The Cardinal Bird - Book 1: Reverse Harem Series (The Cardinal Series) Read online

  "Alright then," Karl said. "We're good to go."

  According to CJ, there weren't any cameras on the outside, but we walked up to the building, clustered in a group to practice our coordination before actually entering. By the time Brock opened the door in front, we had tightened the formation so much that I couldn't even see what the inside of the main floor looked like.

  I was, however, able to hear. And hear I did. I heard a very familiar, boisterous voice shouting nonsense in Russian.

  "I want the rubber duck. You have had it all to yourself, and it is my turn, fucker!!" Aleks’ voice yelled from outside my line of sight. He said it so seriously, that for a minute I thought he was angry. Then I actually focused on what he'd said.

  I smiled.

  Brock snorted. I looked up to see him rolling his eyes. I concentrated on not stumbling into his back to keep from laughing.

  "Hey!" Jace said back from where I assumed was the desk. "You know I don't speak Russian! I get that you're mad, but we can't work anything out if you don't speak to me IN ENGLISH!"

  "You have a funny face and a big pointy nose," Aleks yelled back with absolute fury.

  I nearly did stumble into Brock’s back at that one. I wanted to be frightened at the rage that Aleks was exuding, but at the same time, his absurd words were such a stark contrast that it was hard to feel frightened. That probably couldn't be said for anyone here that didn't speak Russian.

  "I'm sorry," Jace said, sounding like he was exhausted and somewhat embarrassed. "He's been like this all day. Didn't make him waffles when he woke up. You always, always, always have to give him waffles otherwise...hangry Russian," he trailed off for a second. "On a related note, do you guys by chance serve waffles in your breakfast?"

  "Waffles? Jace, you are stupid. But waffles do sound good," Aleks said in an agreeable tone.

  "Uh...um...ah..."

  Poor guy. Whoever the receptionist was, his voice was shaking in fear. It made a small sliver of guilt brush through me, but I tamped it down quickly. I had a vague idea of what the guys were doing, and it was for the guy's own good. Anyone perceived as helping me at this point would have their lives forfeited if Nikolai ever found out. It was better for him to be seen on camera as oblivious and scared of us--which, thanks to Aleks' shouting, should be pretty believable.

  I didn't get to hear what else was said as we made it to the stairs. Brock opened it, and we disappeared inside, cutting off any response the receptionist would've been able to make from my hearing.

  Thankfully, we didn't see anyone on our way up. Jace had caught up to us and ended up carrying me after the first floor but not because I asked...but, because he "wanted to." CJ was there to meet us at the top of the stairs.

  "Camera's off," CJ said simply, his golden-brown eyes trailing over me. He smiled big. "I liked you in my shirt better."

  Brock was close to him and moved his hand as if to hit him, but he held back at the last moment. CJ noticed too because he turned his big grin on him. Brock just shook his head but otherwise didn't say anything.

  "Hey," Jace said, sounding miffed. "How come he doesn't get in trouble for a comment like that?”

  Brock shrugged his shoulders, stepping up onto the landing and passing by CJ's still grinning figure. "He's not on my team."

  Jace was quick to jump on that. "But he's on your temporary team. Just like Alecks and me."

  Brock just kept walking down the hall as Jace continued to carry me.

  I looked up at Jace, my eyes round. "Does he hit a lot?"

  Jace smirked. "Only because he cares."

  Huh, that had been Jace's sage wisdom about his yelling, too.

  "Hey!" CJ said, overhearing us. He turned down the hall to walk next to Brock. "Don't you care about me, Brock?"

  Karl let out a groan. "I'm working with children." He looked over at us. "Come on, we have some wounds to treat. Hopefully, we can get Dr. Harper or even Dr. Scott on the line. What time is it over there, anyway?"

  "They're seven hours behind us," Jace said.

  "Oh," Karl looked pleased. "That'll be perfect then. Let's head to the rooms. Callie, you'll be in the four-bed dorm with the attached bath. However, we will have to pick out some people to be in the room with you overnight. I don't want you alone. It's too dangerous."

  I agreed, but I didn't want to. I was risking these people left and right, and I couldn't seem to stop. That made me selfish. As selfish as I had been when I gambled Kaz's life. A gamble I had lost. I swallowed down the tightness in my throat and fingered the twine bracelet on my wrist.

  There was another set of footsteps trailing behind us, so I peered around Jace’s shoulder to see who had joined us. I was somewhat surprised and glad to see Aleks who I was sure was going to get the police called on himself.

  Aleks started to turn his head in my direction. I don't know what it was about the Russian, but I chickened out and ducked back behind Jace before Aleks could finish turning and catch me staring. Jace laughed, drawing Brock’s attention. He turned around to look at us.

  "Dušo, why are you blushing?"

  My eyes widened at being caught and called out. With nowhere to go to hide from either Brock or Jace as I was still in Jace’s arms, the best that I could do was tuck my head into the side of Jace’s chest and close my eyes.

  My body shook with the rumbling laughter as he continued to carry me.

  "What does that mean?" Aleks asked from right beside us, causing me to startle. "Dušo?"

  It was funny to hear the word pronounced with a Russian accent, but Aleks’ question helped to slow my heart rate down from where it had skyrocketed. I perked up to listen.

  "It means dušo," Brock said simply.

  I sank back down, trying not to show my disappointment.

  A big hand ruffled my hair, dislodging my head from where it was nestled into Jace’s side. "She is not this dušo. She is malyshka."

  I tilted my head back to look at Aleks upside down. "Why do you call me that? Little girl?"

  He just ruffled my hair again in answer. The displaced air carried the scent of the tank, reminding me of things I'd rather forget. I desperately wanted a shower.

  "I can join you if you'd like,” Aleks said in husky Russian.

  My face burned bright at the dual realization of what Aleks was offering and at the fact that I had spoken my thoughts out loud—hopefully in Russian—without knowing.

  I went to hide my face again, but Jace tightened his arms around me momentarily, drawing my attention. He had an intense look on his face as he spoke to me. At least, I thought he was speaking to me. I didn't understand a word he was saying, but the smooth cadence of the murmurs rolling of his lips and tongue made me warm. He made a gruff language sound like ancient poetry.

  German. He was definitely speaking German.

  I shifted in his arms, no idea what he was saying but physically feeling the force of his gaze. Before I could spontaneously combust, Karl spoke up. "Stop teasing Callie, you two. If you can't behave like adults, you won't be an option to stay the night in her dorm."

  Aleks's jaw audibly snapped shut from behind me, and Jace straightened up becoming even taller. They finished the walk in silence.

  CJ smiled, throwing a bright laugh over his shoulder. "That got them to be quiet!"

  "Shut it, you fucking puppy," Aleks grumbled.

  CJ stopped so that he could turn all the way around. "Calllllie, what did he say?"

  My cheeks went right back to red as my eyes widened.

  Aleks jogged forward a couple of steps to walk backward and caught my embarrassment. He probably wanted to make sure I didn’t tell on him to his teammate or something.

  Because he was walking backward, he didn't see Brock stopping in his way beside a just down the hall, standing in the middle with his arms crossed. It was amazing that Aleks couldn't feel the glare digging into the back of his head.

  Aleks winked at me, and turned around, right into Brock's imposing figure. Neither one of them budged or bounced back, so they were in an awkward and rather intimate stalemate--Brock with his scowl and Aleks with his hulking figure and doorframe-wide shoulders. In an instant though, Aleks had slung a massive arm around Brock's neck, attempting to put him in a friendly headlock, but failing because they were so close in size.

  "Aww, Rock. You are no fun."

  Brock just pushed him away. "I'm not trying to be fun. In case you forgot, Callie was shot and could be dying of an infection."

  Chapter 10

  The attention in the hallway shifted to me. It was suffocating and yet somehow thrilling at the same time.

  After a moment, Brock tilted his head back to indicate the room he was standing in front of. "This is your room. CJ went ahead and got the kit out. Doc Scott is on the line to help walk us through it as much as he can. He’s from my team back home. He can be trusted."

  Jace walked us into the room. Karl was dragging one of the mattresses off the bunk beds out into the middle of the floor. CJ was beside it, pulling things out of the first-aid kit.

  "We should probably put something down on the beds," Karl said. "Leaving blood on them would lead to questions."

  CJ pulled out one of those plastic thermal sheets that he had used on me in the van earlier. Karl then took one of the sheets off the bed and put it on top.

  "It's the best we've got," CJ said. "We'll have to take the sheets with us and dispose of them somewhere, but at least she won't just be laying on the plastic."

  "Hope you weren't wanting your deposit back," Jace joked.

  Jace stepped into the room and put me down on the bed. It crinkled as my weight settled, but CJ was right. It was better than laying directly on the plastic.

  Everyone else tried to crowd into the room, but Karl stopped that. "We can't all fit in here. Why don't some of you go keep an eye on things? Make sure none of the workers come up here to check on us just out of curiosity."

  There was a moment of silence. When no one moved to leave, Karl said, "Jace."

  "Right," Jace said. I wondered if he was the leader of the Tate team. Were his and his brother’s last name Tate? "Aleks and Brock, keep an eye on the hall. I’ll hang out in the lobby. Make sure the situation has settled down after Aleks’ and my quarrel. They could still call the cops on us, and we'll need a head's up if that's going to happen."

  "Head's up?" Aleks questioned.

  "A warning," Jace supplied, “As in move your head up and look around because you’re about to possibly be hit with something large and unfortunate.”

  "Why didn't you just say so?" Aleks said with a loud laugh and a hefty clap to Jace’s shoulder.

  Jace let out a breath and gave the ceiling a look as if to ask, ‘Why me?’ He continued on with his instructions. "Aleks, you can go between the floors or just keep an eye on the stairwell. Nobody should be heading up here since we have the whole floor to ourselves. Oh, and don't assume anything."

  "Like what?" Aleks asked.

  I answered before Jace could. It was all of our safety on the line, so it broke down any barriers caused by shyness. "Ivanov recruits all people. From children to elderly, female or male. Don't just assume that a drunken teenager is a drunken teenager."

  There was a silence again as they took in my words before they dispersed. CJ squatted down next to the bed as Karl stood up, his arms crossed.

  CJ got some medical supplies ready, but I stopped him for a moment.

  "Would it be okay if I showered first? I'd really like to wash the...tank water off of me," I said slowly.

  CJ turned to Karl, looking for guidance. Since he was calling the shots, I looked Karl's way also. He seemed to think about it. "Ya, sure. Go ahead and shower, but you have to make it quick."

  I nodded, but CJ gripped my arm to stop me. "We're serious, Callie. You have to be fast. Doc Scott is worried about infection. We need to get you looked at to see if we have to go to the hospital or not."

  I tensed up. "No hospitals."

  "We may not have a choice, Callie,” CJ said. “We're sorry. You're worried about Ivanov killing you if he finds you, but it won't make much of a difference if you die from infection."

  I was shaking my head before he even finished talking. "It's not just my life on the line now. If you take me to the hospital, he's going to know you're helping me. You'll be killed as well. At least," I paused, trying to put into words what it was I wanted to say. "At least if I die from infection on the way out of Europe, I'll still know that you guys are okay."

  I had caused enough death in my life, killed enough people.

  "I promise you, Callie," Karl said. "That we will be okay, but we're not just going to stand by and let you die in front of us when there was something that we could've done. It's not happening. We've compromised this far, but I'm putting my foot down on this."

  A feeling of helplessness rose in me followed by hot anger. I was supposed to be free now, but I certainly didn't feel it. I had been forced to kill people before—granted for nefarious reasons, but that was what was happening right now. I was going to be forced to kill these men. Maybe not by my hand directly, but it would still be my fault. And they would still be dead. I swiped away at my tears in frustration.

  "Stop," CJ said. "Whatever you're thinking, stop it."

  I didn't acknowledge him. Instead, I pulled as hard as I could to get free. CJ instantly released me when he felt me beginning to tug, and I felt slightly ashamed for my line of thought earlier thinking these people were anything close to what Ivanov had been like. I stopped that shame fast, though. I was tired of having people's deaths over my head, willing or not. No matter how nice they were, that wasn't going to change the outcome. Dead was dead.

  Before the door shut, Karl gave me an ultimatum of ten minutes to finish or they would be barging in.

  I didn't argue. They could barge in all they wanted. I wasn't going to be finished in ten minutes. It would take me probably that much time alone to work through all the knots in my gnarled hair. But, more power to them, I guessed.

  I looked around the small room. It had a toilet, pedestal sink, and a small shower. It was everything that a backpacker could need. The walls were peeling with old blue wallpaper that made the whole place seem like it should be on some apocalyptic movie. There was only one dull, fluorescent bulb that emitted a low buzzing sound. It seemed to be straining as if it could burn out at any moment.

  Two threadbare towels were already hanging up on a heating rack near the shower. A quick glance inside the shower let me know that there was bar soap, a razor, and shampoo. Conditioner would have helped a lot towards untangling my hair, but I was just glad that I wouldn't have to walk around smelling like death anymore.

  There weren't any windows—not that I was trying to escape, but if we needed to run, I would be trapped in here.

  That more than Karl's threats got me in and out of the shower in just a little over ten minutes.

  After wasting time trying to figure out the complex puzzle of the hot and cold taps, I was efficient. I let the water run over me, making sure to keep my eyes open to avoid any unpleasant flashbacks. The bar soap was sweet and smelled like rosemary and lavender. I used nearly the whole thing scrubbing my skin raw because I kept imagining that I could still smell the tank...that I could feel Kaz's blood spattered on my face.

  After that, I even indulged a little and shaved. Last, I went to work on my hair. I also ended up using most of the shampoo, but I couldn't bring myself to worry too much. It felt too good to be clean again. The others could go a day with their hair.