Ulyana POV
Ulyana felt like her heart might beat right out of her chest. The call with Rowan had only ended a few minutes ago, yet she was already replaying every second of it.
Less than eighteen hours.
He'd be here in less than eighteen hours. Now for someone who had just woken up and had lost three weeks, eighteen hours should have felt short.
Instead, it felt impossible.
The anticipation alone might kill her. After ending the call, she immediately called Nikolai back.
The old man answered on the first ring.
"Darling."
"Deda."
A smile entered his voice. "What did young Chairman Volkov say?"
Ulyana couldn't help smiling too. "He'll be here in less than eighteen hours."
A thoughtful hum came through the line.
"I suspected as much."
There was something oddly amused in Nikolai's tone, as though he'd never once doubted Rowan would drop everything and cross continents.
"I'll leave you in his capable hands."
The statement made her heart squeeze. Ulyana understands her Deda does not simply trust anyone easily in normal circumstances, let alone trust anyone with her.
"But I already have men en route to your location."
Ulyana nodded despite him not being able to see it.
"Okay, thank you, Deda."
"You don't need to thank me. And I've sent Bear."
Ulyana immediately sat up straighter, now that got her attention, "Bear?"
Bear wasn't simply security. Bear had been around for so long that she genuinely couldn't remember a time before him.
One of the oldest members of the Vasily security team. And mountain of a man.
He is a quiet, loyal yet terrifying man. The sort of person who could make dangerous men reconsider their life choices simply by standing nearby.
Relief flooded through her. "Okay."
Nikolai sounded satisfied. "Good."
After the call ended, Ulyana found herself feeling restless. She'd spent enough time sitting around recovering, the walls of the house suddenly felt too close.
Too confining.
So when Julio mentioned heading to the workshop, she asked to come along.
The mechanic reluctantly agreed.
Though Selena made him promise to keep an eye on her.
Twice.
By the time they arrived, the workshop was operating as usual, engines, tools, light conversation and spanish music playing on a speaker in the background. The familiar sounds she'd become accustomed to since waking up.
Things were as they should be. Then the workshop door burst open and a young mechanic rushed inside.
Miguel.
The youngest of the group and barely older than a teenager.
He looked panicked. Extremely panicked.
Immediately he began speaking rapid Spanish, far too fast for Ulyana to follow.
The entire workshop fell silent.
Miguel kept talking, pointing, gesturing and looking repeatedly toward Ulyana with a serious look in his eye.
Julio's face slowly lost all colour.
The reaction alone was enough to make Ulyana's stomach drop.
One by one the other mechanics stopped working. Tools lowered and conversations died while everyone listened.
Nobody looked happy.
By the end of Miguel's explanation, every single mechanic in the room was staring at her with the same look.
Ulyana swallowed. "…¿Que?"
The word came out much smaller than intended.
Julio looked at her then rubbed a hand across his face searching for the English words.
Finally he spoke., "The bad men."
Ulyana immediately froze.
Julio pointed toward the road. "Bad men who bring you."
Her stomach dropped.
"They ask about you."
The workshop suddenly felt very quiet.
Miguel sat down still visibly shaken.
Julio continued. "He hear them."
A gesture toward Miguel.
"He know." The older mechanic's expression grew grim.
"They ask about foreign girl."
The realization hit immediately. Me.
"They ask near crash place." Julio nodded.
"Miguel hear... he run here."
This time nobody spoke.
Nobody moved, because they all understood the same thing. The people responsible for bringing Ulyana to Guadalajara had realized she was missing.
And now...
They were looking for her.
Miguel wasn't finished. The young mechanic continued speaking rapidly to Julio, his voice still shaky from having run all the way back to the workshop and everyone listened.
Julio's expression darkened further with every sentence. Finally he nodded and turned toward Ulyana.
"They search all Guadalajara."
Ulyana became nervous, "What?"
Julio rubbed his forehead trying to find the English words.
"They look for you." He gestured outward toward the city.
"Many places."
Miguel stepped forward and pointed toward a nearby road.
Then toward several different directions.
Sweeping his hand broadly.
Julio translated. "They ask people."
A pause.
"They look at camera."
Ulyana frowned. "Cameras?"
Miguel immediately nodded.
Julio's expression grew grave. "...dash cameras."
Another pause.
"Road cameras."
His eyes flickered toward her. "They look to find what happen."
The men searching for her were actively investigating her disappearance.
Trying to track her movements.
Trying to discover who had found her.
Who had helped her.
Miguel quickly added something else.
Julio listened and looked toward the mechanics andeveral exchanged worried looks.
"Miguel not know if camera see us. He not know if camera show we save you."
If footage existed…
Then eventually someone might connect the dots.
Might discover where she'd been taken.
Who had protected her.
And who had hidden her.
"We need be careful."
Ulyana nodded immediately, the seriousness of the situation finally settling over her.
Then a knock sounded at the workshop door.
Every head snapped toward it, the atmosphere changed instantly. Several mechanics subtly moved closer together.
The knock came again louder this time. Julio immediately turned toward Ulyana.
"Come."
His voice was firm. Without hesitation he ushered her toward the stairs leading up to the mechanic office overlooking the workshop floor.
"What is it?" she whispered.
Julio shook his head. "No know."
He guided her upstairs then placed her inside the office.
"Safe." The older mechanic gave her a reassuring nod.
"Stay."
Downstairs, one of the mechanics cautiously approached the front door and opened it. And immediately the mechanic looked up.
Way up.
Because the man standing there was enormous.
Broad shoulders.
Thick beard.
Powerfully built.
The sort of man who looked capable of moving a truck by hand.
The stranger held up a photograph.
A photograph of Ulyana. "Ulyana."
His voice was deep. Controlled.
The mechanic immediately tensed. "Quién eres?"
The large man answered simply. "Simon Berovic."
A pause.
"Bear."
The mechanic's face remained carefully blank.
Protecting Ulyana.
Protecting Julio.
Protecting everyone.
He shrugged, then said, "No hablas ingles."
Bear blinked then immediately replied in fluent Spanish.
The mechanic's eyes widened.
Several other mechanics looked equally surprised.
Bear continued calmly. "My name is Simon Berovic."
He pointed toward the photograph. "I was sent by her grandfather."
The entire workshop froze.
Upstairs, Ulyana had been listening.
The moment she heard the voice properly, recognition hit instantly.
She knew that voice.
She'd known it for years.
Her eyes widened.
Then before anyone could stop her—She bolted downstairs.
The mechanics turned in surprise.
Bear looked up and immediately froze, genuine emotion crossed his face.
"Bear!"
Ulyana practically ran the remaining distance, tears immediately filling her eyes.
The giant man looked momentarily stunned.
Then relieved.
Profoundly relieved.
"Miss Ulyana." The formal greeting lasted all of half a second.
Because Ulyana immediately threw her arms around him.
"Thank you."
Her voice cracked.
"Thank you."
The words repeated through tears.
Bear awkwardly returned the hug.
Looking vaguely uncomfortable with emotional situations. But his large hand gently rested on the back of her head.
A protective gesture.
A familiar gesture.
The gesture of someone who had spent most of his life keeping her family safe. For the first time since waking up in Mexico Ulyana truly felt like she was going home.
After a few moments, Ulyana finally pulled away from Bear. The giant security veteran looked relieved simply to have eyes on her.
Alive.
Standing.
For someone normally so stoic, the emotion was obvious.
Ulyana quickly wiped her eyes before turning toward the gathered mechanics.
"Bear." She gestured toward Julio and the others.
"These are the people who saved me."
Immediately Bear's attention shifted.
The workshop crew suddenly found themselves under the scrutiny of a very large and very intimidating man.
Ulyana pointed toward Julio. "This is Julio. He's basically the boss of them all."
Julio looked mildly pleased by the title.
Then she began introducing the others.
"They pulled me out of the wreck. They patched me up, fed me and they helped get whatever drugs were in my system out."
Bear listened carefully absorbing every detail, every face, every name.
Every person who had helped her.
"I was taken by my captors about three weeks ago."
Ulyana's voice softened. "I can't remember much about the first eleven days."
The admission felt strange even now and the missing memories still frightened her.
"But these guys found me. They've had me for about ten days."
A pause. She looked toward Julio and the others.
"I was unconscious for most of that time."
Bear's expression darkened.
Then she continued, "I only properly woke up around four days ago."
The giant man nodded slowly, taking in the timeline. Then came the question he clearly cared most about.
"No hospitals?" His voice was calm.
"No hospitals."
"No doctors?"
Ulyana shook her head, then pointed toward one of the mechanics. "Just José."
The mechanic looked surprised to suddenly become the center of attention. José awkwardly lifted a hand.
"He helped me medically."
Bear's eyes immediately moved to him.
Assessing. Not judging just gathering information. The security veteran gave a small nod, another mental note added to the growing list.
Then Ulyana's expression became serious.
"The situation has changed though.The bad men are moving."
Bear's gaze sharpened.
Ulyana quickly explained everything Miguel had overheard.
The questions.
The searching.
The road cameras.
The dash cams.
The fact that people were actively looking for the foreign woman from the crash.
By the time she finished, Bear's expression had become completely unreadable. The kind of expression that usually meant he was already planning six steps ahead.
"They are looking for you now."
"Yes."
The workshop fell silent.
Bear slowly nodded, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. For several seconds he typed a message.
Then another.
Then another.
By the time he finished, Ulyana knew exactly what he had done.
The cavalry was moving.
Finally Bear looked up, his voice calm, "Rest assured, nobody is taking you again."
The statement wasn't emotional.
It wasn't dramatic.
It was simply a fact.
And somehow that certainty reassured everyone in the room.
Even Julio.
Even Miguel.
Even the mechanics.
Because for the first time since hearing the bad men were searching for her, there was someone here who looked completely unbothered by that news.
As though whoever was hunting Ulyana had just become the ones in danger.
Ulyana, Bear, and Julio eventually returned to Julio's home.
The moment Bear stepped through the front door, Ulyana couldn't help but laugh.
The man was enormous. He already looked large in most places.
Inside Julio's modest Mexican home?
He looked positively gigantic. The doorway seemed too small. The kitchen seemed too small.
Even the dining table suddenly appeared miniature.
Bear had to duck through one doorway and nearly knocked a hanging decoration with his shoulder.
Ulyana immediately burst into laughter.
Bear looked down at her unamused or at least pretending to be.
"This is not funny."
"It absolutely is."
Julio was trying not to laugh as well, but the older mechanic failed miserably.
The moment Selena saw Bear, she stopped in the middle of preparing dinner. For several seconds she simply stared, then looked at Julio, then back at Bear. As though she wasn't entirely convinced he was a real person.
The children were even worse.
The four little ones immediately became fascinated.
Completely fascinated.
To them, Bear wasn't a security professional.
He wasn't one of the most respected members of the Vasily security team.
He was simply the biggest human being they'd ever seen. Within minutes they were circling him.
Poking his arm.
Staring up at him.
Attempting to determine whether he was secretly a giant.
One little girl wrapped both arms around his leg.
Another tried to climb him.
A third asked rapid-fire questions in Spanish.
The fourth simply followed him around like a duckling.
Bear looked horrified.
Absolutely horrified.
The man could handle armed threats, international security operations, dangerous assignments.
Four children under five? Entirely different challenge.
Ulyana watched the scene unfold with delight.
"Oh no." She crouched beside the children.
"You should ask him to play."
Bear's head snapped toward her immediately.
The look he gave her was priceless.
Really? The expression was so clear it didn't need words.
Ulyana grinned.
Entirely unapologetic. "Go on."
One of the children immediately grabbed Bear's hand.
Another offered him a toy car.
The giant man looked down at the tiny plastic vehicle sitting in his massive palm. Then looked back at Ulyana.
The expression somehow became even more offended.
She laughed harder.
Selena covered her mouth to hide her own smile.
Julio wasn't even trying anymore.
Meanwhile, despite looking deeply uncomfortable, Bear didn't pull away.
Didn't refuse.
Didn't leave.
Instead he allowed the children to drag him toward the living room.
Where he was promptly assigned a role in whatever game they were playing.
The sight was so absurd that Ulyana found herself smiling wider than she had in days.
Bear eventually surrendered.
Sitting awkwardly on the floor while four tiny children climbed all over him.
Every now and then he'd glance toward Ulyana.
Still looking vaguely betrayed.
Each time she only smiled sweeter which somehow made it worse.
And despite everything that had happened the missing memories, the fear and uncertainty, the men searching for her, the sight of the terrifying Simon "Bear" Berovic being defeated by four small children made the entire house fill with laughter.