by Maya Hughes
He put his gun against my forehead, and I kept my eyes trained on him, but couldn’t help but glance over to check on Elena. She stared back at me, her eyes darting to Erik as fear and sadness warred on her face. Erik tried to push up, but one of Sergei’s guys pressed the gun to the back of his head. I only hoped Alexei would be able to keep her and Dahlia safe when he arrived.
There was a thud outside the room. One of the guys who’d filed in after Elena stepped back to look out the open office door. There was a pop, and the back of his head exploded. A fine red spray covered everything. Everyone in the room froze, and then all hell broke loose. Guns that were trained on me swung to the door as muzzle flare flashed. The ear-splitting ricochet of unsilenced guns going off threatened to deafen everyone in the room. The office door was pushed open, and Sergei’s bodyguards dropped one by one.
The one holding Elena decided to make the very stupid move of using her as a human shield. Igor turned around, giving me his back, and I used the distraction to kick his knee. He fell like a sack of potatoes, knocking Sergei off-balance. Sergei squeezed the trigger once, and I felt molten fire slice up my arm. I gritted my teeth and pushed off the ground, slamming my shoulder into his stomach.
He let out an “oof” as I knocked the wind out of him, but the old bastard kept his grip on the gun. Igor scrambled on the ground lifting his gun, but before I could do anything, blood splattered all over my face as the life left Igor’s eyes, and he collapsed to the ground. I stared past him and saw Alexei standing in the middle of the carnage.
Alexei bent down to check on Elena. He lifted her out from under the body of the guard who thought we wouldn’t get him. Lunging forward, I grabbed Sergei’s hand and slammed it against the desk, trying to get him to drop the gun, but he held tight, slamming his fist into my wounded arm.
Sergei glanced over at Alexei and back to me. My gaze darted to the ground as I saw Igor’s gun. I lunged for it as Sergei raised his gun and leveled it at me. I wrapped my fingers around the cold metal of Igor’s gun and rolled onto my back, getting Sergei in my sights. But before I could squeeze the trigger, three bright red holes appeared center mass in his chest. His eyes darted back and forth between me and Alexei. We’d finally bested him. Ended his reign.
Another shot drilled its way into the center of Sergei’s forehead. He slumped to his knees before keeling over, his vacant eyes staring up at the ceiling. I glanced up and saw Alexei walking toward him, a look unlike any I’d ever seen on his face.
“Good shooting, little brother.” I slumped down, resting my back against one of the chairs.
“I’ve had a lot of practice,” he said, kicking the gun away from Sergei. I had to appreciate his thoroughness. “You couldn’t wait another thirty minutes?”
I’d have laughed, if my entire body weren’t screaming in agony. Elena rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around him. He took her under his arm and attempted to turn her face away from the bodies, but they were everywhere. Erik loomed only steps away from them, gathering guns and checking to make sure there weren’t any more threats in the room.
The heavy thud of footsteps pounded outside the office. Alexei and I pushed Elena behind us and Erik snapped up with two guns in his hands. Someone called out “Health to the new czar” in Russian.
“It’s okay,” Alexei said to Erik before turning to me. Erik hesitantly lowered his guns. “They are with us.”
I nodded, dropping my gun to my side.
“Elena, you need to go now.” Alexei kissed the top of her head. “Erik, get her out of here.” He gestured to the door with his head. She scrambled out of Alexei’s grasp and slammed into me, wrapping her arms tightly around me. I winced as she squeezed my arm with the gunshot wound.
“Sorry, Ivan. I’m sorry.” She relaxed her grip on me and wrapped her arms around my neck, her tears wetting the side of my face. I closed my eyes and breathed her in. She’d finally made it. After so long and so many things in our way, my baby sister was finally here. “I can’t believe I finally get to see you two. It’s been too long.” Tears were pouring down her face, this time tears of joy as she smiled wide. It was like a family reunion at the airport, not sitting in the middle of a house of carnage.
“I’ll see you soon. But we have some things to take care of. Go with Erik. We will come find you.” I helped her stand and kissed her on the top of her head. Erik gave us both a grim look and ushered her out of the room.
“What do we do now?” I ran my hand through my hair, leaning against the desk. My taking over was always the plan, but never like this. This was a messier than we’d anticipated. All the pieces on our chessboard weren’t aligned like we’d have liked.
It was only a matter of time before word got out about what had happened here. Most of the guards would have assumed that the noises they heard were our executions. Eventually they would realize that wasn’t the case.
“Don’t worry about it, big brother. I got it handled.”
I stared at Alexei and saw him as something different than he’d been before. He was in charge.
“I always let you handle it, big brother. Now it’s my turn to handle it for you.” He stepped over Sergei’s still-warm body. He helped me up, and I groaned as pain shot through my arm.
“Alexei—”
“Go!” He pushed me toward the door. “Get to the doctor and have her fix you up. And then go after Dahlia. He can’t stop you anymore. He can’t hurt either of you anymore.”
I stared at him. This was never the way things happened. I couldn’t leave all this for him. I couldn’t force him into this life he’d never wanted.
“I can’t just leave you here.”
“Yes, you can. I’ll do whatever I need to, to make sure that you and Elena are safe, even if that means taking this on myself.”
“You don’t have to.” Blood poured down my arm, dripping off my fingertips into the no-longer-pristine carpet.
“I know I don’t. But I will. Live your life. I’ve got your back. Always. Ivan, go! She’s not going to wait for you forever. Now you two have a chance; don’t fucking blow it,” he said, the corners of his lips tugging up.
“I’ll be back to help you with everything, Alexei.”
“No, you won’t. This is it. As far as I’m concerned, Ivan Volokov died tonight. And he’ll stay dead as long as he needs to for you two to be safe.”
24
Dahlia
The heat of the flames on my face as I screamed, pressed up against the brick wall behind the shop, jolted me awake. Sweat poured off me. The sheets were soaked. Poor Axel. I’d definitely have to buy him a new set when I finally left. I tiptoed out to the bathroom and splashed my face with water. After nearly a week I was still crashing at his place. I didn’t know how much longer I was supposed to wait.
Hiding out wasn’t going to work forever. Eventually I’d have to do something. I’d have to leave this apartment. The visits to the police station had been the only time I left. Glancing over my shoulder every few steps didn’t exactly make me want to go out in public.
The line of questioning took a turn once they found whatever it was Ivan’s uncle used to blow the place up. For now I was in the clear. But it meant this wasn’t a quick and easy process. So many feelings swirled inside me. Elation that I was still alive. Fear of how much longer that might be the case. Anger that this had happened to me at all. And worry. That was the hardest one to deal with. Not knowing where things stood. Not knowing where Ivan was. I stared at myself in the mirror, my reflection drawn and tired.
My nose perked up as the scent of freshly brewed coffee crept under the door. Just what I needed to attempt to return to the land of the living.
Axel stood in the kitchen nursing a mug of coffee as I stepped out of the bathroom. I glanced at the paper on the counter. A small headline made my heart race. Sergei Volokov, Russian construction CEO, found dead after an apparent robbery. He was dead. Sergei was dead and Ivan wasn’t here. That could only mean one thing. I co
uldn’t even form the words in my head.
Suddenly, the safety of the apartment felt like prison walls closing in on me. I needed to get out of there. Get out into the world and see how it felt to live without Ivan.
“Do you want to come with me to the shop? See if anything was salvageable?” I grabbed a mug from the cabinet, my hand trembling.
“Sure, but I’m going to need at least another couple of these before I can handle that.” Axel downed most of his giant mug of coffee.
I walked through the burnt husk of my shop, kicking over fallen pieces of wood and charred remains. I made my way into what had been my studio. The shriveled, burnt pieces of paper fused to the wall were all that was left of years of memories. The melted remains of my camera stared back at me from what was left of the counter.
Axel sifted through remains out in the main area of the shop. He glanced over at me through the now-nonexistent wall and shook his head. I know. I’d let him down, and I’d let everyone else down. And then almost got myself killed to boot.
“So what do we do now, boss lady?”
“I guess we start over. Somehow.”
“Have you heard anything from the insurance company?”
I had heard from the insurance company. The fire department was calling it arson, which meant it would take a while to get money to rebuild this thing. I didn’t know if they would be able to link it to someone else. At least, no one was pointing the finger at me since I almost died in the fire.
There hadn’t been a peep about the car that nearly ran us down in the alley behind the shop. I could only imagine that Ivan had taken care of it somehow.
Only a few minutes’ difference and I could have been just like everything else in the shop. Burnt to a crisp. Ivan saved me. I couldn’t dispute that. But once again, every fear and doubt and hesitation I’d had with getting involved with him was rolled into one charred shell of the building. Empty.
The crunching of Axel’s feet as he made his way through the remains of the shop shot like a lance straight to my heart. This shop had been everything to me, and it was gone in only a few moments. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I checked the screen. Rachel.
“Hey, how are you?” Her usually chipper voice sounded more distant and sad then I’d heard it before. I stared down at what was left of my chair and workstation and ran my hand through my hair.
“Things are fine. How are you?”
“I don’t know. I’m back home, and it feels like I never left. Like New York was a dream. I needed to talk to you to help me remember that it was all real.”
I stepped out of the shell of my shop and onto the cold, wet pavement.
“It was all definitely real. I can assure you of that.”
“Has… Never mind.”
“Yes, he has come by. And yes, he misses you, and no, I don’t have an answer about what you should do. You need to figure that out soon. Because if you don’t, I have no issues with flying to wherever you are and kicking your butt.”
She let out a watery laugh. “I have no doubt in my mind that you would do that. I’m sure you’re probably looking forward to doing that. I miss you,” she said in a pained way that squeezed my heart. I didn’t need her worrying about me. I didn’t want her flying back here out of pity. I wanted my friend back, but not as my rescuer.
“I miss you too. Now sort your shit out and get back here.”
“I’ll do my best. I’ll talk to you later.”
I ended the call and wrapped my coat tighter around me as the wintry wind whipped along the damp, dreary street. I crouched down and picked up the small sign that was face down on the ground. Flipping it over, I brushed the soot and dirt off it. Hendrix Ink. Not anymore.
“You ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
Against my better judgment, I decided tonight was the night I’d go back to my apartment. I was steps from my front door when a dark figure strode across the street. My heart thundered, and I picked up my pace, I jumping and yelping when a large hand landed on my shoulder. I whipped around with the stun gun Axel had picked up for me. Jamming it into my attacker’s chest, I came face-to-face with the man who’d been haunting my dreams and nightmares since he pushed his way into my shop.
He wrapped his hand around my wrist, and that’s when I realized I was still shocking him. I dropped it and it clattered to the ground.
“Oh my God, Ivan! I’m so sorry!” I wrapped my arms around him.
“I’m glad you had it on the lowest setting,” he said. I squeezed him again and he sucked in a sharp breath. Leaning back, I saw the grimace on his face before he wrapped one arm around me. Something was wrong. I stood back, lifting the jacket he had draped over his shoulders. A large bandage stuck out under his short-sleeved T-shirt.
“What happened? Ivan, what happened?” I hated the way my voice came out shrill and panicked. But I was panicking. He was alive!
“Let’s go inside.” He ushered me into my apartment, glancing over his shoulder.
IVAN
I had one goal from the minute I’d left my uncle’s office—just one goal. Get back to Dahlia. Convincing the woman you love that she should take you back after imploding her life wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do. I finally had the one thing I wanted other than her. My freedom. After the doctor gave me the go-ahead to leave, I had to get Elena packed. She was starting over too. I still hadn’t had time to dig into whatever the hell was going on between her and Erik, but that would have to wait for later.
Dahlia was my focus. And now that I knew I wasn’t going to bleed out all over her carpet, I’d finally made my way back to her. She had already been through so much. Can I ask her to do this too? To take this chance? It wasn’t even a question. Even if she sent me away, I couldn’t leave her. Not after everything we’d been through.
At least I’d known she was safe. Finding her walking to her apartment like she didn’t have a care in the world had made me equal parts happy to see her and furious.
Furious she was taking risks with her life like this.
“What were you doing walking on the streets like that? On your own? Weren’t you supposed to be staying with your coworker? Why do you have that look on your face?”
“You’re upset about something, but I can’t even hear anything you’re saying. I’m just so glad you’re alive.”
She threw her arms around my neck, slamming into my arm, and even though it hurt, I didn’t care. Feeling her pressed up against me was all that mattered. And I’d grown accustomed to having her touch associated with a little spark of pain. Her tears ran down the side of my face as she pressed her lips to mine, her body trembling. I wrapped my arm around her and held her close, anchoring her to me. This was real, and we finally had our chance.
25
Dahlia
I stared at Ivan with my head propped up on my elbow. It was finally over. His hair fell over his forehead, and I pushed it back, running my fingers through it. When he was like this, he still looked so young. So much like that boy I fell for. The hardness of his face melted away when he was asleep.
The thick bandage on his arm worried me, I’d been careful—but not too careful—in reacquainting myself with how happy he was to see me. A small dot of blood seeped through the bandage. I rolled off the bed and went to get some supplies. These things came in handy. When I got back to the room, he was sitting up in the bed, unraveling the gauze.
I set what I had down on the bed and sat on the nightstand.
“Here. I’ve got it.”
I grabbed the medical scissors I had and cut away at the gauze. His eyes stayed glued to mine.
“How did I ever get so lucky?” he asked, tucking my hair behind my ear and running his thumb along my chin. I tried to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.
“It looks like one of the stitches might have popped, but other than that, it will be okay. I’m going to put on another bandage.”
“Take your time,” he said, his voice husky.
I worked quickly as his hands slid up and down my thigh, running along the hem of my boxer pajamas.
“Ivan, stop and let me do this.”
He stopped inching higher, but he didn’t take his hands off me.
When I finished, I sat there staring at the bandage, careful to keep my eyes from his. Last night had been an emotional release, something we both needed after the dangers we’d lived through for so long, but what happened now.
I didn’t know where we went from here. What does all this mean?
The one thing I’d never thought I’d be able to have, yet I finally did. I had Dahlia in my arms and intended on having her there for the rest of my life. If we’d survived the past ten years, there was nothing we couldn’t overcome.
She nibbled on her bottom lip.
“Where do we go from here?” she asked, keeping her eyes firmly on the bandage or the bed, anything but me. I ran my finger under her chin.
“We start again. We start over together.”
“But how? I saw what happened with your uncle. Won’t there be problems? Someone coming after you?”
I shook my head. “It’s over. We are safe now.”
“How, Ivan? How are we safe? You killed your uncle, and you’re not sitting at the head of the table if you’re here with me, so how are we safe?” She trembled as she spoke, and I slid her into my lap, ignoring the throbbing pain in my arm.
“The person in charge now will make sure we are safe. Will keep things under control.”
“And they aren’t coming after you? They’re going to protect you? Who would do that?
“Alexei.”
Her eyes got wide and her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
“He’s doing this for me. For us. So we can live and not always be looking over our shoulder.” His sacrifice wasn’t something I took lightly. My little brother out there on his own, without a full coalition. Taking on this responsibility without someone there to have his back. I’d always known that when I took over, he’d be there to stand by my side, but he had no one.
