by A. Zavarelli
“This was the fucking deal!” I snarl.
“We had a deal too.” He spits into my face. “Loyalty? Do you remember that fucking word, you worthless sack of shit?”
“Let her go, and you can do whatever you want to me.”
“The only way she’s walking out of here alive is if you kill me.” His face mottles with red as he digs the barrel into my scalp. “And that’s not going to happen.”
Vasily shoves me forward, the gun finding a home in my shoulder blade as he prods me along. “Now take a fucking seat. You’re going to watch this show from the VIP section.”
He shoves me across the warehouse and orders me into a chair directly opposite of Kat. But I can’t fucking move. When my gaze locks onto her bruised and bloody body, my only instinct is to get to her. She’s barely conscious, her eye so swollen I don’t even know if she can see me.
“Kat.”
She moans, and Vasily slams the butt of his gun into the side of my head, dazing me.
“I told you to sit the fuck down!” he thunders.
On instinct, I try to take a swing at him, but he jumps back, aiming the gun right at Kat’s head.
“Don’t even try me, you stupid fuck. I’ll put a bullet in her head so fast you won’t have time to blink.”
I meet his gaze, forcing myself to keep my temper in check. “What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Want?”
“I told you.” He looks at me with unbridled disgust. “I want to see your blood paint this floor. But first, you get to suffer. Just like Andrei suffered.”
“Andrei was the biggest piece of shit and waste of human space that ever breathed on this earth,” I clip out. “I did you a favor. I did the entire fucking world a favor.”
The vein in Vasily’s forehead throbs as he clenches his jaw, trembling with unchecked rage. I know it’s not fucking smart to provoke him, but I need a distraction.
“There isn’t a line you won’t cross, is there?” I ask him. “Your own sister. Your own flesh and blood.”
Vasily’s face pales, his gaze intensifying as he studies me. “How long have you known?”
“I’ve always suspected.” I glare at him. “You never did anything out of the kindness of your heart. You took me in and turned me into exactly what she didn’t want.”
“She was a fucking traitor!” The words fly from his lips with such violence, I can’t believe I didn’t see his hatred for her all these years. How blind I was to the fact that I’d been living with the monster all along.
“You let your filthy spawn… touch her. Her own fucking nephew. You sick, depraved motherfucker!”
I want him to come for me. I want him to focus his rage on me, but being the coward that Vasily is, he always chooses the easiest fight. It still fucking shocks me to witness his depravity when he grabs Kat by the hair and backhands her. Blood flies from her mouth, and it triggers every animal instinct inside me as I lunge forward, tackling Vasily to the ground. He digs the gun into my ribs and pulls the trigger, but by some fucking miracle, it jams.
“Motherfuck!” He slams his knee up into my gut, and I choke back the pain as I twist his fingers back, trying to pry the gun from his grasp.
His bones crack, and he groans as I headbutt him, dazing him long enough to grab the weapon and toss it out of his reach.
“Now we’re even.” I spit into his face. “So fight me like a man, you pathetic fuck.”
Vasily swings his knee up again, this time hitting me in the groin. I buckle for a split second, and he thrashes me in the temple with his elbow. We’re both running on pure rage and adrenaline as we grapple for dominance.
“You killed my father too.” I wrap my fingers around his throat and squeeze. “Admit it. Admit that you destroyed my entire family.”
A demonic smile curls across his face as he bends my fingers back, trying to pry me off him. “Everything you have ever loved, I have destroyed, Lev. Your father, your mother, your little bitch. When this is over, they will all have died by my will. Because I’m the fucking god you could never be. I’m the true Vor. And your father was just as weak as you. He died like a pathetic fuck, gasping for breath and pleading for mercy.”
I land a solid blow to his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs, and it gives me the time I need to stagger to my feet. My boot slams into his rib cage, and he curls into a ball as I stomp on his face, shattering his nose.
He chokes on his own blood as it pours into his mouth, and I kick him again and again, watching him writhe on the floor in pain as he fights to get up. But it’s too late. He’s already one foot in the grave, and I’m not finishing until I send him straight to hell.
“Who’s your god now, motherfucker?”
Blood spatters against my face as I grab a chunk of brick and kneel onto his chest, smashing it into his skull. Rage opens up the floodgates inside me as I slam the brick into him, over and over, painting the floor with his blood.
“Who’s your fucking god now?” I roar again.
“Lev.” Gleb’s voice snaps me out of my murderous haze as he reaches down and pries the brick from my fingers. “He’s dead.”
As my eyes clear, and I wipe the blood from my face, I look down at what used to be Vasily’s head. But now, it’s nothing more than blood and fragments of skull, his useless brains spilling out.
“He’s dead,” Gleb repeats.
“No.” I stagger to my feet and grab the Glock strapped to my ankle.
He can’t be dead. That was too easy for him. That’s what I keep telling myself as I unload an entire magazine into his body, watching as he flops around like a fish on the concrete floor. I feel no satisfaction when the blood oozes from his wounds. But one word from Gleb snaps me out of it.
“Katerina.”
Kat. The Glock falls from my grasp, and I turn to her. She’s not conscious, but one of Gleb’s men has untied her.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” Gleb says. “Now.”
The guy in front of her tries to pick her up, and I shove him out of the way. “No. She’s mine.”
With all the delicacy I can muster, I scoop her up into my arms and try to wake her, peppering her bloody face with kisses.
“Wake up, baby. I’m here. I’m here, and I’m never leaving you again. So, you can’t leave me either. That’s the deal.”
Gleb grabs me by the arm, dragging me along out of the warehouse while he orders a couple of his guys to stay behind and clean up.
“Wake up, baby,” I say again, kissing her forehead. “I’m here.”
“Lev. Get in.” Gleb opens the door to his SUV, and I climb in, clutching Kat against my chest.
My eyes burn, and something splashes against Kat’s cheek, and that’s when I realize it’s coming from my eyes.
“Katya.” I clutch her face in my hands. “Don’t leave me, baby. I can’t do this without you.”
The engine in the SUV roars to life, and I don’t even know what’s happening right now. Gleb issues orders, and his man drives, flying like a bat out of hell to the nearest hospital. But all I can focus on is Kat. My angel. My life. I can’t fucking lose her.
I don’t even realize I’m saying it out loud until Gleb turns around. “You won’t, son.”
But how can he know that? How did he even find us?
“My guys hacked into your GPS system a week ago,” he tells me, answering another question I didn’t even know I said out loud. “It was a safety precaution until this blew over.”
I rock Kat in my arms, stroking her hair back away from her face. Nothing else matters right now. I just need her to wake up.
“Stay with me, baby.” I whisper against her temple. “You just have to stay with me.”
22
Lev
Kat’s hand twitches in mine, and for a second, I drag my eyes up to her face with a hope I haven’t felt in days. But beneath the bandages and the wires, and the monitors beeping around her, nothing has changed.
When we arrived at the hospital, I didn’t kn
ow what to expect when they made me hand her off. I just told them they had to save her. It was the only thing I could manage. After the medical staff took her away, it felt like days had passed before we finally saw a doctor. All she could tell us was that Kat had sustained a lot of head trauma, and now the entire team keeps assuring me that this medically-induced coma will reduce the swelling in her brain and give her the best chances of survival. Best, but not guaranteed. They never say that. They never say much of anything other than they are taking it one day at a time.
Beside me, Gleb sits like a sentinel, quiet and pensive. He’s been here the entire time, and even though we haven’t managed to say much to each other, our shared grief is enough. I’m grateful for his presence, and in a way, I find it comforting and odd. I’ve only known the man a short while, but it’s become clear to me that his strong, steady presence is that of a father figure. He was a father before he ever knew it. And I think in some strange way, he is the father figure I’d been looking for in Vasily for half of my life.
One thing I can’t regret is bringing him and Kat together. While I’ve been sitting here, feeling helpless, he’s called every specialist on the East Coast to ensure Kat’s getting the best possible treatment. Some have shown up personally while others review her medical chart from wherever they are and offer their opinions. But even though I don’t doubt Gleb has assembled the best medical team in the nation, it doesn’t change anything. Time. That’s all they keep telling us. She just needs time.
“When this is over…” His voice stirs me from my thoughts. “I want you to get her out of this world, Lev. I don’t want this life for her.”
I meet his gaze, the certainty in his tone a comfort I haven’t known before. When this is over. Not if.
“I did what I set out to do,” I answer. “I’m done. When I bring Kat home, I’m going to be the most boring fuck she’s ever met in her life. I’ll put on a polo, go to work, whatever it takes. I don’t care. I’m leaving this chapter behind, and she’s coming with me.”
“Good.” Gleb nods. “But don’t go too far, okay? I just met her. I want to see you guys around, maybe even watch my grandkids grow up. It would be a nice change of pace for me.”
“I’ll have to talk to Kat.” My voice is thick. “But I think she’d like that too.”
“You should eat something,” he grunts. “Or go take a shower. It won’t do her any good to wake up and find you looking like hell.”
“I can’t leave her.” I swallow. “Not until I know she’s okay.”
“It’s going to take time,” he says. “Remember what the doctors said?”
I do. They told us that Kat is unconscious, but she will likely have glimpses of awareness of her surroundings. She’ll dream a lot and try to make sense of things in her own mind. And it’s very likely that she’ll hear us on occasion, so I’ve made it a point to tell her every day to focus on getting better. Not to worry. And I know Gleb is right. If she’s in there, listening to us like they say, she’s probably yelling at me for not doing better. Taking care of myself. Going to see Josh. I’m failing at everything, and it’s ripping my fucking heart out.
“I’m going to go grab a cup of coffee,” I tell Gleb to appease him. “And call Josh.”
He nods, and I disappear into the void of the hallway. The scent of disinfectant and crappy hospital food burns my nostrils as my shoes squeak across the floor. When I get to the cafeteria and grab a coffee, the lady at the register offers me a sympathetic smile. She’s seen me every day for the past week.
“One of these days, you should try the food too, ,” she suggests. “I hear it’s quite the novelty.”
“Thanks.” I nod. “I’ll think about it.”
I take a seat by the window and pull the lid off my cup, letting the steam billow out while I grab my phone and pull up Maxim’s number. I’ve never been more grateful for the old man in my entire life. If he wasn’t with Josh right now, I don’t even know how I’d be able to stay with Kat.
“Hey,” he answers on the second ring. “The sun is out. I’m hoping that means there’s good news today.”
“Not yet,” I tell him. “How’s everything going there?”
“We’re doing just fine,” he answers. “Josh is running me ragged, but it’s good for an old man to be young at heart again. You want to talk to the little fella?”
“Please.”
He pulls up the video chat, something Josh had to show him how to do, and I force a smile when my boy’s face comes into view. He has what looks like blueberry and marshmallow smeared across his cheek, and I can only imagine what he’s been eating this week. Gleb gave him free rein to order anything he wants from the housekeeper, and it looks like Josh is taking full advantage of that.
“How are you, buddy?” I ask.
“Good.” He smiles. “Uncle Maxim and I are going swimming again today. He said if I beat him across the pool again, then I get ice cream.”
“Uncle Maxim?”
I quirk a brow, and Maxim shrugs in the background. “It’s new. I figured—”
“It’s perfect,” I tell him. We might have the most fucked-up family in the world, but we are a family. Just last week, I explained to Josh that Gleb is his grandfather, and he accepted it with one simple question. Could he go swimming at Grandpa Gleb’s all the time?
“So, ice cream, huh?” I force my voice to be light as I examine Josh’s happy face. “Are you getting any veggies in there too?”
“He’s having some carrots with lunch,” Maxim assures me.
Josh nods. “And chicken nuggets.”
“Well, you keep holding down the fort for me, okay, buddy? I’m going to keep taking care of Mommy, but I promise I’ll come to see you just as soon as I can.”
“Is Mommy’s owie better?” he asks, hope shining in his eyes.
Acid burns my throat as I nod. “She’s still getting lots of rest so she can try to get rid of the owie.”
“Can you give her a hug for me?” Josh asks. “And tell her that I beat Uncle Maxim at swimming?”
“I’ll tell her,” I assure him. “I love you, buddy.”
He grins, blue lips stretching wide. “I love you too, Daddy.”
Maxim takes the phone off video chat and gets back on the line. “Are you sure I can’t bring you anything? A change of clothes? Something to eat?”
“No, I’m good. I just appreciate you staying with Josh. I feel better having him there.”
Even though the threat is gone, it doesn’t mean my worries are. I think when it comes to my family, I will always worry.
“Take care of yourself, kid,” Maxim says. “And next time you call, give me some good news.”
“I’m trying, old man.”
We say our goodbyes and disconnect the line. I drink my coffee in silence, mulling over the uncertainties of the future. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Kat, but I know that the doctors told me I’m going to be a father again, if Kat can sustain the pregnancy.
In any other circumstances, I’d be over the fucking moon with pride and excitement. This time was supposed to be different. We were supposed to do it together. But instead, the reality is I might be doing alone, if it ends up happening at all. And nothing about that scenario is ever going to be okay.
23
Kat
I’m floating. That’s the first sensation I register. It’s bright. There’s light all around me but not from any source that I can see. Just bright white light.
Am I dead? I don’t feel my body. I just feel myself float as if I’m supported on a puff of air.
Did I die?
Panic washes over me, and the sensation passes.
Josh.
If I’m dead, I can’t be there for Josh. What if Lev’s dead too? What if he ends up in foster care, and what if a couple like the Georges get him? What if...
“Shh, baby.”
I’m instantly calmed by the voice. The noise I’d barely registered levels out in the background
.
I look around. I’m floating again.
A glimpse of red hair catches my eye. It’s fleeting. There, then gone, then back.
She’s here. And even though her back is to me, I know it’s her. I know. She’s holding something. Cradling it. I can tell from the way she’s standing.
I sit up. It takes some effort, and when I look down at myself, my hands are bruised and deathly white, and there are wires everywhere.
I shake my head, looking up at her again.
“Mom?”
She turns like she just realized I was there, and she smiles, and she’s so beautiful that I feel my eyes fill up with tears. She’s just like I remember from when I was little. When she’d hold me as I fell asleep and I’d hold on to her hair like Josh does to mine.
“I miss you, Mom.”
“My baby girl all grown up.” I hear the words even though her lips don’t move.
“Am I dead?” I ask. The peaceful feeling fades again, panic filling me instead.
She tilts her head to the side and looks sad for a moment, but then she smiles again. A reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her,” she says.
As soon as her words are out, I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. The floating sensation is gone, replaced by sound, too much sound. Machines and people and pain. Oh my god, the pain.
“She’s bleeding,” a woman calls out, and I hear the sudden frantic activity around me.
“Kat? Fuck. Get the fuck off me!”
Lev.
More noise. People are yelling, and Lev is yelling too.
I open my eyes, blink at the fluorescent lights, at all the activity around me, the faces of strangers, pain in my back and stomach, warmth between my legs.
“I’m here, Kat! I’m here!”
It hurts. It hurts so much.
Something pierces my arm, and the pain begins to lessen.
“Kat?”
I can follow his voice now, and I see him. I see him beyond all those faces, and he looks wrecked. Like he hasn’t slept in days. Like he’s been through hell.
