“I’ll go,” Andriy offered.
“No,” Gabriel insisted. “You stay here. She wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. But what you can do is go in there and get me some guys. We need to leave now!”
***
On the drive to the coffee shop, Valeriya had been silent the entire time. Olek had tried to talk to her, tried to tell her how much he had missed her, but she was drunk on love. Gabriel would be boarding a plane any minute and all she had was his memories. Looking out of the window as he drove, she pretended to listen to the radio, but she was actually trying to hold back tears.
“Things will get better after today,” Olek said, looking over at her. “Trust me.”
“What makes you so certain?” Valeriya asked, pulling her eyes from the window to glance over at him.
“I just have a feeling,” Olek said, hating that she seemed so sad. “Is your melancholy over Gabriel Medlov?”
“No,” Valeriya grunted. Just the mention of his name panged her heart. “And who said anything about me being sad?”
“It’s all over you,” Olek said, feeling resentment for Gabriel and his ability to affect Valeriya. She had not sulked this badly over the death of her brother. “Valeriya, I just want to take care of you,” he said as an omission for things to come. “You know that I love you, don’t you? We could be happy.”
They hit a bump in the road that jolted them both. Valeriya situated herself in the seat again and pulled at her seatbelt. “What is love, Olek? It’s just a word.”
Olek looked away, pretending to need to give special attention to the road. That was not the response he was hoping for. “So you feel nothing for me?”
“I love you as a friend,” she said, not wanting to hurt him. It wasn’t his fault that all of this had happened. “You’ve always been a friend and good lieutenant. Maybe one day, you will be captain and take my place.”
Olek’s throat tightened. Did she know what was about to happen? “What do you mean?” he asked, gripping the steering wheel so tightly until his knuckles went white.
Valeriya wouldn’t look at him. “Maybe one day, I’ll go away, and you’ll be here to lead. You’ve always been a good leader. I know that I antagonize you, and that’s wrong, but it’s only because you are my dear friend. But in truth, you are a worthy leader. I know that now. Even despite our personal differences, you are fighting for our cause. You were big enough to see past our problems. That takes a very big man, and I respect you for it.” She finally looked over at him. “I’ll never love you the way that you want me to, but I’ll always be there for you as a friend, and I wish you nothing but the best in this life.”
It was hard for Olek to push down on the accelerator. Her truth had cut through him like a blade. He was about to set her up and have her wounded for his own blind jealousy, and she was giving him her blessing.
“Maybe we should just turn around, eh?” Olek said. “You’re in no shape for this today.”
“Of course I am,” Valeriya said, sitting up straighter. She wouldn’t let her feelings get the best of her. “Follow your first mind. Let’s do this.”
Olek had serious reservations now, but there was also the fact that he had given his word to Faddei. There would be no telling what the aftermath would be if he pulled out. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand and smiled. “You are a good woman, better than I’ve ever deserved. But I will always be there for you.”
A few minutes later, they pulled up to the old coffee shop. It had been closed for a while and had debris and broken glass blocking the storefront. Olek parked on the street and put the car in park.
“This doesn’t look right,” Valeriya said, looking around. She had not been to this area in quite some time and did not know how badly it had been shelled.
“Well, I’m sure that they didn’t want to meet in an open coffee shop. There would be too many people observing,” he said, feeling his heart race. “Just give it a minute. I’m sure that they will be here.” He prayed they would not.
Valeriya suddenly felt uncomfortable. Everything about this was wrong. “I’m not sure this was a good idea, Olek.” She looked through the rearview mirror. There were no cars following them, but still she felt unsafe.
“Just give it a minute,” Olek said, looking around. “Maybe we should step out so that they can see us. They might already be here.” He put his hand on the door handle to open it.
Valeriya checked her weapons on her side. “Just for a moment. If they don’t show up in five minutes, we leave. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Five minutes, okay.” Olek stepped out of the truck and looked up in the blue skies. The sun was already beating down on the asphalt baking everything in view. He looked across the street at the tall buildings with open windows facing them, wondering which one the sniper was waiting inside of, and hoping he would not injure Valeriya too badly.
Valeriya stepped out of the truck and looked around. It was like a ghost town around here, full of places to hide and attack. Her defenses shot up. Unsnapping her shoulder holster and pulling out her weapon, she walked up to the window of the coffee shop and peered inside. There was nothing but dusty old furniture and broken glass – no lights, no people.
“We’re leaving,” she said, turning back to look at Olek.
“One more…”
Valeriya cut him off. “We’re leaving now.”
Just then, three Hummers of men rounded the corner at an aggressive speed. Valeriya looked down at the trucks approaching and dashed for the car door. “It’s an ambush!” she screamed to Olek.
Another two trucks approached from the opposite direction, blocking them in.
“Fuck!” Olek screamed, as he pulled his weapon. Those bastards set him up. “Take cover, Valeriya,” Olek shouted as he pointed his gun and pulled the trigger, releasing several bullets toward the trucks closest to him. The first shot was accurate. It hit the driver and made him swerve and run head first into a car on the far side of the street.
Yanking the car door open, Valeriya took cover behind it and began to shoot toward the approaching men. “Handle the cars to the south. I’ll handle the cars from the north!” she yelled over the gunfire.
Olek switched sides. “It’s too many of them.” He slipped in a new clip and ducked as shots rang into the Land Rover, hitting the engine block and busting out the windows.
Valeriya reached for her phone on the car seat and tried to turn it on, but it was dead.
“My fucking phone is dead!” she screamed. “I need yours! I need to call for back up!”
Olek, out of choices, pulled her battery out of his pocket and threw it to her. He had snuck it away from her on the drive and removed it so that she could not call anyone before the attack, now he hated himself for it.
She reached for the phone and glared up at him in shock. Another bullet hit the door, barely missing her. She crouched down further for cover. “What the fuck is going on, Olek?” she demanded.
“I’m so sorry, Valeriya,” he said, covering his ears as bullets came quicker and faster.
“You…you’re responsible for this?” Valeriya asked, standing still for a moment, despite her impending mortal demise. Her eyes were locked on him in disbelief and pain.
“I was set up,” he said, shooting back. He couldn’t look at her anymore. “It was Faddei. He double crossed me. He told me that you’d only be injured. He didn’t say that the fucking Russians were coming.”
Shaking her head, Valeriya pulled her other gun and started to shoot with both hands toward the men. “Motherfucker!” she screamed as the men jumped out of their trucks in black tactical gear and fanned out across the perimeter, returning fire toward her.
Valeriya reached down to her pant legs and pulled out a large, serrated blade to sit beside her on the car seat. “I’m not going out easy,” she said, determined to take as many of the men with her as she could.
***
Only a few streets away, Gabriel could hear the rapid
gunfire as they approached. His heart tightened at the thought that he could already be too late. With a sleek H&K G36 machine gun cocked and ready, he and his men pulled a street over and ran as fast as they could through the littered alleyway toward the coffee shop. He had brought this weapon for a specific reason. It was light, accurate and easy to use. Plus, it could kill with the best of them.
Bullets from AK-47s could be heard slamming into concrete, splattering brick, shattering glass and bending metal just a block over. People who were in the vicinity, ran and screamed going the opposite direction to get out of the way.
Nadei was right in front of Gabriel as they moved in a two-by-two formation down the narrow alley toward the conflict. They brought four additional men from the hotel with them. But others had chosen not to go, simply because they felt Gabriel to be only paranoid that Olek was stealing his woman.
This was no theft. It was an all-out ambush.
Nadei stopped and looked back at the man behind Gabriel. “Send one back and have the car ready. I can tell by the gunfire that we’re outnumbered. We’ll need to snatch and grab. Go.”
The man on the end of the line broke off and headed back, all while calling on his cell for more men to come to their aid.
“Stay in my sight,” Nadei ordered Gabriel. He had a feeling that with Gabriel being this itchy, things could turn bad quickly.
“Your objective is to get Valeriya. I can take care of myself,” Gabriel said, looking ahead to make sure that no one had seen them coming.
Nadei didn’t quite agreed with his boss – his priority was always just him -, but he was at a serious disadvantage being already severely injured. So there was no time to argue.
“We get Valeriya only. We don’t have the numbers for a full assault. We get her and go,” Nadei said, eyeing Gabriel.
Gabriel nodded. “Agreed.”
They moved swiftly down the alleyway and found themselves just south of Valeriya and Olek and head on with two different teams of men shooting their way.
In a surprise attack, Gabriel stepped out from the brick wall that was hiding him and unloaded on a group of men to the right of him. The bullets ripped so fast out of the barrel until one shot could barely be distinguished from another. His body jerked at the powerful recoil, right hand on the trigger, left hand on the bottom of the barrel to keep it steady and eye focused through the red scope. Shells fell down on the ground beside him in piles of empty brass, bouncing by his boots and littering the sidewalk. With precision, he mowed the men down, several at a time. Their bodies tumbled to the ground, large gaping holes blown through their limbs. As he took cover again, the muzzle of his weapon smoked.
Valeriya jumped at the sound of the new opposition. Turning, she was surprised and relieved to see Gabriel and the men as they took their position and started to secure the area.
“Come to me!” Gabriel screamed as Valeriya reloaded and continued to shoot. Hitting one man in the eye as he advanced closer to her, she quickly reloaded with a clip from her backpack.
Obediently, she stepped out from behind the car door, but as she did, a bullet whizzed past her head. Ducking back into safety, she looked back at Gabriel regretfully. “It’s not safe yet! I need more cover.”
Nadei was already on to her. Turning toward the North side of the conflict, he began to unload with his MP-5, but as he had suspected, the men were outnumbering them.
Olek shot his last round and then reached to reload, but there was nothing there. Frantically, he looked over at Valeriya, still crouched down in position shooting. He dove inside of the truck to get to her. “I’ll give you cover, just get to Gabriel,” Olek screamed.
Valeriya could barely look at her old friend. Passing him her other gun, she sucked in a breath. “Just protect yourself.”
“I don’t deserve it,” he said, looking through the window to see a team of Russians moving in faster. “You have to go.” Taking the gun from her, he shot back, but the tallest and most skilled of the men, raised his weapon and in one shot, hit Olek right between the eyes.
His eyes didn’t even blink. Olek’s body went limp and he fell back on the ground.
“Olek!” Valeriya screamed. She picked up his weapon and began to fire again, but the men were moving in closer and closer.
Gabriel couldn’t wait. Moving out of formation from Nadei, he advanced fast, nearly running up the sidewalk toward her with his weapon pointed and firing. He saw what they were attempting. They didn’t want to kill Valeriya, necessarily, they wanted to kidnap her.
Nadei dropped to one knee and tried to provide support, but the bullets were coming from both directions, and with Olek dead, it gave him less cover. He screamed out for Gabriel to come back.
But Gabriel was already gone. Running, he grabbed her as the bullets hit the truck and wrapped her in his embrace. Throwing her out of the way, he re-zeroed in and began to shoot toward the enemy, but two men came from the side of the truck where Olek had been and attacked him.
Gabriel quickly shot one, and then another, but there were too many coming his way.
“Run,” he said, grabbing Valeriya up. His face was covered in sweat and his black hair clung to his neck. “Run to Nadei. I’ll make sure you get there safe,” he said, eyes burning with anger.
“No, no, no. I’m not leaving you!” she screamed, hands shaking.
“You have no choice. Run, Valeriya,” Gabriel said, pushing her and shooting again toward the men coming from the South. “Run fast. I’ll catch up.”
“Gabriel!” Nadei screamed. “You both need to move this way.”
“Run!” Gabriel said, turning from Valeriya and turning the weapon’s settings from semi-automatic to full auto fire.
But as accurate as the weapon was, there were too many men coming from too many sides. On Gabriel’s flank, a group of men grabbed him and hit him in the back of the head with the butt of their weapons. He fought for as long as he could and then with a hit to the temple, went limp.
Nadei couldn’t get a shot off without killing him. “Shit! Fuck!” Nadei said, providing cover for Valeriya as she ran to him.
Valeriya bolted toward Nadei as fast as she could. Her feet dug into the concrete and with everything that she had, she ran toward Nadei who grabbed her, pulled her to him and then threw out a concussion grenade. The loud bang was explosive and provided them the few seconds that they needed to run down the alleyway and get into the car waiting for him.
Nadei jumped in the back with Valeriya and ducked down. “Get us out of here,” he screamed as the man stepped on the gas and burned rubber down the road.
Valeriya held her head down on the seat with tears running down her face. “We can’t just leave him here.”
“You don’t think that I know that?” Nadei remarked, coughing and holding his bandaged side that was now leaking. “It was either you or him. He knew that.”
Chapter Eighteen
The Tie that Binds…
Valeriya’s ears were still ringing from the concussion grenade as they drove silently back to the Donetsk Hotel. Even though they were sure that they had managed to get out of harm’s way, her head was still down in Nadei’s lap as she cried, tears flowing onto his jeans along with a mix of saliva and utter agonizing pain.
They had left him. Even though he had come for her, saved her, sacrificed for her, they had left him. There was nothing that would cure her ails. She wanted to go back, find him, save him, keep him from the danger that he was surely in now because of her.
Gabriel’s words echoed in her mind. “If I could trade my life for yours, I would.”
And he had traded everything for her to be free.
Feeling her sobs in her throat, she sucked in a breath and moaned. Sniffles were followed by sobs and then confusion.
“We have to get him back, Nadei,” she whispered. Looking at the back of the seat in front of her as they drove high speeds through the city.
“We will,” Nadei said, pulling his phone out. He dreaded
what he had to do. He had failed miserably and now he had to call his boss and tell him the worse news that he could possibly report.
As the clouds started to subside from Valeriya’s mind, she sat up and sunk down in the seat. “Faddei set us up,” she said, looking over at Nadei.
Nadei put the phone down. “What?”
“Before Olek died, he said that Faddei had double crossed him.” Her long lashes dropped a tear to her cheek. Wiping her face, she kept her fingers over her mouth. “Somehow he’s responsible for this.”
“Are you sure?” Nadei asked.
“Positive,” Valeriya said, running a hand into her curly, sweaty hair. A flash of Gabriel’s face right before he made her run to Nadei came to her mind and she closed her eyes. “He did this.”
That was all that Nadei needed to hear. He picked up the phone and told the driver to pull into an empty garage about two miles from the hotel.
The driver did as he said and pulled into the empty, dark parking pavilion, drove to the bottom and parked the car.
***
A splash of cold water in his face woke Gabriel up. Eyes flashing open, he tried to remove his hands, but felt them restrained to a chair, tied by black rope. He looked down to find himself naked in the chair, bound by ankles and wrists. What the fuck?
“So this is what a Medlov looks like?” Yuri asked, kneeling in front of Gabriel, mask still covering his face.
Gabriel locked eyes on the man, refusing to show fear. “What’s wrong, boy? Never seen a real dick before?” he asked with a smirk on his face.
Yuri laughed and looked around at his men. “This fucker is funny.” Pulling a knife from the sheath attached to his leg, he ran it across Gabriel’s muscular chest and cut him wide open. The blood dripped down his stomach into his genitals. “I promise you won’t see a fucking thing funny about me, suka, by the time that we are done.”
Yuri nodded at one of his men wearing gloves who quickly delivered a blow to Gabriel’s side. He doubled over and coughed. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head.
Gabriel's Regret: Book 1 (The Medlov Men Series 2) Page 25
