Page 29 of The Brigadier

“Jesus Christ,” I said, nodding to my men. “Let’s get you inside.” Another wave of guilt passed through me but even worse were the two other feelings.

Lust.

And possessiveness.

They followed me into the living room instead of my office, standing just inside the doorway.

“Are you okay?” I asked her. The moment we locked eyes, we were both transported into the moment from two nights before. I could see trepidation about that as well as the continued edge she’d been placed on because of the stalker.

I sensed the two men were watching us carefully.

“Chantel? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just… Just a little scared,” Chantel said, her voice no longer the strong one I knew from the other night. She was also highly embarrassed, looking anywhere but at me. This was like being forced to relive a nightmare over and over again.

I had to get a fucking grip.

“There’s a bathroom right down the hall with towels. Why don’t you change into some dry clothes while I debrief my men?” I tried to smile but was fuming.

“I will.” She was shaking all over, the warmth the first thing she needed.

I watched as she grabbed her suitcase from Danny, turning slightly to look at me. There were times when you could connect with someone and no words were needed. This was one of them.

And I made the decision right then and there, no one would ever hurt her again.

So fucking help me God.

After she walked out, I took a deep breath.

“You okay, boss?” Danny asked. He knew me well enough to catch there was something odd.

“Yeah, fine. Did the bastard say anything?”

“Not a word. I had a brief chance to frisk him and he has no identification, nothing,” Maxim said.

“She tried to run, Nikolay. We were right in the middle of subduing this jerk. She could have gotten herself killed.” Danny was beside himself.

After taking a deep breath, I realized the girl had lived far too posh of a life. What she needed was a lesson in rules.

And a hard spanking.

That would come.

Maybe then she’d learn rules were meant to be followed for a reason and that our world was a dangerous one.

Fuck.

“Yeah, you’re right. Did the asshole have a weapon?”

“He did,” Maxim answered. “From what I could tell, the numbers were filed off. I’ll examine it further when we get to the warehouse.”

“Another illegal weapon,” I said absently. That didn’t identify any particular syndicate or cartel. It could be anyone at this point.

“Okay, get some additional men to guard this place and keep him on lockdown. I’ll pay a nice long visit to the son of a bitch in the morning. Thank you for grabbing her.”

Danny nodded. “Tough girl. She’ll be okay.”

“I know but someone is out to hurt the Kuzmin family or the Chernoff regime and that’s not going to happen.”