The Assassin’s Billionaire Bodyguard
Chapter 58

drive parked behind it.

Isabella was feeling numb as Clara walked her back into Cam's house. They had barely spoke on the drive from the hospital to the house. Isabella noted all of her friends' cars were gone but Sabine's car was still there, and Gideon's Aston Martin was sitting in the "We had fight night with olive oil," Isabella spoke suddenly as they climbed the front stairs.

Clara chuckled, "I know. Cat sent me a video of you knocking Gideon on his a*s by pulling on his pants. Elian told me to ask you about whether you have a drinking problem. I told him it didn't look like you had any problems drinking at all." Isabella smiled, "I have good metabolism. Feeling surprisingly well this morning."

"Cat also sent me a text message saying you screamed the house down."

"It's a lie," she shook her head, "Torres' bedroom is sound proofed because he can't stand the sound of the guys when he's trying to sleep."

"Genius. I wonder if I can get soundproofing for my bedroom," Clara muttered.

"Also, Cam's going to build a guest house on the property for me."

"What?" Clara made a face. "He doesn't want you to live in the house?"

"Ha! Just what I said. No, I guess Portia suggested he give me a 'she-shed' so I could get away from the crowds on occasion. He and Gideon liked the idea so much it's going to be a cottage. He's going to pick your brain on setting me up like my house in Queens." "Wow. This guy must love you and also I can't believe Portia suggested it."

"Right?" Isabella smiled grimly as she rubbed her chest. "I feel like I've been kicked in the ribs."

Clara patted her back. "Let's go tell them what happened."

Before she could even reach for the door handle, the door sprung open, and Portia was hanging around her neck sobbing, and Casper was yipping at her feet.

"Oh," Isabella looked to Clara as if unsure of what to do. Clara just shook her head as if she also didn't know and walked past the girls into the house. "Torres, what's a woman got to do to get a drink around here?"

"It's eleven in the morning, Draxton," Cam called back as he came out of the living room. He watched as Isabella guided Portia into the house.

"Yet, I believe you have scotch in your hand," Clara waved at him.

"She just keeps crying," he groaned as he moved to the liquor cabinet, poured Clara a drink, and passed her the tumbler.

Sabine leaned forward on the sofa. "Well. What happened?"

"I'm going to let Isabella tell you because it involves her far more than me."

"Hey, Raisa went to you for a reason."

"She came to me because she wanted me to get her out of the country."

"Why?" Sabine interrupted the banter.

"Raisa was with Evgeni in the early morning hours, and he got a little crazy with her."

"Crazy how?"

"Turns out," Isabella pushed Portia down onto the sofa next to Sabine and gave Sabine a pointed look as if instructing her to keep her there. Isabella scooped Casper into her arms and sat in Cam's oversized armchair.

"It turns out Evgeni was hiding a very cruel dark side and was in reality a murderous psychopath. He told Raisa he was going to murder Portia for putting Cam in my path," she heard Portia gasp. "He also told her the plan the week I met Cam was to put me on a plane to Russia, kidnap me, keep me drugged and get me pregnant."

Cam squeezed his tumbler so tightly it cracked in his hands, and he threw it across the room into a bin in a rage. Isabella held up her hand, "your anger is not helpful right now." She gave a pointed look to Portia who was shaking under Sabine's arm. He nodded once understanding her glance and then sat on the arm of the sofa and rubbed Portia's shoulder comfortingly. "Evgeni was angry because Portia asking her father to get involved interfered with his plans therefore, he wanted her dead."

"Also, it turns out there was another girl he knew from school, who he had done the exact same thing to, but he ended up killing her when she proved to be incapable of carrying a child to term." Clara tossed in as she sipped her drink. "This is good stuff." She moved to the cabinet and added to her glass. "He apparently has been looking for a breeder."

"Oh my God," Sabine's hand went over her mouth. "No."

"He confessed all of this to his mother. Raisa recorded some of it and played it for us. It seems she thought Mikhail would be angry with her." Isabella almost whispered to the group. Gideon's curse echoed around them.

"Why would he be angry with her for Evgeni being a psycho?" Sabine questioned and then her lips formed an o as she saw Isabella's tilt of her head. "No, she didn't - "

"She did." Isabella shook her head in disbelief. "Killed her own son. Thought Mikhail would punish her or kill her for it."

"This might be the most effed up thing I've ever heard," Portia said suddenly through her tears, "and last night a lady sent me a dead rat."

"Someone sent you a rat?" Clara turned and looked in confusion.

"Cam's ex sent her a rat because Portia caught her making out with someone. Apparently, Portia ordered a dress from the store she's working at and felt it was kismet." Clara made a face, "what are you going to do?"

"Artemis said to let Cam see to it."

"We should go shopping," Sabine said seriously.

"I'm in," Isabella said. "I'd like to see what kind of girl Cam dated before me."

"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Cam interrupted the conversation jumping up from the sofa impatiently betraying how uncomfortable he was with the change in topic.

"Yes. Right." Isabella nodded seriously, "Raisa killed Evgeni because he was a murderous rapist. She went to Clara to get her out of the country because she thought Mikhail would kill her. Mikhail immediately forgave her, told her he loved her and said she did the right thing in protecting their family which includes all of us," Isabella waved her arm around the room. "Mikhail said he would take care of everything and Raisa is safe now. Nobody will ever know."

"Also, Raisa is FSB. We learned that today." Clara threw out.

"I knew already," Isabella wrinkled her brow. "How did you not know?"

"How did you know?"

"Artemis gave me Evgeni's file."

"Who is Artemis?" Portia asked.

"Nobody," the five other people in the room all said simultaneously.

"Which means she's above all of your heads," Portia said with the first hint of a smile since Cam had told her of Evgeni's demise.

Isabella chuckled, "exactly."

Clara grinned, "she's smarter than we give her credit for. Did you give her Dylan's number yet?"

"She doesn't need his number. He's too old," Cam argued.

"Pfft," Sabine threw her hands up, "at Portia's age I was on husband number two."

"What?" Cam asked incredulously.

"Well, granted I had my first one at twelve and my second one at eighteen," Sabine shrugged. She mock-whispered to Portia, "I killed them both and fled to America."

"No way," Portia asked in amazement.

"Never happened," Clara gave pointed glances at Sabine and Isabella and then pointed her glass in Cam's direction, "things you would never have uncovered in your deep dive of our bios."

"Speaking of, can you remove the virus of your face from our system?" Gideon begged. "I let Isabella beat me up and I wasn't even part of the agreement."

"I'll think about it," she finished her drink. "I'm going home. I need to sleep." Clara started to walk to the door, "also, just as we were leaving, Mikhail told me to tell you to implement Operation Roundup, whatever that means." Gideon immediately stood up and left the room without another word.

"What's Operation Roundup?" Portia asked curiously.

Isabella looked at her, "Portia, here's a tip from one woman to another, never, not ever, ask a question you know deep down in your gut you don't want the answer to."

Portia turned her head in Isabella's direction. "Deep in my gut?"

"Yup, you know deep down you're afraid of the answer. If you're afraid of the answer, don't ask the question unless you're ready to deal with the fallout of the answer."

Sabine grinned, "like when you eat one of Elian's concoctions and it tastes off, just stop eating and don't ask what's in it." Both Isabella and Sabine cackled madly at the dirty look Clara sent their way before leaving the room mumbling under her breath something about kangaroo meat.

Isabella tapped Cam's tense leg with her outstretched foot, "I can feel you vibrating to get out of here. You want to follow Gideon so go."

Portia looked to her dad who was staring at her seriously and got up from the sofa and moved to hug him. Cam stood and wrapped her tight in his arms and she kissed his cheek, "seriously Dad, you can go. Isabella's home now. Sabine is here too. I think I've cried enough over a psychopath. I can't believe I was in love with him."

"Even Ted Bundy had someone who loved him," Isabella offered dryly.

Portia groaned at her words, "not helpful. Did he really kidnap and kill someone?"

"Supposedly," she shrugged, "Raisa is pretty traumatised but I'm wondering how much she left out. I'm betting there was way more she didn't tell us. I can't imagine killing your own son."

Cam shook his head, "I don't know how she did it, but she did us all a favor." He saw Portia's stunned expression, "sorry pumpkin, I know you loved the guy but the best place for him is buried six feet."

Portia stepped out of his hug, "I know at some point, I'll probably agree with you but right now, it seems too soon to be saying it was for the best." She patted his chest, "Isabella's right though, I can see you're chomping at the bit so go do whatever you need to do." After he left the room, Portia standing over Isabella's chair asked quietly, "what do you think they're going to do?"

"They're going to round up all of Evgeni's thugs and take them out."

Portia's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to," Sabine repeated Isabella's words. "Come on, we should do something to distract ourselves. Let's go shopping."

"Dad isn't going to allow us to go," Portia argued.

"Can't deny us permission if we don't ask for it," Isabella smirked slyly.

"I don't know. I'm in so much trouble with Dad already from the last time I snuck out."

Sabine tugged her hand. "Sweetheart, you're with two of the women who dragged you out of the hellhole. Do you really think we'd let anything happen to you? Also, maybe we should call Jesse and see if she wants to come. She lives with her brother and if we scoot along and pick her up, Dylan might say hi."

"Oh," Portia perked up.

"I can get us a table at Elian's pizza place. Maybe Amelia will want to come too."

"Why wasn't she here last night?" Portia asked suddenly as she watched Sabine disappear up the stairs, "also where is she going?"

"Amelia was supposed to be here but one of her patients went into labour and it was someone who really wanted a drug-free homebirth." Isabella shuddered, "not sure why anyone would want to such a thing. And Sabby is going to get us a change of clothes. She hates the clothes I'm wearing, and she knows you would want to change. Before you protest, if you change in the house, your dad will know what's up."

"Where am I going to change?"

"In the car."

"Whose car?"

"Sabby's. She's going to drive right out the front gate, and nobody will know."

"He'll know."

"No, he won't." Isabella countered, "I get you think you were all clever and stuff sneaking down the back hill to Andropov's car but sweetheart, you're looking at a woman who managed to sneak out all the time on Carolina Ruiz. Take notes."

"Your mother is scary as hell." Portia opened her eyes. "I'm positive my dad kills people for a living and your mother scares me more. Also, should you be encouraging me to sneak out. Aren't you supposed to be loyal to my dad?"

"I am loyal to your dad, but I also am opposed to systemic oppression of women by men. Grounding you when you're nineteen is a caveman tactic and he doesn't own you. You need to take responsibility for your fuckups and own them and then make sure you don't repeat them. But honestly, you're not going to grow as a person if you don't screw up."

"This is why you're three-point-oh," Sabine said as she slunk back in the room. "Wise beyond your years and patient as f**k. I'd have dragged her to the car by now." She held a bag up and looked pointedly at Portia, "you in or out?"

"In." she said resolutely, her blue eyes nervously scanning beyond Sabine for any sign of her father.

Isabella grinned. "Get her in the car. I'll go make sure Casper is good with Myriam and I'll meet you by the gate."

"See you in three?"

"Two," Isabella promised and scooped Casper from the sofa. "C'mon buddy. You're a vital part of this mission." "What mission?" Portia whispered as Sabine dragged her way.

Sabine whispered in her ear and Portia's eyes grew round and then she giggled. "Oh my god this is going to be crazy."