Nordic Lessons (25 page)

Things get ugly when I take Dag’s legs out in a clean sweep and we land in a tangled heap together on the stone floor. Thank fuck Lisetta knows enough to get out of the way. My thoughts are fragmented. I am blinded by years of pent-up anger and hatred, and my one primal desire is to inflict brutal pain on this piece of trash. I maneuver my heavier weight on top of him and go for his throat. He jerks and bucks wildly, desperate to throw me off. I squeeze hard as he frantically claws at my jacket, making wet gurgling sounds from his airway being cut off. Nothing has ever been clearer to me. I know what must be done. The repercussions can be sorted out later.

Through my savage anger I hear Alreck yell, “Mikkel, choose now!”

What the fuck?

His somber voice rings with clear, solemn intent as he continues to yell from behind me, only louder, with greater force, “Choose now, brother. You do this, then it’s over and done with Elora and you know it! You’ll be doing at least twenty years or more if you take him out. You
sure
you fucking want that life, my brother?”

I press down harder, watching Dag’s face turn a deeper shade of purple. I shake my head in confusion.
All I’ve ever wanted was justice. He might try and hurt her again. Maybe I won’t be there to stop him next time ….

I hear Bern’s deep voice yelling frantically from the other room, “Lisetta? Lisetta! You all right? Fuck! Mikkel, tell me you got her man or I’m taking these guys down right now and coming in!”

Alreck yells back, “We’ve got her, Bern. She’s good. Stay in position. Mikkel.” He speaks quieter so that Bern can’t hear him, “don’t make this mistake, brother, you’ll regret it. I promise you.”

I hear Lisetta’s trembling voice coming from the corner of the room, “Mikkel, please ….”

My eyes flick up to lock with her wide, wild ones. “Please don’t. He’s not worth it.”

With a frustrated growl I release him. Immediately he’s coughing and sputtering, clutching at this bruised throat, gasping for breath.

I growl out the words, “You piece of fucking shit! You deserve a slow death!”

“Fuck you! Get the fuck off of me!”

I shove my palm into his face to shut him up as I lean down to speak against his ear, “You
ever
touch a woman,
any
woman, like that again, I’ll find out. And when I do I’ll put your ass in a shallow grave, and that’s
after
I stuff your limp cock down your throat, motherfucker! And rest assured there won’t be any witnesses, you feel me?”

Suddenly, in a blur, I hear Alreck shout out just as white-hot pain explodes through my left shoulder.
How the hell did he get his hands on a knife?
I jerk away, momentarily stunned before a cracking shot shatters the glass behind us.

Dag jerks hard beneath my weight and screams in agony as blood begins to pool onto the gray floor from the open wound in his upper leg. His fixed blade knife skitters across the floor. I’m not taking any chances, uncertain if the bullet was meant for me or not. I crouch low and run over to my cousin. I whip off my leather jacket to cover her as best as I’m able. My shoulder is burning like a motherfucker, but I grit my molars and lock the pain down. I hear Alexander’s distinct accent coming from the other side of the shattered glass. “Move an inch and I’ll do the same to the other leg. Your choice.”

Lisetta is terrified and shaking uncontrollably as I lift her up into my arms. I can feel a tearing in my shoulder from the strain, but I’m too focused on getting us to safety to let it slow me down. She buries her face in my chest, wanting to shut out this real-life nightmare.

“Get those guys back.”

Alreck levels his gun at one of the bikers he’s holding at bay while shouting to the other, “Make a move or try to follow us and we won’t hesitate to unload. Now back the fuck up!”

Sansa is cowering behind one of the bikers. Her eyes are twitchy and devious.

I glare at her. “You’ll get yours, you stupid bitch. I know you had a hand in this.”

“Go to hell, Mikkel. I was the best you ever had and you know it!”

I shake my head in disgust and haul ass for the door. The cops could be here any moment and the fact that Alexander the banker just capped a biker has upped everything to the next fucking level.

I yell out over my shoulder, “Alreck and Bern, cover us. Don’t let Lisetta take a hit!”

“On it!” Bern shouts.

The snow is pounding down in sheets as I race across the grounds, hell bent on getting Lisetta back to the safety of the truck. Sprinting over the snow, I know that Alreck and Bern have my back. I hope Elora’s brother doesn’t lose his shit and do something stupid. Damn fine shot, though.
Maybe he’s not such a jackass after all 
….

Her shaking becomes violent and I have to nearly crush her against me to maintain my hold. I hope she doesn’t black out. I’ve never seen her so freaked. Suddenly, my anger surges again and I almost regret not doing him in back there. But Alreck’s right, murder is murder. I’d do the time and lose Elora in the process.

We’re both shuddering from the brutal cold by the time we reach the vehicle that’s now covered with a fresh dusting of powder. I know that with my shoulder so jacked up, there’s no way I can fish my keys out of my jeans pocket and keep her bare feet off of the snow at the same time. She’s clinging to me like a lifeline.

I turn to see my boys closing in, rapidly walking backward to ensure cover. It’s a good thing no one was stupid enough to follow.

“Bern, take her now. Gotta get my keys out.”

A petrified whimper comes up from her throat as she clings harder to me. She must be in total shock.

Bern steps in close and gently lifts her away from me, quietly whispering sweet words to her.

I immediately feel the wet stickiness oozing down my arm. My shoulder is pumping out blood. “Need some fucking stitches. Alreck, you’d better drive. I might black out.”

“I got you.” He takes my keys, opens the back passenger door, and shouts, “Alexander, stow the weapons, then you’re riding shotgun.”

“All right, mate, I’m on it.”

I get into the back seat and collapse. Lisetta is clinging to Bern as she struggles to speak. “T-take, take m-e ….”

Bern smoothes the hair back from her face. “Shhh, baby, nice and easy, slow it down, I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

Tears start to pour down her angelic face. It’s ripping my heart to shreds to see her like this.

The guys are loaded in and the heater cranks up as the SUV is thrown into reverse. This could have ended up a hell of a lot worse.

She leans back a little but still clings to his neck. Staring into Bern’s eyes, she pleads, “Take me to the police. I-I must press charges.”

“Shh, easy, baby.”

She starts to cry harder, becoming more upset. She turns to speak to me, her voice cracking as she continues, “No, they have to arrest him! He’s going to do this again, don’t you see? He won’t stop! He knows where Vail is staying. He told me. I-I saw it in his eyes. He’s so evil …. Oh God, Mikkel, I’ll never forget ….”

Alreck growls low and whips out his mobile, connecting with Vail in an instant, explaining to her in English that she and Elora need to move to another room immediately.

I should have killed that sick fuck!

Bern wipes the falling tears off her face as I tell her, “Lisetta, he’s gonna go down for this. You wanna press charges, fine, but let’s get you some fucking clothing first, yeah?”

She turns and stares at the red that is saturating my shirt.

“Oh my God, Mikkel, here, let me get something to slow the bleeding!”

“No, Alreck will get me to the hospital soon enough.”

I clear my throat and say, “Alreck, drop Bern, Alexander and Lisetta at Alexander’s place in the city. They’ll keep her safe. Alexander, you want to take a piece with you?”

“No, I have a pistol in my safe. We’ll be fine.”

Lisetta’s shaky voice rings out, “I’m going with Mikkel.”

I look across to her as she clings tightly to Bern. I hate denying her, especially after what happened back there, but she needs to warm up in a quiet, calm environment.

“No, go with them, Lisetta. They’ll keep you safe, get that split lip tended to. Before you know it I’ll swing by and pick you up. If you’re still up for it, we’ll go to the Oslo police together. We do this on one condition, right? Alreck was never there and who the fuck knows who shot Dag. Everyone in agreement?”

“Absolutely,” Bern and Alreck say in unison.

“Alexander, to be clear, Elora will be staying out at my place from now on. The Hellraisers are gonna be gunning for retaliation from this insult. You and your sister are gonna be right at the top of their list, feel me?”

His brows draw together. He’s clearly not pleased but he nods once, saying, “I’m due to leave for New York in just under a week, so it’s probably a good thing that I know she’ll be safe. I can tell that you both”—he hesitates before continuing—“care for each other deeply. That’s what our parents would have wanted.”

Silence hangs thickly in the Durango as we haul ass through the whiteout back toward the direction of the city.

O
ur run feels so invigorating. We’re chatting away as we jog at a healthy pace alongside each other. I tell her that I’ve decided to suck it up and join a gym. Winter is here to stay and even if snow wasn’t on the way, the frigid air makes distance running a challenge. Lisetta agrees with me and suggests that we stop at a small café after our run. We never reach it.

A scream tears from my lips as I’m suddenly hauled up into the air in a vice-like hold. As if in slow motion, I watch in horror as Lisetta is suddenly tossed inside of a dark van. I struggle like a wildcat, desperate to get away from the thug who has me in his unyielding grip. Dag’s face suddenly comes into view as he crawls on top of her, holding her down on the floor of the van while she writhes and screams. In a creepy voice, he looks between us and says loudly in accented English, “Gotcha both. Now you’ll see how I like to play.”

Suddenly, the guy holding me grunts and his hold loosens. I spin around in his arms and shove a finger in his eye. It works, and once I’m let go, I stumble forward, grasping for the first person I encounter, a shocked woman. The vision before me blurs and I scream out at the top of my lungs at the horror of it all. I turn just in time to see the dark van speed away 
….

“Elora! Shit! Wake up!”

Someone is shaking me vigorously. I slowly float back to the surface of consciousness and my eyes fly open.

Mikkel. Safety.

I roll to my side and curl into myself, struggling not to flip out. He crawls into the bed beside me and wraps his warm body around mine from behind, whispering in a quiet voice, “Another bad dream?”

“Yes.”

He kisses the back of my hair, “Everything’s gonna be all right. I love you so much, Elora. I’ll protect you. Believe this, baby.”

I turn over to face him. When I’m with him I know that nothing can harm me. I’m concerned, though. It’s already been five days since the incident and nearly every time I allow my eyes to slide shut some portion of the ordeal creeps into my dreams. It’s wearing me down. I don’t want him to know of the guilt I feel for not being able to stop them from abducting Lisetta. I can’t begin to imagine the internal struggle that she must be dealing with.
I should’ve done more.

I softly run my hand through his cropped hair. “I love you so much, Mikkel. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“I’ll call Alreck and cancel our plans for tonight. I don’t think you’re up for it.”

“No! No, please, I’ve been looking forward to all of us getting together for dinner. Just give me a moment. I promise you I’ll be right as rain after a shower.”

“You sure?” He looks concerned.

“Positive. I really want to meet Vail, and Alexander said he’ll join us as well. He’s off to America tomorrow and I’d like to see him before he departs.”

He scans my face for a long moment before leaning in for a soft kiss, “All right,
min
skjønne
, but if you’re feeling upset at all, you need to let me know, got it?”

“Yes, understood. How is your shoulder?”

“Better, but these fucking stitches are driving me insane! They itch like hell.”

I straddle him. His look of surprise is swiftly replaced by ravenous hunger.

“Well then, I’ll just have to come up with a sinful way to distract you, won’t I, Master?”

His lips part and he sucks in a deep breath before saying, “Mmmm, damn, woman, I like that idea.”

“I think I have something in mind that we’ll both enjoy.”

I smile like a vixen and slowly pull my dark blue lacey camisole off my body, leaving me only in my matching teeny knickers. He shifts back to rest his back against several down pillows, and with his molten gaze does a slow once-over down my chest and back up. My nipples tighten as his eyes devour my body. He’s always so hungry, so intense. I sweep my hair over to the side and wiggle down to work his belt open. After popping open the buttons, I tug them down and off his smooth hips. He lifts up slightly to help me out. I glance up to see that his sculpted arms are folded behind his head. He’s watching me with heated intent burning in those intimidating eyes.
So sexy ….