Savage Tracker by Maggie Cole

27

Obrecht

"Obrecht?"Skylar whispers, gazing at me for some answers.

She and Adrian somehow made up at the wedding. All night, they were happy again. Now my brother is lying on a cold metal table and losing too much blood.

His ex-wife is responsible for this.I don't need confirmation it was Dasha and those Polish thugs she's involved with. Even last night, she threatened Adrian.

How could we have not been more careful about leaving the wedding?

Adrian could die.

My dorogaya wasn't protected any more than Skylar and Adrian.

I can't answer Skylar. The pain and confusion on her face are too much. Every bone in my body wants to find Dasha and tear her to pieces. I no longer care if she's a woman. She tried to take out my brother. Until she's dealt with, no one is safe. As soon as I know what's going on with Adrian, I'm going after her.

I blink hard, attempting to control my emotions, and walk away. I'm unsure where I'm going, but I need to breathe. My lungs constrict, making it hard to take in oxygen. The doctors and nurses passing me in the hallway barely come into focus. My skin crawls with the need to go find Dasha and make her pay. She went too far when she used the Ivanov name and tried to hurt us. This act is the point of no return. I suddenly understand what Darragh meant when he said loose ends don't get sympathy.

The stale air suffocates me, and I step outside. I walk to the end of the building, away from the smokers. "Fuck!" I bellow out and slap the wall.

"Obrecht." Selena's voice fills the air. Her hand touches my back.

Several moments pass. I stay frozen, unable to turn, trying to pull it together. She steps closer and circles her arms around me.

Selena could have gotten hurt.

Dasha even threatened it one time, mentioning she knew about my relationship with her. How could we have not secured the exit better?

I finally spin toward my angel. She scrunches her face. Tears are in her eyes. She reaches for my cheeks, and I close my eyes. She quietly but firmly asks, "Did Jack do this?"

I tug her into me. "No, baby girl. Adrian's ex-wife is to blame."

Selena tilts her head. Her eyes widen. "Why would she do that?"

I glance around us and realize I'm outside, and anything can happen. "We need to go inside. It may not be safe out here."

Selena doesn't argue.

We move into the hospital, and I guide her to a private area. I gather my thoughts about what is safe to tell her. "Dasha is involved with the Polish mob. She threatened us multiple times, but she saw Adrian last night and warned him again."

Selena gapes.

I sniff hard. "I'm sorry. I don't want you anywhere near this. You could have—"

She puts her fingers over my lips. "Don't do that. Let's focus on Adrian right now. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me."

"Obrecht," Killian calls out.

I put my arm around Selena and turn. Liam, Killian, Nolan, and Declan still have their wedding attire on. Hailee and her sister Gemma are with them, also still dressed up.

"How is he?" Liam's eyes are in slits. He clenches his jaw.

"In surgery. They said he's losing a lot of blood," I state, swallowing the emotional lump growing in my throat.

"Where are the others?" Nolan asks.

"Down the hall in the waiting room."

Nolan glances at the women then me. "Let me take Hailee, Gemma, and Selena to the others."

Selena glances at me, and I kiss her forehead. "Go with Nolan. I'll be there soon."

Hailee squeezes my arm as she passes me, and when they're out of earshot, I turn back to the O'Malleys. "Did you find out where Dasha is?"

Declan shakes his head. "No. Your trackers lost her at some point tonight. But we know where the shooters are."

My pulse increases. "Where?"

"At one of Zielinski's safe houses. I know you prefer your method of a long, drawn-out death, but we've got other issues. Dasha is behind this. They aren't anyone important in the organization. Give us the all-clear so we can take care of this while you're here," Liam says.

"You'll do no such thing," Darragh's voice booms behind me.

"Adrian's in surgery. There's no choice in this matter. Those motherfuckers need to pay," Liam insists.

Darragh moves into a coughing fit. We all wait until he manages to breathe again, exchanging glances. His face is red like the blood on his handkerchief. He drills his watery eyes on Liam. "We'll take a few days and decide whether to pin this on the Rossis or Petrovs."

Rage fills me. Those bastards don't deserve to live for another moment. Adrian's fighting for his life. Darragh's determination to use it to balance out the war only infuriates me. I step closer to him. "Those thugs tried to kill my brother. He's not out of the woods and may still die. Don't tell me we're using this for the war or waiting days. Their lives need to end now."

"Agreed," Killian says.

"Second," Declan replies.

"It's not even a question," Liam states.

Darragh takes off his tweed cap. He addresses the O'Malleys. "You seem to have forgotten who's in charge. I make the decisions. This isn't a democracy. You take orders from me. Every action has a reaction. O'Malleys don't react without taking advantage of every possible angle."

Intense anger almost destroys me. I bark, "My brother's situation isn't for you to use as a pawn in this fucked-up war."

Darragh turns to me. "Every move has consequences. Remember that, son."

"Don't call me son. I'm not your son. And if this is your stance, then count me out of this alliance. I'm not standing down on this one. I guarantee you the other Ivanovs won't, either. So you're either on our side or against us. Take your pick, Darragh," I seethe, my insides fuming with rage and all the hatred I feel toward this alliance. All I've seen is how the O'Malleys benefit from this agreement. If they can't take care of a situation when an Ivanov is harmed, then we aren't on the same side as far as I'm concerned.

Darragh steps closer to me. "The O'Malleys will take care of this my way. It is best for both families."

"Screw you and all the O'Malleys." I scowl at them all and leave. When I get to the waiting room, my mom is in a chair. Skylar and Selena are on each side of her. She rises, and I hug her. I ask, "Any more news?"

She pulls back. Her eyes are glassy. She's always been so strong, and I can see her fighting not to cry. "Stefano is trying to find out if there's any other information he can get. Adrian is still in surgery. Did you give blood?"

"No. Why?"

"They asked us to." My mom blinks hard, but several tears fall. I tighten my arms around her. The O'Malleys come into the room, and I tense. Darragh pulls Maksim aside.

Hailee rises. "Liam, we need to go donate blood."

"Go with him. I'm not sure if they'll let you since you've been drinking, but go see," my mom orders, and I hold back my groan. If it's in Adrian's best interest, I remind myself to deal with the O'Malleys. At least we get their blood if possible.

Selena rises and takes my hand. "I need to donate and I only had a few sips of wine at dinner."

I tug her close to me and we go to the onsite blood bank. I send Hailee and Selena in first. I try to ignore the O'Malleys. The rage bubbles so fiercely inside me, I have to hold myself back from taking out my pocketknife and slicing through each one of them.

"I need Hailee to stay here with everyone, under the Ivanov's protection," Liam says.

I glare at him. I'd never let anything happen to Hailee, but he's got a lot of nerve asking me to do anything for him. "Why?"

Liam's face hardens. "My dad isn't calling the shots anymore. At least not in this situation. As soon as we give blood, we're leaving. I need to know Hailee is protected while I'm gone."

My stomach drops. I'm not sure if I'm hearing things correctly. "You're going to go against your father's orders?"

Liam sniffs hard. He glances around, and the O'Malley brothers step closer to him. "Alliance or no alliance, those bastards are paying for what they did to Adrian tonight. Promise me you'll watch over Hailee."

"You have my word," I agree then focus on Nora's brothers. "You're going to defy Darragh?"

Declan scratches his chin. "It's not an option. A hit on an Ivanov is a hit on an O'Malley. We don't just say it. We mean it. Darragh means well, but this supersedes the war. You take care of things here. When we finish, we'll let you know, but no more talk about breaking our alliance. From now on, we all work together."

I study the O'Malleys. For the first time, I see the rage on their faces. If they are willing to go against Darragh on this issue, then I have more respect for them than I ever could.

"Next," a woman calls out.

Liam takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeve. Bogden comes out from behind the curtain. He was at the wedding but part of security, focusing on the inside reception so he could still partake in some of the wedding functions. It gives me a little comfort to know at least some Ivanov blood is being donated. I doubt they will let me after all I drank. Liam takes his place behind the curtain and I stare at it.

Killian speaks quietly and I turn toward him. "Darragh's going to be pissed. He may even try to send the other O'Malleys to stop us. It's best if you go back with the girls and state there's a long line."

I don't argue and do as directed. For hours we wait. I pace the hallways. From time to time, Bogden comes in and out to give us updates on the search for Dasha. The doctor finally comes appears and tells us they finished surgery. The bullet lodged in Adrian's back was safely removed.

My relief is short lived. Killian and Liam come back into the room. Darragh tries to rise and goes into another coughing fit, but we ignore him and move to the corner. Killian has an expression I've never seen before. I don't know what to make of it. Liam's eyes look a bit crazed.

"Is it done?" I ask.

"Partly. Anyone at the safe house, we took out. The man who drove the vehicle and the one who shot Adrian are on their way to our garage," Killian says.

I raise my eyebrows. "I thought—"

"They deserve worse than a quick death," Liam insists.

"They don't go to your garage. They go to ours," Boris seethes.

Liam doesn't hesitate. He takes out his phone and puts it to his ear. "Nolan. Change of plans. Take them to Boris's."

"Am I hearing this right?" Darragh barks behind us.

We spin.

"I gave you strict orders—"

"Your judgment is off," Liam says.

Darragh glares at him.

"It was the right thing to do," Maksim insists.

Darragh turns to him. He snarls, "I've told you numerous times to get your house in order. You let that woman run wild instead of taking care of her. Now, you support these bad decisions."

"You're the only one who seems to think that," I point out.

Darragh scowls then says to Liam, "They go to our garage. We still have time to salvage this and help balance things out."

"No. They go to our place. We take it from here," Boris insists.

Darragh's face turns red with anger. "Son, you're messing with the wrong person."

"No, Dad. We're making a call you should be making," Liam growls. "You want me to lead, well, let me lead."

"If you're making these types of decisions, you aren't ready," Darragh states.

Liam sarcastically laughs. He looks at the ceiling, shifts on his feet, then refocuses on Darragh. "Guess I'm going to have to figure it out then, aren't I? You're not leaving me much of a choice, now are you?"

Everything goes quiet. Darragh's face hardens further. Liam turns to Killian. "Time to go."