“Thank you,” Lilly mouthed as she eyed Vasily.

He came onto the plane with a small black bag that he sat behind the cockpit door, and then took a seat in the chair facing them. Putting on his seat belt, he motioned for the attendant. “Take us home,” he said, looking at Dylan. He noticed in his hand, he was holding Anya’s bear.

The woman nodded and went to tell the pilot where their final destination would be.

Finally alone and out of harm’s way, Vasily was able to focus on the two people in front of him. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he spread his long muscular legs apart and placed his elbows on his knees.

Lilly looked over at him with an intense glare, one arm draped over her son, waiting for him to say something.

Unfortunately, for Vasily, he didn’t know what to say. He was a man of very few words and used to keeping all of his emotions, both good and bad, to himself.

“What’s your name again?” Dylan finally asked, breaking the thick layer of proverbial ice.

“Vasily,” he answered slowly enough for the boy to understand it.

“And you are my mother’s friend?” Dylan continued to probe as he held the bear tightly.

Vasily tightened his knitted fingers together. “I am.” He looked at Lilly again. “He’s very handsome.” His wonderment was endless. He’d never seen that particular color of green eyes before, and he had traveled the world. He was fascinated by his little raspy voice and his obvious protective instinct over his mother.

“Thank you. I’d like to think so,” she said proudly. “He’s an honor student too, very smart.”

“Really?” Vasily began to relax as the jet taxied down the tarmac.

“Mr. Vasily?” Dylan said, lifting his chin. His eyes sparkled.

“Please, just Vasily,” he answered. “I don’t like formalities.”

“Why does everyone carry guns on this jet?” Dylan asked innocently.

Vasily smiled and tugged at his suit jacket
. The boy was very observant
. “Well, we all work in security,” he said, trying to avoid a lie. “We are like police officers. In order to do our job, we need certain types of equipment.” He moved his jacket for Dylan to see. “Carrying the gun is just part of the job. But don’t worry, you are completely safe.”

The answer seemed to sate Dylan’s growing curiosity.

“Where are we going?” Lilly asked.

“Somewhere safe,” Vasily answered. “I’d rather not say in front of the… Dylan.”

Lilly twisted up her lip.
Did he really expect her to wait until they arrived at where they were going for her to find out?
“
Nu, skazhite mne na russkom yazyke
,” she finally said, crossing her shapely legs.