Page 30 of Nikolai

"Yes, sir," Maxim walks away.

Closing the door, I turn around and find Leah standing outside the bathroom with a worried look on her face, letting me know she heard part of my brief conversation. Meeting her across the room, I brush the hair from her face and kiss her forehead. "I need to take care of an urgent matter. Maxim will follow you home as soon as you're ready."

"Is it my father?" her voice shakes, and I hate that the mere thought of him frightens her this way.

"No," I tell her truthfully, but I can tell by her body language that my admission doesn't put her at ease. "I may be indisposed for a day or two. If you need anything, promise me you won't hesitate to call." Leah doesn't answer right away, so I tilt her head back, bringing her eyes to mine. "Promise me."

Leah swallows. "I promise."

"Good." I run the pad of my thumb across her lower lip, and her eyes flutter. Lowering my head, my lips brush hers for a second time.

Moments later, I'm fully dressed and have retrieved the weapon that I left downstairs. Slipping my gun into my side holster, I meet my father outside in the SUV, where he is waiting. I hate leaving Leah so abruptly, but knowing Maxim will make sure she gets home safely puts my mind at ease. The instant I climb inside, Victor pulls away. "Where are we going?"

"The Kings' compound. Jake asked for our assistance in getting rid of a problem they are having with Savage Outlaws," my father says, looking tired.

The ride is short, and minutes later, we are pulling up to The Kings clubhouse. Upon entering the building, we find the men hanging around the bar. "I heard some trash rolled into town, so I came to offer my assistance." My father greets them as we stride across the room, with Victor following.

Logan steps up, pulling our father in for a hug, and does the same to me. "Thanks for coming down."

Just as Jake announces he's waiting on a few more men to show, he sets his beer down, then pulls his phone from his pocket. "Our guests have arrived," he grins.

The unmistakable rumble of Harley engines grabs every man's attention. One by one, we file outside. Several men pull their bikes alongside the others parked in the front yard. Each man dismounting their bikes wears The Kings of Retribution insignia. The one wearing the President's patch brushes dust from his cut, then extends his hand to Jake. "I hope we're not late for the party," he grins.

"Just on fuckin' time, brother." Jake turns to face my father and me. "Demetri, Nikolai, this here is Riggs, Fender, and Kiwi. They're members of our Louisiana chapter. Men," he looks to his club members, "meet Demetri and Nikolai Volkov." There's a round of handshakes exchanged amongst us.

"I've heard of you, Volkov's. It's good to meet ya," Riggs says as Jake leads everyone indoors where we sidle up to the bar for drinks. Several of the women venture out of the kitchen to see who has arrived. While nursing a cold beer, I watch and listen to Jake introduce Sam's woman to Riggs, and fill her in on the club's decision to send another woman they've been helping with Riggs back to Louisiana. Luna has a past that is trying to catch up with her. It damn sure doesn't make it any easier the fact that she doesn't speak. "Bring her out," I hear Riggs exclaim.

A few minutes later, Sofia walks downstairs with a frightened Luna at her side. The way she shrinks beneath Riggs' hard stare and avoids making eye contact with him reminds me of Leah. The poor girl becomes frantic after being told she'll be leaving her new home for another with a man she just met. I think I can safely say that just about every man in the room is shocked as shit when Riggs stands from his stool and starts to sign as he speaks to Luna, and speaks loudly as he assures her she will be safe with him and his men. He promises to protect her and keep her safe. As with most women, Luna doesn't take to being told what to do very well, and her hands move feverishly telling Riggs just what she thinks about it.

Riggs chuckles at her defiance. "Looks like I just did, sweetheart."

Luna goes to protest further, but Jake steps in. "Alright. That's enough."

Quinn being himself, opens his mouth. "Come on now, Prez. Where's the popcorn. This shit was gettin' interesting. I want to see what happens."

The rest of us chuckle. Quinn is one of a kind and always finds a way to lighten a tense situation. Riggs' eyes follow Luna as she retreats upstairs. Before long, we're all back to drinking as Jake lays out his plan of attack against the Savage Outlaw.

Hours later,the clubhouse erupts into chaos. Grabbing our weapons, my father and I rush downstairs to see what the hell is going on. It turns out Luna and Sofia were taken. All the men huddle around the security feed Reid pulls up on his computer. Luna had slipped out the back door, walking away from the clubhouse. But what she wasn't aware of was Sofia followed her. Before she could convince Luna to return, a couple of men stepped out from the fog beyond the treeline, taking them by gunpoint.

As we gear up for war against the men who took them, I can't help but worry about Leah. The current situation doesn't put her in any immediate danger, but it reminds me that she is hiding from a threat of her own.

After being asked to canvas the streets, looking for any indication of which way they would have gone, my father, along with Victor and I, load up in the SUV and take off down the road. The streets are dark as we search for clues. It's not long before I spot activity down the road near the old paper mill. "Stop here," I tell Victor, and he turns the headlights off, then pulls on to the side of the road. I point through the window. "You see what I see?"

"Bikers," my father states and retrieves his phone from his pocket. "We have eyes on the place—the old paper mill. From here, we count at least thirteen Savage Outlaw. We will stay in place until you arrive," my father ends the call.

Keeping watch, we wait.

Jake and his men surge past us, rolling in hot on Savage Outlaws, and we fall in behind them. Gunfire erupts, and bullets pepper the side of our SUV. "Looks like we have a runner," Victor yells above the noise. Peering out the windshield, we watch the biker who held a gun to The Kings' women, mount a bike, and speed away from the carnage.

"Follow him," my father orders, and Victor takes off after him.

The biker guns it when he realizes he's being followed. Taking a sharp turn onto a dirt road, he loses control of his bike, laying it on its side. He skids several yards before coming to a stop. Victor brings the vehicle to a halt, and I swing the back door open. The fucker struggles to get his leg from beneath the weight of the motorcycle.

I pull my gun and point it at his head.

"Pull the trigger, motherfucker!" the asshole spits.

"You're not mine to kill," I tell him before knocking him out with a boot to the head.

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