The American Soldier Collection 14: Baby Love (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  * * * *

  “I can’t believe this is happening. She hates us,” Freeman said as they stood there watching the SUVs pull away.

  Corona felt sick and angry, and he wanted answers.

  “She looked so defeated and sad. She really thinks that she’s alone in this,” Corona said to them.

  “We’ve made her that way. You fucking paid her off like some high-priced whore. What the fuck were you thinking?” Freeman asked him, raising his voice.

  Corona felt his gut wrench with disgust for his actions. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted to ensure she was safe and that, if there was danger, she had resources, money to help her get through things.”

  “Yeah, well, you should have talked it through with us first. I get your thinking, but none of us had been thinking clearly when we had to leave her and what we had with her in Salvation,” Freeman said to him.

  “She looks thin, like she’s not taking care of herself,” Atlanta said.

  “What the fuck are we doing?” Jessup said. “We’re sitting here still denying what the real fucking problem is. She’s in danger. Someone just tried to run her over with a fucking car. I want to keep her safe and be involved in stopping anyone who may be out to hurt her or kill her. I don’t care if you guys think I’m fucking nuts. I know I still fucking lose my shit every so often at night.

  Nina helped me with all of that. She made me feel like I could get through this shit. I love her. Seeing her just nearly get killed, and looking at her withdrawn, defeated expression, killed me inside. Fuck our professions, fuck the next job, fuck it all. I want her in our lives. I’m done with this shit. I’m done being a fucking soldier, a grunt, a body to get abused and used, for what? For a fucking medal? Let the young guys do this shit.”

  Atlanta shook his head. “That petite little bombshell turned us into a bunch of pansies.”

  Corona and Freeman chuckled.

  “It’s not being a pansy. It’s called being a man in love with a beautiful woman that you want to spend the rest of your life with, to care for, to protect, and to love,” Freeman said.

  “Don’t forget to share with your team, as a team,” Jessup said.

  “As a family,” Corona added.

  They nodded in agreement and then looked at Corona.

  “Well, we were told to stand down, but that never stopped us before. Let’s go see the bosses. We’re taking care of our baby love, whether she likes it or not.”

  “Oohra!” Atlanta said.

  Freeman smiled and slapped Corona on the back as they headed to their SUV. “Don’t forget about all the kissing up we’ll have to do.”

  “I think I’ll be doing the most kissing up,” Corona said, and they all chuckled as they headed to make things right with Nina.

  * * * *

  “What are you doing here? How did you find out so fast?” Nina asked Viktor as Dusty got out the first aid kit and began to clean up the wounds she had sustained.

  Viktor exhaled.

  “My uncle got a call a short time ago from someone of importance. Someone who knew what was going on and figured things out. Before I get into it, I don’t know what the hell you were thinking going to see Polo the way you did. You were out of your mind, and things could have gone a hell of a lot differently.”

  “I know that, but I followed my gut and the old ways I learned living and surviving on the city streets of Chicago. Men like Polo need to be addressed head-on when you haven’t done anything wrong.”

  He shook his head. “There are some dead people who would disagree with that.” She understood his reprimand and way of thinking. Polo had a special spot in his heart for her, and she kind of felt bad, not to mention relieved, that he knew she would never accept him as a husband, never mind a lover.

  “A lot came out of your little meeting with him. I don’t need to know what went down, or how the hell you pulled it off, but whatever you told him made him figure out who was ripping him off and why.”

  “It did?”

  Dusty leaned back and sighed. “Mirella is the one responsible for setting up Zinc and Cobra and making it look like they stole money and drugs from Malfetto and the gang.”

  “Mirella?”

  “She apparently wanted Polo to marry her,” Dusty said. “She was part of the South Liberty gang, Nina. Polo said that she apparently was jealous of you for many reasons and her obsession over being Polo’s woman, his wife, led her to come after you and destroy your reputation. She wanted to make it look like you backstabbed Polo so he would issue a hit on you. By you going to him, talking to him about whatever you did, he figured out it was Mirella all along.”

  “Plus, it seems you’ve had someone else looking out for your best interests. Someone my uncle didn’t reveal to me, but who was watching over you and reported what they learned about Mirella and a team of individuals who were backstabbing Polo. We were on our way here to protect you, because we heard Mirella was a no-show and we got this call. We were almost too late.”

  “Who was watching over me? Who are they?”

  Viktor shook his head. “I don’t know, and it doesn’t look like they want you to know. The point is that you’re going to need protection until Mirella can be stopped. Now that we know it’s her, Polo can gather the other ones involved and end this all.”

  She thought about things and about this mess of a situation. Leaving Chicago was her only choice. She didn’t want to live her life like this, fearing that, at any time, Mirella or someone loyal to her would come after her and kill her and the baby. She covered her belly and felt the tears in her eyes.

  “We’ll protect you,” Viktor told her.

  “We’ll find Mirella. We have men working on it, and I’m certain Corona and their team will help out, too,” Dusty said to her.

  “No. They don’t need to be involved with this.”

  “But I think they care about you, Nina. I think what Corona did was a mistake. He wasn’t fully thinking when he put that money in the account. He just wanted to ensure that you were taken care of, because they couldn’t physically do it.”

  “No. I don’t want them involved. I won’t be a burden to them, some problem they got involved with and now feel they have to protect. If Mirella wants to hurt me, and she finds out about them, then they’re in danger, too. If she was watching the club tonight somehow, with people loyal to her, then they could have seen Freeman and me together. Hell, even as she tried to run me over, she would have noticed them running to me. No. No, Viktor, they need to stay away from me. I’m a danger to them. I have too much to protect now.”

  “We’ll see what the next step is. We’ll bring you by your place to grab some things, then get you to a safe house. Then I’m to bring you to my uncle,” Viktor told her, and her heart pounded.

  She was going to face Nicolai Merkovicz. Who the hell had been watching over her and called him? How powerful of a person were they? She just wanted to go into a dark place and hide until this was all over, but she knew she couldn’t. She needed to be strong. She needed to be smart and to think about the baby no one would ever know about.

  Chapter 11

  “It’s not her decision. It’s yours and your uncle’s,” Corona said to Viktor as they stood in Viktor’s office along with Cosivan.

  Viktor exhaled. “I have my orders, and Nina has her reasons.”

  “What reasons? Why would you listen to her when her life is in danger?” Freeman asked.

  “She doesn’t want you guys involved at all. She feels that you’re in danger, and to tell you the truth, she’s angry and hurt, too. But aside from the fact that your safety was her reason for asking, we won’t allow you to be involved,” Cosivan said to them.

  Cosivan was not a man to beat around the bush at all. He was intimidating and aggressive. They knew not to show any disrespect to him or his team.

  “So she wants to protect us?” Atlanta asked.

  “We should be protecting her,” Jessup said.

  “Why?
” Cosivan asked them.

  Corona exhaled and looked at his men. He was their leader, and it was his responsibility to take the lead here. “We fucked up. Well, I fucked up.”

  They didn’t respond. Both Viktor and Cosivan stared at him.

  “Fuck it. We fell in love with her, okay? We fucking admit it now, but before, we were being stubborn assholes. We thought we couldn’t give her what she needed, her being perfect and so much. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving her that money.”

  “She saw it as a payoff. I get that now, because obviously you were intimate with her,” Viktor said to them.

  “We fucked up so badly and hurt her. We need her, though. We’re ready to give it all up for her. To retire completely from the service and work civilian jobs, whatever it takes,” Freeman said to them.

  “You need to tell her all of this, but you’re still not allowed to be involved with the hunt for Mirella,” Cosivan stated firmly.

  “Why not?” Jessup asked.

  “Nicolai is respecting Nina’s request. She’s safe where she is and well protected. We’ll find Mirella. We have leads and are getting closer to catching her. We’ve uncovered her resources and the stolen money and drugs she’s been using to get the help she needs. She’s cut off, and she’s desperate, so when she screws up, we’ll be there,” Cosivan told them.

  Corona was annoyed, but it seemed that there wasn’t anything they could do at this point to help Nina.

  “Can we see her, so we can talk to her?” Freeman asked.

  “I think you’re going to have to wait until we find Mirella. You should watch your backs and take precautions in case Nina was right and Mirella figures out that you’re important to her,” Viktor said to them.

  “How the fuck did this turn around on us, and now Nina is protecting us?” Jessup asked, sounding frustrated.

  Cosivan and Viktor chuckled.

  “She’s a special young woman,” Cosivan said, “and her honesty and loyalty to those who have helped her and touched her life come through. If and when you do get the chance to tell her how you really feel, and then beg for her forgiveness, never take her for granted. Life is too short, and in our business, it can all be taken away from you in a snap.”

  Corona nodded and realized, in that moment, that Cosivan and his team knew what they were feeling. They had fallen in love with Nalia while they were supposed to be protecting her. How the hell were they going to wait to see Nina and set things right? They had to help find Mirella and end this so they could tell Nina how much they loved her and how they were giving up their military professions to focus on loving her and being the men she deserved to have in her life.

  * * * *

  Nina snuck into the bathroom and made the call. She heard the guards assigned to her say that some strange vehicle was circling the building and that they’d caught some guy trying to sneak his way into the tenth floor apartment where she was being kept under watch. Mirella apparently knew a lot of people, and they were getting closer. Too close for her to feel safe.

  As much as she wanted to believe that Nicolai and his men could protect her, she wasn’t feeling too confident. She needed to get out of this town, and as she dialed the number, she hoped that she was making the right decision and that her gut was correct.

  “Nina?”

  “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if calling you is right, but I need your help. I’m in trouble, Dominion. Can you help me?”

  * * * *

  Jessup and the team were heading into Bailey’s. They didn’t know why they’d decided to go there, just that it made them feel somehow closer to Nina because she had worked there and it seemed like a good idea. As they pulled the SUV into the parking spot and piled out of the car, they heard the sound of a roaring engine.

  “Get down!” Corona yelled out as he ran around the front of the SUV.

  They ducked down as gunfire erupted over their vehicle. Horns were honking and bullets, which nearly took them out, hit the front windows of Bailey’s.

  “Get in!” Atlanta yelled as he ran around the front of the SUV and they all got into it and sped from the scene.

  Corona got on the phone with Viktor and told him what had happened. He gave him their location and the license plate of the vehicle as they followed behind, with multiple cars between them. As they followed the vehicle, Atlanta slowed down.

  “What are you doing?” Jessup asked as he checked his weapon like his brothers were doing.

  “They didn’t see us following them. Dumb fucks,” Atlanta said.

  “Or they’re luring us in for a trap. Remember what Nina was thinking. She could have been right. Mirella could know we’re after her and that we care about Nina,” Corona said to him.

  “What the fuck do you want to do? Run and hide with our tails between our legs? Not after all the fucking years we’ve run in blind and gung fucking ho in the middle of shit-ass countries tracking down terrorists. This is fucking local gangs shit. A drive-by? Give me a fucking break.” Atlanta was all fired up and pissed off like the rest of them.

  “Fuck it. Let’s give the bitch what she wants,” Freeman said.

  “Viktor has men on the way. They’re dealing with the police at Bailey’s, too. He said Polo has men close,” Corona told them.

  “I hope not too close, or they’re going to wind up dead if they’re in our way,” Jessup said, and they chuckled.

  “Let’s end this shit,” Atlanta sated.

  “Let’s go,” Corona ordered, and Jessup was more than ready to move on and end this so they could see Nina and make things up to her.

  As they followed the vehicle into the abandoned parking lot of the empty building, they knew this was going to be a shit show. Then they saw the other vehicle pull up way behind them as about six armed men jumped from the drive-by vehicle and headed into the building.

  “We’re being trapped in,” Atlanta whispered, rolling slowly closer to the parking lot and the building.

  Corona’s phone went off. He answered it. “Yes.”

  Corona disconnected the call. “Polo’s men are behind us. We’re taking lead.”

  The air was so thick it felt as if they could cut it with a knife. Jessup felt his adrenaline pumping, his military experience and training kicking in immediately as he and his team exited the vehicle and made their way into the building.

  They hadn’t expected to be met head-on by gunfire, but as the room ignited in flashes, they fired back as Polo’s men joined in behind them. Jessup and his team took in their faces, to be sure not to kill them by accident, and they did the same. But as the shots lessened and they heard a few people running up the stairs, they knew they had been successful in taking some of the people out.

  They all remained together, looking at the dead bodies and making sure they were not going to resurrect and kill them. Polo’s men remained, like shadows. They must have realized it was safer to stay with them than risk being mistaken for the enemy. But as they got up the stairs, they heard the scattered footsteps and knew they needed to split up.

  Jessup and Freeman went in one direction with two of Polo’s men. Corona and Atlanta went in the opposite direction with Polo’s other men. That was when Jessup saw Mirella holding a gun and trying to pull open a window to the fire escape.

  “Hold it right there, Mirella. We got you,” Jessup yelled out, and they all pointed their guns at her. They could hear more gunshots in the background.

  “Fuck you!” she screamed out and went to climb out the window. Jessup and Freeman started to run forward, but the sound of gunfire and bullets hitting Mirella stopped them in their tracks. She slumped over against the window, dead.

  Jessup and Freeman turned around to look at Polo’s men.

  “Polo gave strict orders. She wasn’t to get away and cause more pain for Nina and more trouble between the Cubans and the Russians,” one guy said, and Jessup and Freeman nodded as they watched them walk away.

  * * * *

  “What t
he hell does it mean, more pain for Nina?” Freeman asked as they headed out of the area before anyone saw them.

  “It means that what Viktor explained earlier about why Mirella wanted Nina dead was true. Polo cared deeply for Nina, maybe even loved her. That’s how she was able to go see him and know that he wouldn’t hurt her,” Corona said to them.

  “Do you think she loved him, too?” Freeman asked.

  “No. I think Nina respected him and felt she owed him because he got her off the streets and gave her that job at his club years ago. That was when Zinc and Viktor found her, and right before the men who were double-crossing Polo tried to kill her,” Atlanta added.

  Freeman thought about that and tried to put the pieces together.

  “We’ll have to ask Nina when we see her,” Jessup said to them.

  “I’m calling Viktor right now. Mirella is dead, as are her little helpers. It should be safe to see Nina and talk to her.”

  Freeman couldn’t help but feel excited. He couldn’t wait to talk to Nina and explain their feelings and to just hold her in his arms and love her.

  “What? How? What do you mean you don’t know?” Corona raised his voice, and from what Freeman gathered, something was wrong.

  His heart ached, his stomach hurt, too. Corona got off the phone.

  “She’s gone. Viktor doesn’t know anything, just that she was able to sneak out of the apartment without being detected and she disappeared,” Corona told them.

  “She couldn’t have gotten far. What the hell was she thinking?” Atlanta asked.

  “She didn’t know that Mirella was caught. She probably freaked out because some of Mirella’s people found out where she was being kept under guard. Viktor said multiple attempts were made to get into the building and to the apartment. Those men are now dead,” Corona told them.