Chapter 108

The speed limit wasn’t even a suggestion at this point. We didn’t have time to wait. I’d managed to get First Class tickets out of the country that would be just under the three hours but we needed to leave as soon as we could. Pulling up to the penthouse, I double parked next to the elevators. Ria was already unbuckling but she’d been quiet the entire ride from the house.

Getting out, I slammed the car door shut. I’d speak to her when we got onto the plane. When I felt like we were safer than walking into a building filled with my brother’s men. Stepping into the elevator, I pulled Ria to me. Holding onto her tightly, I tightened my hand on the gun I’d grabbed from the glove box.

The elevator dinged and I raised the gun, only to see Keenan in regular clothes. His eyes widened and he put his hands up immediately. I took a breath and nodded to him, dropping the gun.

“Keenan? What…?”

Keenan flashed Ria a smile. “I’m coming with you.”

Ria looked from him to me. “But…you have family…and…”

“I don’t…really.” Keenan grabbed a duffle from the loveseat and walked with us as I threw open the door to the penthouse. “Especially after breaking up with my girlfriend.”

“I’m sorry, Keenan. Lorenzo…”

Keenan chuckled. “Saved me the trouble of being worried about leaving.” I handed Keenan the gun in my hand. “Plus, my job has always been to protect you, Mrs. Baranov. That doesn’t change. Even if it means leaving the bratva.”

“Keenan, watch the door.” I barked the order before turning to Ria. “I need you to grab one suitcase, one duffle, and one backpack. You can fill it with anything, but you need to at least have a few days of clothes. Essentials only. Things that you can’t replace. Do you understand?”

Ria looked at me and I watched as she started to reach her limit. Pulling her close, I wished I had time to give her what she needed. The support and the words I knew she needed.

“We are running.” Her voice was small.

I nodded. “We are, búsinka. We are going to take a flight out of the country first. Then we can regroup and figure out where we want to go. But right now, I need you to just focus and follow my orders. As your shield, can you do that?”

“Yes.”

Ria stepped out of my arms and I could see a foreign emotion in her eyes. Fear. I hated that I couldn’t steal it away. This was the first time she was running but dying wasn’t an option that she wanted. She wanted to live. Wanted to be with me. That was enough to get my ass in gear. Because until my dying day, I would protect our family.

“Oh, and Ria…” She leaned back out of her room on the first floor. “Don’t think you’re off the hook for keeping the pregnancy from me. The plane ride is going to be a long one.”

A smirk filled her face and she gave me a small nod before disappearing into the room. That would be enough for now. I could take a smirk. It wasn’t tears and I really was planning on giving her hell. The fact that Juri knew before I did pissed me off.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I threw open my bedroom door. Pulling out a suitcase and backpack, I started to fill it with clothes and a few essentials that I wanted. There wasn’t too much but it was enough.

“Marek?”

I stepped out of the room to see Ria standing at the stairs. “What?”

“Do I need to leave electronics?”

Nodding, I pulled out my phone from my pocket. “Everything. Lorenzo will have extras for us when we get to the airport.”

“Lor? Is he…”

Smiling, I nodded. “He’s coming with us.” Her smile was so bright that it just reinforced my decision to make sure her brother came with us. “You did promise him that he could live with us. Though what possessed you to make that promise…”

Ria rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m questioning that myself.”

Chuckling, I headed down a door to my office. Lorenzo was already in the process of wiping everything off the home electronics and the office ones as well. I wasn’t about to make it easy for Juri. Grabbing documents that I needed, also unlocked the gun locker and grabbed a few off the shelf just in case. Juri said that he would wait to put out the bounty but that didn’t mean the family wouldn’t try to stop us.

A loud knock sounded and I furrowed my brow. Grabbing a gun and the items that I needed from the office, I stepped out. Keenan looked up at me, frowning.

“It’s Lec.”

I unlocked the safety and nodded to him. Keenan stepped up and opened the door, his gun also raised as the door opened slowly. Lec was standing in the doorway, his hands up looking like he ran the stairs all the way up to our floor.

“Don’t shoot. I’m…” Lec looked up to me. “I want to go with.”

My brow furrowed and I let my hand relax. “Lec. Your whole damn family is here. Your mother would literally kill you. Hell, all three of your brothers would be told to kill you on sight. I’m not going to be responsible for that.”

Moving down the hall, I shoved the paperwork, guns, money, and a few other notebooks into the backpack. Zipping it up, I went into the bathroom and grabbed some items from there before closing my suitcase. Carrying everything down, Ria was rolling out her stuff as well, a backpack slung over her shoulder.

“I got it.” Keenan quickly took her things and moved them through the kitchen and to the door.

“You’re letting the kid go with you but you won’t let me?” Lec pointed to Keenan.

I growled at him. “Yes. You have family. You’re obviously not thinking straight.”

Lec stepped directly in my path and before I could move him, he dropped down to one knee. My eyes widened and I stepped back, looking at my cousin.

“Aleksei would have gone with you too. He would have been right next to you. Hell, he probably would have gotten at least a few bullets from Juri not he way out because he would have raised hell.”

My head started to shake. “What does Aleskei…”

“I loved him, Marek.” Lec looked up at me, a level of determination that I hadn’t seen from him. “I loved Aleksei and I wanted to be by his side. Always. Even if it wasn’t as his partner.” His head fell. “But when he died, I realized all I had done was follow him around like a puppy. That my life only had come to me wanting to be by his side and without him, there was no purpose to my life anymore. The bratva didn’t really mean anything to me anymore.”

I let my shoulders fall as I squatted down in front of him. “Lec…that doesn’t mean abandoning your family.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t. But I do want to make a decision for me. Something for my future and without Aleksei in the bratva…I realized I don’t want it anymore. Vor Juri has all my brothers, he doesn’t need me. Plus, he could never trust me after being next to you for so many years.” Lec looked up at me again. “My decision is to follow you. Keenan is protecting Ria but who is protecting you?”

Staring at Lec for a long time, I cleared my throat and let my hand fall on his head, ruffling his head. “Just…don’t fall for me. I’m taken.”

Lec chuckled. “You’re not my type.”

Ria snorted behind us and I turned to look at her, a hand on her hip. “Yeah, your type is emotionally unavailable playboys. Do better, Lec.”

“Says the emotionally unavailable contract killer.” Lec snipped back.

She shrugged. “I’m married. Get on my level and then we can talk.”

After a tense moment, both her and Lec laughed, whereas I just let out a sigh. “We need to go. Ria, do you have everything?”

“Yes. I’m good.”

I looked at Lec. “We don’t have time for you to grab everything.”

He pointed to a bag in the hallway. “I brought it just in case you did say yes.”

Rolling my eyes, I stood and pulled him up as well. “We need to go. Now. Guns armed. No matter what, protect Ria.”

As Ria walked with me, carrying her duffle bag and backpack, I handed her a pistol. I had my own as well as my suitcase. Both Lec and Keenan were armed now as well. We filed out of the elevator and into the car, watching each others back. Keenan took the wheel and peeled out of the underground with Lec in the front seat.

Ria leaned against me in the back. “All I could think about was getting back here with you. That we would finally be home and now we are leaving.”

Kissing her head, I leaned my head on hers. “We’ll make our own place. Our own home. Like a normal family.”

Both Lec and Keenan snorted. Ria chuckled and shook her head. Smiling, I nuzzled her head. This had gone so much worse but at the same time, it was an opportunity that I didn’t want to lose.