2 Meadow is My Wife

Ivan POV "Who will you be taking to Nikoli's wedding, Ivan? You know your mother will expect you to have a beautiful woman on your arm as the leader of this family," Dimtri says. I glare at him. He has the good sense to drop his gaze to the floor. "I don't care what my mother wants. She has no say in what I do. She should concern herself with her own marriage. There is only one woman that will ever be on my arm, my wife." "Ivan, Meadow is gone. She has been gone for five years. She isn't coming back. She didn't love you, Ivan. She left without a word over a misunderstanding. Had she simply stayed she would have realized that both you and Danica were drugged. She didn't trust you enough to stay. That is not love," he says. Anger bubbles up inside me as I stare at the man I had considered as close as a brother until Meadow came into my life. "It's time to move on. The three of us have been friends for many years. My sister would gladly agree to an arranged marriage. She has loved you since we were children, Ivan. She will give you strong children and a son that will one day sit in your chair as Pakhan. You could grow love here if you simply let go of the woman that didn't love you enough to stay," he says. "Danica knows our business and the demands that you have as Pakhan. Meadow was never made for this life. She wasn't worthy of standing by," he starts to say. My gun is out of its holster and pointed at his head before he can finish his sentence. "Don't you ever speak about my wife again. I wouldn't touch your sister with a dying man's d**k, let alone mine. She is lucky she had drugs in her system the day I woke up next to her in bed naked, or she would be f**king dead already. You and your parents are the only reason she still breathes. Don't make me rethink my decision. Meadow is my wife and will be till the day I take my last breath." "If you ever suggest such a thing again, I will forget our decades of friendship, Dimtri. I'll put the f**king bullet in your head and make my brother Alexi my second. Do we understand each other, Dimtri?" "Yes, Pakhan. I'm sorry. I will remember my place. I will not speak about your wife again," he says. "Speaking of my beautiful wife, have we found any more leads?" "No, Pakhan, it's like she disappeared into thin air. We still have no idea how she got out of the mansion undetected. The camera feeds were tampered with so she can't have acted alone. She must have had help, but we have found no traitors among the men that were serving as her guards that day," he says. "Where is Ivana? I still can't believe that Meadow hasn't contacted her in all this time. They were so close when we all lived in the mansion together. They were like sisters." "Maybe they had a falling out. She was very angry the night before Meadow left. Meadow may have done something to upset Ivana. She has been very tight-lipped about whatever happened. She knows none of us will torture her for information without solid proof that she knows why Meadow left. You know your father will not be happy if you hurt his princess," he says. "I wouldn't hurt my sister no matter how strained our relationship has become. Bring her to my office. I need to speak to her about Nikoli bride's dress. I want to make sure it is ready. It is my gift to Jasmine as the head of our family." "She has left for the week, Pakhan. I thought you knew. She said she had last-minute things to attend to before the ceremony," he says. Something in my gut tells me it is more than that. "Where did she go?" "Do you really believe your sister told me of her plans, Ivan? She hates me," he says. He isn't wrong. Even growing up she thought he was an a**hole. She had never been friendly with him, but it seemed to have gotten worse after Meadow left. Could he have had a part in her running? No, he wouldn't. He is practically a brother to me even if he wishes I would take his wretched sister as a bride. I'd rather cut my own d**k off. He knows how much I love Meadow. My other brothers are ten years younger than me, so I knew that Dimtri would be my second when my father passed me his title. Dimtri has always been loyal, and he is almost as ruthless as me. "Find out where the hell she went and what solider went with her." "Yes, Pakhan," he says before leaving my office. Once the door closes behind him, I pick the picture up that still sits on my desk. My beautiful Meadow on the day I made her mine. God I miss her. I miss holding her and kissing her. I miss just lying in bed and listening to her soft snores. I wish I knew why she ran. The only thing that makes sense is she saw the scene in our room and drew conclusions that weren't true, but why wouldn't she confront me? Scream and shout at me for being a cheating ba**ard. Throw things but give me a chance to explain. I haven't thought about another woman since the moment she stepped into the dining room of that mom-and-pop Italian restaurant in little Italy. I run my hand down my face as I take the seat behind the desk that is now mine. I won't ever give up Meadow. You are mine. Thirty minutes later, Dimtri is stepping back into my office. I can tell whatever he is about to tell me is going to piss me off. "Pakhan, Ivana didn't take a solider with her on her trip. She also didn't take the family jet. She flew on a commercial flight," he says. "What the f**k? Why the hell would she put herself at risk? She knows better than to traipse around unguarded." I pull my phone from my pocket and dial my sister. Two rings later, she rejects the call. I immediately dial her again. This time she has the good sense to pick up the call. "Brother, what can I help you with," she asks, trying to sound non-chalant. "Where the f**k are you?" "Well, hello to you too, Ivan," she says. "Ivana, I'm losing my patience. Answer my f**king question." "Not that I owe you an answer, since you aren't my papa, but I'm putting some final touches on Jasmine's dress. I needed some materials that I couldn't find in Russia. Do not worry brother, I'll be home in time to do her last fitting. She will be the most beautiful Russian bride," she says. "Mommy, I want a snack," says a tiny voice. "Who the hell was that? Where are you Ivana? Don't make me ask you again?" "Brother, I'm losing you. The reception here is very bad. I'll call you back when I get close to a cell tower," she says, and the call disconnects. I dial another number because she is definitely keeping something from me. "Pakhan," my best hacker says. "Gigor, I need you to track Ivana's phone. I want her location within the hour. I also want to know how many times she has made the trip to wherever the hell she is right now." I don't wait for an answer before disconnecting the call. I dismiss Dimitri and move to look out my wall of windows. Memories of my beautiful wife playing in the snow when we first arrived in Russia flood my mind. God, I miss you malyshka (baby girl). I wish you were in front of me right now so I could spank your a** red for leaving me before taking you to bed and reminding who you belong to. My phone rings, interrupting my inner monologue. "Pakhan, Ivana is in a small town in Nebraska called Minden. She has visited there many times over the last five years. She usually takes commercial flights and stays for around two weeks, although this time she is only planning to stay a week," he says. When he says five years, my heart starts to race. Could it be a coincidence that she has been going to Nebraska for the same amount of time my wife has been missing? "Before you ask Pakhan, there is no record of her staying in any hotel, bed and breakfast, or motel in the town or the surrounding towns," he says. "Thank you, Gigor," I say and cut the call. She wouldn't help her hide from me. She knows how devastated I've been. She wouldn't watch me suffer and say nothing. I slam my eyes shut because, as much as I want to believe all those things, my gut is telling me my bride is hiding in an unassuming town in f**king Nebraska. What's worse is if I'm right, my sister knew. I pull my phone from my pocket. I dial my pilot first and my brother second. Alexi picks up on the first ring. Despite being only twenty, he has proved he is more than capable of helping me rule our family. Something in my gut tells me that I need him by my side for this trip. Not only for the possibility of finding my bride, but to keep me from killing our sister. "Alexi, I need you to meet me at the tarmac in one hour. Bring enough clothes for a week." "I'll be there," he says, without a question about where we are going or why. When I hang up my stomach is in knots. A flutter of excitement at the possibility of seeing Meadow has my feet carrying me out of my office and down the long hallway that leads toward my wing of the mansion. I push open the door to our room and step inside. Once I'm in the walk-in closet, I run my hands down Meadow's clothes. I pull her favorite T-shirt from the hanger and bring it to my nose. The scent of her is long gone, but I try to imagine her peach scent. I know I am not a man that deserves God's favor after all the evil deeds I've done in my life, but I pray anyway. Pray that I finally have my wife back in my arms where she belongs. This time I will burn down the world if she ever tries to leave me again.