Justice
Durov called to inform Thane that a man fitting the same description he had given was caught on the surveillance tape just outside the TLC.
“We have to meet.”
“Agreed, comrade.”
“I’ll call Wallace and see if we can’t meet at his place for convenience.”
“Just tell me the time and place and I will be there. We don’t have a minute to lose.”
“Understood.”
Thane’s heart began racing. This unknown threat had the potential of destroying everything he held dear.
When the three met, the first thing out of Thane’s mouth was, “What the hell is he doing at Stephanie’s center?”
Wallace answered him first. “I’m afraid the buyer suspects Lilly is there and is seeking payment.”
“But how is that possible? How could he know?”
“I have no idea, comrade,” Durov answered, “but the situation has now become volatile.”
“Do you know who he is?” Thane demanded.
“We do not have a name yet, but I have confirmed he left the country shortly after casing the center last night.”
“Do you think he left to report back to his employer?” Wallace asked Durov.
“I can only assume. In my opinion, the fact that he went in search of her is fortunate. I suspect the buyer was verifying Brie’s location so that he could reclaim his investment from the creature. But, being that she is penniless and unable to pay, her life is forfeit.”
“You believe they plan to kill her?”
“It would be an easy fix for us to do nothing, but we cannot endanger the girls at the center, or risk something happening to Miss Wilson. We must act now.”
“Agreed,” Wallace said. “With Lilly’s location compromised, we need to get her out before he returns, and erase all evidence she was ever there.”
Thane turned to Durov. “But your surgery is this week.”
“I’ve already postponed it. You and I must do this together, brother,” he stated emphatically.
“How soon do you think we can leave?” Thane asked.
“I will need to set up a meeting place and transportation, and arrange the transfer. It may take me a day or two.”
“The sooner the better,” Wallace insisted.
“Agreed.”
Thane was still worried about Brie’s safety, even with Durov’s men guarding her. Until the man was identified and his motivations known, he would remain a serious threat.
Turning to Wallace, Thane asked, “Would you look after Brie? I need to know she’s protected.”
Thane could see the fear in Brie’s eyes when told her that he was going to transport Lilly to the convent with Durov.
“Can’t I go with you, Sir?”
“Absolutely not. Your health, and that of the baby’s, is paramount.”
Brie said nothing, but she was physically shaking when he wrapped his arms around her. “Nothing is going to happen,” he promised. “Durov has it planned out—every detail and contingency.”
Despite his assurances, tears filled her eyes. “I can’t stay behind. I’ll go crazy if I do.”
To relieve her fears—and his—Thane had found something that would help them both during this unwanted separation.
He placed her hand on his chest so Brie could feel his heartbeat.
Thane ordered her to look at him. When her honey-colored eyes met his, he felt her beginning to relax.
“I can’t have you going crazy.”
“No, Sir.”
“But I have to take care of this.”
“I know,” she said in the barest of whispers, her bottom lip trembling. “It’s just that—”
He put his finger to her lips, finishing her sentence. “You lost me once and you don’t want to lose me again.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she nodded.
“I understand, and I feel the same way, babygirl. That’s why I got us a gift of sorts.” Thane walked over to his desk and opened the middle drawer, pulling out two ring boxes. He gestured to her to sit on the couch with him so he could explain what they were.
Handing Brie the smaller box, he asked her to open it.
She lifted the lid and looked at the black ring edged in silver nestled inside. She looked up at him tenderly. “It’s beautiful, Sir.”
He took it out of the box and explained, “It is also practical.” Sliding it onto her finger, he said, “Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, we will be able to feel each other’s heartbeat.”
She looked at him questioningly as he put on his own ring.
“All you have to do is tap on the ring once like this.” He tapped his index finger on her ring and waited to see her reaction.
After several seconds, her eyes lit up with joy. “I can feel it!” When it ended, she smiled at him. Placing her hand on Thane’s chest, she asked him to tap it again.
This time she looked at him in wonder. “I can really feel your heartbeat, Sir.”
Thane tapped his own ring and felt the steady beat of Brie’s heart pulsing on his finger. “We will always be connected, no matter how far apart.”
She shook her head in disbelief, staring at the ring in awe. “This is truly the most precious gift you could have gotten me.”
He placed his hand on her stomach. “This is the most precious gift you could give me.”
Brie placed her hand on his and sighed with contentment. “You are going to make a wonderful father.”
He had his reservations, but remained determined to follow in his father’s footsteps, letting Alonzo’s loving nature guide him rather than his mother’s dark demons.
Smiling down at Brie, he asked, “Will you be able to let me leave now?”
Brie frowned for a moment, but tapped her ring and closed her eyes as she waited. A smile spread across her lips as she opened her eyes.
He leaned over and kissed her. “So, we’re good?”
She pressed her ear against his chest and tapped her ring again. Her smile returned. “Yes, Sir.”
He wrapped his arms around her, grateful for technology that allowed them both a meaningful way to stay connected while apart. He felt certain it would be a long time before either of them was comfortable taking them off.
Durov and Thane came to Lilly in the night, having told Mary her services were no longer needed.
It seemed to Thane that Lilly was on alert because of Mary’s unexplained absence. She cried out to them as they approached her door. “What’s happening? Where’s my friend? I demand to know!”
They stopped in front of the door and Durov whistled his simple tune.
Lilly began screaming hysterically.
Thane opened the door and walked in alone. As soon as she saw him, she stopped her hysterics. “Oh, my God, Thane! You about scared the crap out of me.” She laughed nervously, smiling at him. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you right now.”
He stepped aside to allow Durov to enter the room. Thane took great satisfaction in watching the color drain from her face.
“I am here to finish the job,” Durov stated in his thick Russian accent.
Lilly looked at Thane with wild desperation. “Don’t let him near me, Thane. I’m your sister. You know I love you.”
His fury was rising to dangerous levels just being in her presence. It was taking everything in Thane not to kill her with his bare hands—this woman who had not only hurt Brie, but had also threatened to kill their unborn child.
“Gag her,” he spat, not trusting himself to touch her.
The Russian was swift, pulling Lilly to her feet, the sound of the rattling chain echoing in the room. He taped her mouth before she could protest, then released her from the metal collar. Wrapping his hand around her throat, he told Thane, “I could snap it.”
Lilly’s eyes grew wide, her terror palpable, as her muffled screams filled Thane’s ears. He wasn’t sure if Durov was jesting or if he meant it. His need for justice demanded she pay for her crimes against his family, but Thane resisted the urge to end it here.
He knew why he’d come and where his loyalties lay. He would give Brie exactly what she had asked for, whether this woman before him deserved it or not.
Thane pulled a syringe from his pocket. With cold determination, he approached her and thrust the needle into her arm, taking pleasure in the sound of her muffled cries. When she stopped struggling and fell limp in Durov’s arms, Thane growled, “Let’s get this over with.”
The Russian picked her up, grunting in pain but smiling just the same. “It feels good to give her a taste of her own medicine, does it not?”
“A little too good,” Thane agreed, unsettled by the blind hatred he felt toward Lilly. He could no longer see her humanity, only the threat she posed to his family. The fact that they were related made him hate her even more. Thane pressed the ring on his finger and felt Brie’s steady heartbeat. The feel of it acted like a homing beacon, reminding him who he was and where he belonged beyond this dark rage boiling inside him.
They kept Lilly sedated the entire plane trip to Russia, neither man being in the right frame of mind to interact with her. Instead, the two spent their time playing chess against each other just as they had in their college days.
It provided a healthy distraction for Thane whenever his mind wandered to darker places.
It seemed to Thane that Durov had improved greatly since the last time they played, and he found himself struggling to counter his friend’s attacks. “Have you been taking lessons?”
“Nyet, but I see that you are distracted,” Durov replied, his tone serious. “I know you struggle and fear that the rage inside is changing you. Do not fret, moy droog. You are still the same man. We determine our truth. No one else—not the world, not our circumstances, and not those around us. We are in control.”
Thane looked at him and shook his head, those words being familiar to him. “Using my own words against me?”
“Nyet, comrade. You spoke a deep truth after my mother’s death. It has stuck with me these many years. These feelings boiling up inside you and clouding your mind are temporary. You will find a way through them.”
Thane glanced at where Lilly was sleeping. “Being near her brings out the worst in me.”
Durov put his hand on Thane’s shoulder. “We do this together, to keep each other in check. We will deliver her as we have promised.”
“Would you really have broken her neck?”
“You had only to say the word, and I would have.”
Thane sighed. “You and I are dangerous together.”
Durov disagreed. “It is natural we should want to act against those who seek to harm us. We are behaving the way we were designed—as protectors. It is your woman who is forcing us to change our natural course. Even though I was violently against it, I agree with radost moya now. Your babe deserves a future free of sins from the past. That is worth fighting to protect.”
“I’m glad you are here, old friend.”
“That’s what brothers are for,” Durov replied, patting Thane hard on the back as he tried to move a chess piece illegally without being caught.
“I saw that.”
Durov grinned, shrugging. “It was worth a shot.”
Lilly was allowed to awaken once they had literally reached the end of the road. The rest of the two-day journey would be on foot.
This was the designated transfer point.
Lilly opened her eyes slowly and then whined when she realized who was standing above her.
“Are you wondering why you are still alive?” Thane asked. “My friend wants you dead, and I know you would not hesitate to do the same to him.”
“But never you, Thane. I love you too much to hurt you.”
A few simple words from her mouth, and he was ready to strangle her.
“It’s a dog eat dog world, correct?”
Her jaw dropped. Looking around the desolated landscape she cried, “Are you going to kill me here?”
“There is not one redeemable thing about you but, for some reason, my wife has decided to spare your life.”
Lilly’s eyes lit up, thinking she’d been given a reprieve.
“Consider this,” he continued. “The woman you wanted to sell into slavery is responsible for saving your life. You may consider it a weakness on her part, but the truth is she is far stronger than either you or I. She has earned my admiration and love, and that is the only reason I am honoring her wish by sparing your life now.”
Lilly stood up, staring at Durov warily. She scanned the barren countryside. “Where are we? You aren’t going to leave me here, are you?” She turned on Durov. “How is that any better than killing me outright? You fucking coward!”
Durov said nothing but smashed his fist into his palm.
“We are leaving you here, but you will not be alone.” Thane pointed to a small group making their way to them.
Without warning, Durov ripped off Lilly’s clothes and pushed her to the ground. “You will meet your fate as naked as the day you were born,” he snarled.
She turned to Thane. “What the hell is this?”
“I’m giving you a second chance, which is far more than you deserve.”
When Lilly tried to run, Durov pressed his boot into the middle of her back, holding her down in the dirt while they waited for the party to approach.
One woman walked ahead of the group, her hands pressed together in prayer. She was followed by several other nuns and three men hefting large backpacks for the journey.
She nodded to Durov when she approached. He immediately took his foot off Lilly, and smiled at her self-consciously.
“Miss Meyers, I have come to offer you redemption.”
Lilly stood up slowly, not bothering to cover up her nakedness as she stared at the woman with contempt. “I don’t want your redemption,” she answered, spitting on the ground.
The nun eyed her for several moments before stating, “You cannot know what you need if you have never experienced it.”
“Well, I know I don’t need anything from you.” She turned to face Durov. “Just get it over with, damn it.”
Durov smiled. “Nyet.”
She focused on Thane, pleading “Don’t you dare leave me here. Don’t do to me what you did to our mother.”
Unlike Ruth, Thane was certain he would feel zero remorse if Lilly died in this place. “You are being given a chance. What you choose to do with it is up to you.”
The Reverend Mother gazed into Thane’s eyes for several moments before speaking. “Mr. Davis, it is my honor and God-given duty to care for this lost soul.”
“The fuck it is!” Lilly howled, lunging at her. She was stopped in her tracks when the Reverend Mother produced a cane from her loose sleeve and rapped Lilly hard on the head.
Lilly fell to her knees, stunned by the impact.
“You are but a wayward child in the eyes of the Lord and shall be treated as such.”
The Reverend Mother turned to address Durov. “I appreciate the challenge you have offered me. Know that it will be handled with care.”
He bowed his head to her. “Thank you, Mother Yana.”
“Yes. Thank you, Reverend Mother,” Thane said, bowing his head as well. “I hope you can make a difference with her.”
Lilly rubbed the lump forming on her forehead and hissed. “I’m not fucking going anywhere with you fucking nut jobs.”
The other nuns produced canes and encircled her.
“God chose you, Miss Meyers. I am but an instrument of His will.”
Lilly looked through the circle of nuns at Thane, a terrified look on her face. “Don’t leave me with these crazy women. I’ll fucking gut them if you do.”
All five nuns whacked Lilly with their canes, causing her to scream out in pain.
“Unwholesome speech is not tolerated, Miss Meyers. Every word, every thought, must glorify the Lord.”
“You’re speaking crazy talk!” Lilly cried. “Thane, you can’t do this. I’m your sister, for God’s sake!”
The Reverend Mother rapped her mouth with her cane. “You are only allowed to speak to me from now on.”
Lilly grasped her jaw, howling again.
“Silence.”
When the Reverend Mother raised her cane, Lilly instantly became mute.
Addressing the two men, she said, “She is my charge now. You have been released from the burden.”
Thane suddenly felt the dark rage in his heart lifting as if it had been physically taken from him. He gasped in response.
The Reverend Mother nodded to him before turning back to Lilly. “Come, Miss Meyers, It’s time to put away your childish ways and start anew.”
Lilly cried out Thane’s name, begging him not to leave her.
He walked away, hearing the satisfying crack of the cane as she was corrected.
“Disobedience will not be tolerated,” the Reverend Mother scolded in a calm voice. “Now, get up and be grateful for the Lord’s mercy.”
Thane shot a glance at Durov. “You were right. Mother Yana is perfect.”
The Russian grunted in agreement. “I leave with a content heart.”
“As do I, brother.”
Thane pressed the ring on his finger, relishing the feel of Brie’s steady heartbeat.
I’m coming home, babygirl.