Page 43 of Saving Helena

I was legitimately stunned. Pike and I had history, but given the information I’d given him, I wasn’t sure I’d put the Brotherhood in that same position. Taking on the Bratva would be monumentally stupid and a complete suicide mission.

“If they took her, then they’re dead. We’ll get her back, brother.” His voice was steely and assured, like the Pike of my youth when I was young and bullied. The story he’d told Helena hadn’t been that far off. Pike had been a terrible influence on me but a savior of sorts. He’d taught me to stand up for myself, to fight when I had nobody else to teach me.

Clearing my throat clogged with emotion, I said, “We spoke with the Volkov pakhan. He assured us that Makarovich was not acting under any orders from him. He’s sent us his assistance. We’re searching now for either Makarovich or his right hand, Sergei — he could have taken her.”

“You’ll ride from there?”

“Yeah, if you’ll join us?” The invitation was clear.

“We’ll be there in thirty minutes. Just going to gear up,” he paused. “We’ll bring her back to you.” The line disconnected, and I looked at the screen in bemusement. The conversation had thrown me a little. The friendship we’d had was what got me through so many challenging moments during foster care, abuse of the worst sort. Pike had been a confidant and ultimately molded me into the man I was. The fact that he’d abandoned me during that encounter with the police now only made me wonder what really happened that day. Maybe I was the asshole in this story. I’d been released from juvie, but I had been so hurt I’d never looked for Pike again.

“They’re coming? The Cobras?” Dimitri asked, shaking me out of my thoughts.

“He said thirty minutes, just to suit up.” I chuckled to myself. “I’d wondered if he’d come if he thought we’d be going against the Bratva, so I didn’t tell him everything.” Dimitri’s eyes crinkled in amusement.

“Ah, so he still agreed? He was always a crazy fucker.”

We’d had plenty of time to assemble, and the tension in the clubhouse was at an all-time high. At this point, all I had was worry and regret that I hadn’t done a better job rotating out shifts of men to watch Helena — been there myself. The idea that she had gotten taken from the Duck was a needle straight to my heart. She should have been able to go to work and be safe.

Jillian and Amber were fluttering around with snacks and platters of food like we were preparing for the apocalypse, but to be honest, I was a nervous eater. Every time I walked by a plate of food, I was stuffing something in my mouth, even if it tasted like sawdust.

Finally, Dimitri was hurrying over, and I knew he had something for me. “We have a location—Sergei’s,” he clarified. “Maxim eliminated Makarovich. He said he flew out of Phoenix immediately for Mexico City that day we phoned him. Sergei just called Maxim asking about Makarovich. He admitted that he has Helena. Maxim played him and was able to get a location. Maxim said he wanted her for himself, unharmed.”

Relief swamped me—finally, a location.

“Just one thing.” Dimitri laid a hand on my shoulder, and I immediately knew whatever he said next would be terrible. “Sergei told Maxim that he’d lost his temper with her. Maxim could have her, but that he’d gotten rough.” Was I breathing? My throat was suddenly tight as my eyes bore into Dimitri’s. His eyes were glassy and bright, and I could feel his hand clamping hard on my shoulder, bearing down on it as I bent over my knees, dry heaving.

“Pull some men, and let’s get my woman, or I’m going alone.”

Striding to the door, I didn’t bother looking back. I could hear Dimitri giving orders and explaining as he called names, but I could only think about Helena and the fact that someone had “lost their temper” with my sunshine. Should I call an ambulance? Should they meet us there? Fuck. I pulled at my beard as I straddled my bike and shoved the M&P into the sleeve.

Dimitri strode purposefully to his bike, rattling off in Russian to the crew of suits that were apparently following him everywhere now. I couldn’t complain at this juncture, though. They had been a lifesaver, literally. My head was all fucked up right now. I was itching to go. Even the time it was taking for the men to get on their bikes was pissing me off.

Pike was just rolling up with his crew of fifteen. I couldn’t be bothered to let him know what was happening. Based on what we learned now, we didn’t need more, but I couldn’t take any more time. Pushing off from my kickstand, I lit out, opening the throttle.

There was no turning back now, no hesitation as we set out on our mission to rescue Helena and bring her home where she belonged.

With each mile beneath our wheels, my resolve grew stronger. I’d be damned if I let anyone take her away from me. I only prayed that we were in time. Something told me Sergei wasn’t the most stable individual if he was off alone. His boss had ditched him and flown off without him. What could he have possibly thought to gain from taking her? Maybe he’d decide he didn’t need her? New worry filled me at the thoughts of what had happened to her and what losing his temper meant. Helena was a tiny little thing on a good day. She was meant to be cherished and protected.

As we tore through the deserted streets, the sun was already high in the sky, reminding me painfully that she’d been with that asshole now for hours. I could only hope we were in time.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Helena

The small, dingy room wasn’t hospitable, and the mattress was probably filled with germs. Motel rooms always gave me the ick, but I supposed I had more significant problems than whose bodily fluids were on the mattress and the floor other than mine. Was this a motel? Light flooded into the room, but the window was small. It looked old and not particularly motel-ish.

I’d thought about crawling back to the bed but stayed where I was. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that Sergei had broken a few of my ribs. With every breath, I was inhaling razors. He’d also somehow managed to break one of my nails, which somehow pissed me off more than anything else. Fucker.

He strode in then as I calculated everything from the tenderness of my cheek to the potential contusion on my thigh. Eyeing him with the utmost hatred, I couldn’t help spitting out, “Verified my story, huh?” I could already see my barb had hit the mark.

That had been a huge gamble, one I’d not been sure would pay off. Of course, I was entirely out of options at this point. Now, it was just a matter of stalling for time and hoping against hope that Maddox and the Brotherhood could find me in time before this psycho killed me.

“Yes.” He crossed his arms and looked at me with such intensity that his glare would have murdered me if it were possible. “The pakhan said that Makarovich had lied about having permission to go into the flesh trade.” His jaw tensed, and he looked at the wall momentarily.

Wow. Interesting. This was either good for me or bad for me. If he had verified my story, maybe I wouldn’t have needed it anymore. Perhaps that was it, and I was dead. I’d seen Sergei’s face. It was kidnapping. He was probably in pretty big trouble with the Bratva. I almost felt sorry for him but reminded myself that he’d just beaten the crap out of me and was a horrible human. He deserved what he was going to get.

“Then you know that I have information for the pakhan.” It was another gamble, but at this point, I needed to ensure that I wouldn’t be fish food or whatever the terminology was.