there wasn’t.
“Stop right there,” Zeke said, his gun becoming steady in his hands.
“I just want to see Nadine,” the voice said.
“I don’t think she wants to see you,” Zeke answered.
“And who are you?” The voice asked.
“Her fiancé. Who are you?”
“Oleg Borisovich and I have something of hers.” I couldn’t see the boogeyman that had spent a good portion of my life trying to kill me. I really wanted to. I pushed and prodded the dogs until they let me off the ground. Great Danes are heavy and determined, so it took a moment. Alex and Kenzie stood with me. Together we rounded the corner and found he had moved from the entrance way to the kitchen.
“Finally, we meet,” Oleg Borisovich gestured to me with an outstretched hand. “I have waited long time for this.” Another man appeared. He was much smaller than Oleg Borisovich. He was also uglier and younger. I worked hard to keep from sneering.
Melina and Telisa were dragged into the room by their arms. I frowned. My mother had gotten her chance and missed it. We’d discuss it later. I had fully expected her to rip his heart out. Russian mothers are a lot like bears.
The Great Danes were doing something near my legs. I could feel them squirming and moving. The lights were still off and I wondered if fighting bad guys in the dark was the smartest plan.
“Let’s make a deal,” Oleg said to me. “I’ll give you your mothers, you come with me.”
“I’m not going with you and Quasimodo.” I told him.
“Then I kill your mothers, and then you.”
“How’s that been working out for you the last twenty years?” I snarked. “How about you let Melina and Telisa go, you turn around and walk out of my house, you return to Russia and I don’t tell Vasilii to kill you the moment you step foot on Russian soil?” I countered.
“So brave for someone outnumbered,” Oleg glared at me, daring me to look away. I didn’t. I wanted to pat myself on the back, or give myself a high five, but that would have looked silly.
“Angriefen,” I told the Danes. They darted from between my legs, heading for Quasimodo. The man stumbled backwards, dragging Melina and Telisa to the ground. Oleg Borisovich raised his gun, but Baldur crashed into him. The two fell against my new stove. “I hope there’s a warranty.” I hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but sometimes my brain and mouth weren’t on the same page. I would have to call Katya about any damage done to it. Maybe she’d give me a new one just so she could look at Zeke again.
Weird Behaviors, Normal Day
Baldur worried Oleg’s arm until he dropped the gun. The dog let go of his arm and grabbed his thigh. Oleg’s blows glanced off the Dane’s head as he began to drag him towards the utility room. Then he suddenly stopped. Baldur let go of Oleg and let out a long howl that made my ears hurt. The other dogs responded. Anubis grabbed my mother by her skirt, Marduk grabbed her leg and they began pulling her towards us. Enki, Loki and Set grabbed Telisa, who was actually smaller than my own mother by a few inches and a few pounds. They also moved towards us.
Quasimodo was rolling around on the floor, holding different parts of his body and whimpering. I grabbed a cell phone and began to dial 911.
“911, please state your emergency.”
“This is Nadine Daniels, there is a Russian crime lord in my house,” I responded.
“Miss Daniels, I am dispatching police now. Do you know the man that broke into your house?”
“Oleg Borisovich Utkin,” I told her. “There’s something wrong with my Great Danes, please alert officers of their presence.”
“Miss Daniels, my supervisor is recommending you exit the house if at all possible. Oleg Borisovich Utkin is wanted by several agencies in both the US and Europe.” The operator told me.
“Yes, I am aware. He’s been trying to kill me for roughly twenty years because my mom broke up with him before I was born. I also have a secret service agent and another government agent at my house, but they’re my brothers.” I told her. Sometimes I was overly informative.
“It appears that Officer Diego Vasquez has requested to speak with you directly, may I connect him?” The operator asked.
“Sure,” I said.
“What on earth are you doing with a Russian king pin in your house?” Diego wasn’t shouting but I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been.
“Having a bad day.”
“I have no replies to that. I’m on my way, it will be like three minutes,” Diego said.
“Make it two and I’ll give you a cookie,” I told him and hung up, forgetting that I was on the phone with 911. Alex and Sebastian were untying Melina and Telisa. Zeke and Vlad were tying up Oleg Borisovich. Liam was dealing with Quasimodo. My dogs were jumping around and barking, poking at the backdoor. I finally opened it just to get them out of the way and hoped they didn’t get shot by the arriving officers.
Then the Danes began running back and forth. Anubis, still bleeding, grabbed onto me and jerked my pajama bottoms, ripping them down one side. I struggled to keep them on as I scolded him. Enki joined the fun and began tugging on Alex. Baldur grabbed Melina, who was still on the floor and began dragging her outside. My mother, determined to keep her skirt down, didn’t fight the dog off.
“That’s odd,” I said.
“Let’s see what they want,” Telisa stood up and followed my mother and Enki outside. Alex, Kenzie, and I exchanged looks. They were armed, so we followed the mothers.
The air outside was cold. Once we were outside, barefoot on the cold ground, three of the dogs darted back inside. Anubis growled when I stepped towards the house. Enki and Set kept tugging Melina closer to the woods. There were strobing lights in the distance. I was pretty sure I owed Diego Vasquez a cookie. I followed Enki, scolding him and trying to convince him to release my mother. She was going to be really unhappy when she got loose. I felt sorry for the Danes, particularly Enki.
From the house there was shouting. Baldur had Zeke by the pajamas, Zeke was struggling to walk and keep his pants from coming down. Loki and Marduk were herding Liam outside. Vlad and Sebastian were both following, shouting at the dogs. I had no clue what their deal was.
The police cruiser turned down my driveway. I motioned to it, to let Vasquez know that I was not in the house. He got out of his cruiser and walked towards us.
“Where’s Oleg Utkin?” Vasquez asked.
“Tied up in my house,” I told him. He took a step and Anubis growled at him. “What’s wrong with your dog?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “He’s been injured, but that doesn’t usually make him aggressive. His brothers are all acting that same strange way.”
Another patrol car started down my drive. I watched the lights for a second and was suddenly swept from my feet. Everything hurt as I stared up at the sky. Little bits of stuff wafted through the air around me.
“Did my house just blow up?” I asked.
“Yes,” Vasquez answered. He was lying next to me on the ground. “I think I know why your dogs were being aggressive.”
“Not the entire house,” Zeke said. “It looks like it was mainly the kitchen, utility room, and the spare bedroom.”
“Oh.” That didn’t make it any better. I sat up. Smoke was pouring through the hole in the side of my house. Flames licked at the remnants of construction materials.
“Why did my house blow up?” I asked. “Was Oleg Borisovich inside? Did he plant a bomb?”
“Yes, he was still inside,” Sebastian answered.
“No, I think it was your stove,” Liam said. “Dmitri and Pytor are great at moving heavy appliances, but they suck at hooking them up.”
“Oh.” Tears started to run down my face.
“We’ll have the fire department look for survivors and bodies,” Vasquez patted me on the shoulder and stood up. The tears flowed harder.
 
; “Please don’t cry,” Zeke grabbed hold of me, pulling me into him. “We’ll rebuild the kitchen and utility room and spare room. We’ll rebuild and make it bigger and better. I’ll rebuild you an entire house if you just stop crying.”
“Promise?” I wept.
“Yes.”
“Ah, that’s so beautiful,” Kenzie cooed.
“This marriage is going to be wonderful,” Melina said.
“They are perfect,” Telisa agreed. I cried even harder, but it was hidden by Zeke’s shoulder.
Wedding Plans
They found both Quasimodo and Oleg Borisovich alive inside my house. The fight between Oleg and Baldur had knocked the gas line loose on my stove. As the two Russians attempted to flee the house, something had sparked, setting off the explosion. It had thrown them clear, but between the dog damage and the explosion damage, they were in no condition to make a run for it.
Zeke had kept his promise and my house was under construction, by real contractors. He was even expanding it. My mother had tried to get us to stay with her while the repairs were being done, but we had checked into a hotel, two rooms despite the fact that we were still getting married. The days were ticking away rather quickly.
Amanda Reed and Fred Reed spilled their guts on everyone they had ever been involved with. It was making the justice department very happy. They’d both been granted immunity for their testimony. It made me feel ill.
Or maybe it was wedding jitters.
Also By Hadena James
Dreams & Reality Novels
Tortured Dreams
Elysium