Savage Tracker by Maggie Cole

23

Obrecht

It's been three days.I only know because Sergey just pulled me out of the interrogation room. He came into the garage and said he dropped Kora off at Boris and Nora's.

I pull my bloody gloves off and crack my neck. "What's going on?"

Aleksei screams, and Sergey and I glance through the door. His shoulder just tore out of its socket. We stretched his limbs out as far as they could go. Boris, who's spent more time with Aleksei than anyone, pulled on the ropes and yanked his limbs another inch, knowing what would happen.

Sergey scowls, watching the scene unfold. "Fucking traitor."

"You come to take a shot?"

He turns to me and shuts the door. It instantly goes silent since our walls are soundproof. "Liam was going to come. I told him not to."

"Liam has no right to be here. We already told him Aleksei was ours to handle.”

Sergey shifts on his feet then crosses his arms. "Jack called Selena on her cell."

The hairs on my arms stand up. "What?"

Fresh hatred fills Sergey's face. "Liam got to Nora's right after it happened. Anna destroyed Selena's SIM card. Finn somehow retrieved Jack's phone almost immediately. Declan was with him. He doesn't think Jack traced the call."

I strip off my shirt. What's going on in the garage is important, but I need to get to Selena. She must be petrified. "How did he get her number?"

"We don't know."

I toss my shirt in the burn barrel and release my pants. Anger fills me. "What's the point of Liam's guys tracking him if they don't know these things?"

Sergey holds his hands in the air. "Easy. You know as well as I do, nothing is foolproof. They can't monitor what Jack has going on behind the scenes."

"Not good enough," I bark. I kick my shoes off, remove my socks, and put everything in the bin on top of my shirt. "Did your driver leave?"

"No. I'm not dealing with Aleksei. Kora's at Nora's, but after what she went through, I'm not leaving her for days on end to worry."

"Wait for me, then." I step into the bathroom and scrub my skin. So far, Aleksei admitted to falling into a relationship with Ludis Petrov. He said it's been going on for five years. Besides Igor and Gavriil, he named two other of our men. Adrian and Maksim went to pick them up. For years, they've been feeding information on all the Ivanov dealings to Ludis. Aleksei fell into Ludis's web and then recruited our guys at Ludis's direction. I don't need to know if he's telling the truth since it's been consistent for the last two days.

I'm reeling over these traitors, but right now, I'm more worried about my dorogaya. I know how scared she is of Jack finding her. This should never have happened. It adds salt to my wounds with Liam, which may not be fair, but it doesn't add confidence he knows how to deal with this issue. If I'm holding back on destroying Jack, Liam better step up his game while monitoring him.

I finish my shower, dry off, then step out of the bathroom and put on the new clothes we keep at the garage. Sergey is standing in the doorway, his hands clenched into fists.

"You can stay and go in for a few hours. Kora will be okay if you're back before dark," I tell him, knowing he's itching to take his turn with Aleksei.

He spins. Hurt and vengeance are on his face. I've seen it too many times. Like always, it pains me to see Sergey struggle with his past and current demons. He wears his emotions more than the rest of us. He shuts the door. "No. If I go in, you know I'm unable to come out."

I nod. "Yeah. You have a joint on you, or do I need to take my stash?" I only smoke when I finish torturing and killing men. My bag of weed is in the desk drawer. I need it to reduce the vibrating nerves I always have after these events.

"I've got my pipe."

"Good. Did you tell the others I'm going?" I ask.

"Yeah."

We leave the garage and get in the car. Sergey hands me his bowl. I light it up, inhaling the smoke into my lungs and holding it for several seconds before releasing it. I hand it back to him, and he does the same.

"Liam isn't capable of guaranteeing Selena's safety. I should never have agreed to it," I seethe.

"You and I are the only two who haven't come full circle on Liam's abilities yet. I get where you're coming from, but this isn't his fault, and you know it. He took care of it right away," Sergey states.

I take another hit. "Did you know Jack was at the same restaurant Selena and I were at?"

Sergey raises his eyebrows. "No. Did he see her?"

"No. I don't think so. But where were Liam's guys then?" The more I stew over the close calls the last few days, the more irritated I become. I'm having a harder and harder time obeying Liam's instructions not to touch Jack until his company goes public. I add, "We need our own guys on Jack."

Sergey's jaw twitches. "Talk to Liam. But, Obrecht, who would we put on him? Our guys are quickly going down. We can't take our trackers off monitoring the war. Our women need to have protection at all times with this shit going on. We've got to figure out who else is in the Petrov's grasp. Then we need to rebuild quickly."

I don't reply, wishing I could refute his statement. I can't. It takes years to train a tracker properly. We don't know who else in our house is against us. Every time we think we've found all the traitors, another blow smacks us in the face. Aleksei, Igor, and Gavriil are hard knocks. If they could be against us, who else is?

Sergey hands me the pipe. I shouldn't take another hit. His stuff is as potent as possible, but I can't seem to stop the quivering in my gut. It's a rage so deep, I'm not sure how I'll ever make it dissipate. By the time we get to Nora's, I've taken two more. My buzz seems to intensify the anxiety I'm feeling about protecting my dorogaya.

We go up to Boris's. As soon as I step into the penthouse, Selena sees me. She is quickly in my arms. I say, "Sergey told me what happened. Are you okay?"

She puts on a brave face. "Yes."

"Where're the others?" Nora asks.

"Still at the garage. Everything is fine," I assure her.

She releases a big breath of air and nods. "Okay. Thanks."

"Nora, I think Shannon—" Liam freezes. "Everyone done?"

I kiss Selena on the forehead then release her. "No, but we need to talk." I tell Selena, "Stay here. It won't take long. Then we'll go home."

Liam motions for us to go into the other room. Sergey and I follow him. I shut the door behind me. "Is this how you protect my woman?"

He scowls. "We contained the situation. He doesn't know where she's at."

"Not good enough. How did he get her number?"

"Declan's going through Jack's phone now. He also hacked into his email server. From now on, any email communication he has, we'll be able to see."

"You should have already done that," I accuse.

"How? We just got his phone so Declan could tap into it," Liam insists.

"Jesus. Do you need a step-by-step guide on how to dig into someone and continue to monitor them?" I snap.

Liam steps closer to me. "This shit's getting old, Obrecht. If you have ideas on what we should do to watch Jack better, then by all means, let me know."

I jab my finger in his chest. "They aren't ideas. It's called the proper way to do things. Not the half-assed way."

Liam sniffs hard. "Touch me one more time. Go on."

"Enough!" Sergey cries out and steps between us. "Liam, you've got shit you need to learn."

Liam's eyes burn with fire. "Never said I didn't. I don't see either of you trying to help me though. You want to accuse me of shit, but you do nothing to assist me. So much for the same team."

I scoff. "I never asked to be on your team. And I'm not holding off on Jack. Whatever you have up your sleeve, it's got nothing to do with me."

More anger rages on Liam's face. "You've made it clear how you feel. But let me tell you what will happen if you touch Jack before the deal goes through. I will have every O'Malley hunt you down until you're nothing but ashes in Lake Michigan with all of the men you've tortured and killed. The war the Ivanovs will need to worry about won't be the current one. It'll be one against the O'Malleys. So if that's what you want, make your move."

"Fuck's sake, Liam! Do you hear yourself right now?" Sergey barks.

Liam shakes his head. He lowers his voice. "I didn't ask to run the clan. I didn't ask for my father to be dying. I certainly wasn't around when your family came to mine asking for an alliance. In a perfect world, this should work. We've known each other forever. But this isn't a perfect world. I know my weaknesses. I've asked for help. I've been open to suggestions. I've even stood up to my father. All you two want to do is create a rift. Well, hear me and don't forget this. If you go against my wishes and lay a finger on Jack before his company goes public, I will not be forgiving. This is the O'Malley clan's future. If you want to destroy it, I will use every weapon in my power to create ten times the damage for the Ivanovs. Do I make myself clear?"

"And true colors shine," I seethe.

He shakes his head. "No. I'm doing exactly what an Ivanov would do. Now, if you have methods you want to discuss on monitoring that bastard, I'm all ears." He turns to Sergey. "Excuse me. I'm going to say goodbye to our niece and hope you two don't do something stupid to put her in a situation where she doesn't know one side of her family." He brushes past us and slams the door shut.

"That mother—"

"Stop!" Sergey shouts and holds up his hands.

Blood violently slams between my ears. "You're taking his side?"

Sergey crosses his arms. "Did you listen to what he said?"

"His threat?"

He shakes his head. "No. Everything else."

I stare at the ceiling.

Sergey continues, "We need to make this work. I'm not going to have my niece in a war between her families. He's right. He has asked for help. If we're on the same side, which we are, then we need to work together. You're the best tracker we have. Work with Finn and Nora's brothers. Teach them what you know. Right now, we can't be sure about how deep the Petrovs have infiltrated our family. We can trust Finn and Nora's brothers. And it's a much better bet than determining who else is on our side and getting it wrong."

I close my eyes, trying to think of another way. There isn't one. I finally look at Sergey. "Fine. I'll work with Finn and Nora's brothers. But so help me God, if Jack attempts anything else with Selena, I don't care what Liam threatens."

Sergey nods. "Okay. I'll talk with Liam, but we both need to cool it with him. No matter what, we need to remember we're on the same side."

I concede. "Fine. I'm taking Selena home. Tell Liam I'll contact his guys tomorrow."

"One more thing," Sergey adds.

"What?"

"I'm looking forward to taking Jack out, too. No one, including Liam, wants him alive any longer than he needs to be."

I release a stress-filled breath. It's true. I don't believe Liam cares about Jack's life, but I still hate the reality I'm in. He should be off this Earth by now.

We go out to the main room. I don't waste time getting Selena out of the penthouse. When we get in the car, she straddles me and sweetly kisses my lips. She pulls back and raises her eyebrows. "Have you been smoking weed?"

My nerves rile up again. I'm not sure what Selena's stance is on a lot of things. Recreational drugs are one of them. "Yeah."

She tilts her head and strokes the hair behind my ear. "I didn't know you smoked."

I stare at her intently. "I don't usually. After I finish at the garage, I need it."

"Why? What does it do?" she asks.

I try to compile the right words. "When I'm at the garage, or anytime I need to do what I do there, I have a hard time mentally escaping it after."

She scoots her knees so they're on the backseat. A line forms between her eyes. "It stays with you?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

I shrug. "It used to be weeks. Now I can typically forget it in a day or so, depending on what the circumstances were."

"You mean who it was?"

"Yeah," I admit.

She opens her mouth then shuts it. I wait, and she finally says, "The girls told me who Aleksei was and how close you were with him. I don't know what he did, but I assume this one is harder for you?"

My heart races. So much about Selena has taken me by surprise. Her intuition about this situation when she barely knows any details catches me off guard. "Yes."

She bites on her lower lip.

I trace her jaw with my thumb. "Are you okay, baby girl?"

Her eyes glisten. She swallows hard. "What if he finds me?"

"He won't. You're safe," I firmly insist, but as I say it, my fear and annoyance that he's still breathing pops up again.

Her lips tremble. "I keep having dreams. He's in one of them."

"It doesn't mean it's going to come true."

She doesn't appear convinced.

"You said dreams. What else are you dreaming about?"

"I don't know. I think I'm in a hotel room. You're there and this girl with blue hair. She keeps saying, 'Happy birthday,' but then I wake up."

"Do you know any women with blue hair?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "No. So I don't know what it's about."

"Are you scared in that dream?"

She pauses then replies, "No. I think I'm nervous and…maybe excited?"

"Hmmm. Well, I'm glad you weren't only terrorized in your sleep."

Compassion fills her expression. She slides her hands around my neck. "Are we doing anything the rest of the night?"

"Not unless you have something planned?"

She smiles. "No. But I don't want to think about Jack anymore, and I don't want you to dwell on the garage, either. I-I know what I want to do."

I drag my fingers down her spine. "What's that, baby girl?"

Her expression turns to a mix of mischief, love, and hope. The corners of her mouth curl up higher. "Things we haven't before."