by April Lust
“Come on,” I tell Doc. Together, we trot back down the alley and lean against the wall. The smell of smoke in the air is disgusting, but at least we’re a little warmer than we were. Doc pulls out two cigarettes and lights them both with his lighter. He passes one to me, and I inhale deeply.
“Wouldn’t this be so much better if we had Natalia back at home?” I puff on my cigarette and close my eyes, thinking of her beautiful dancer’s body. I love the way her hair curls down to the small of her back. Between the big hair and the big eyes, she looks like a cat. And right now, I want nothing more than Natalia’s warm weight in my lap.
Doc sighs. “You’re real hung up on her,” he says quietly. “You think that’s gonna change, man?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.” The truth is, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget Natalia. I don’t deserve a woman like that, but now that I’ve had one taste, I don’t ever want to let her go.
“Well, you think she found Abram?”
I swallow. “If she found Abram, I think she’s gone, man,” I say. Blowing a stream of smoke over my shoulder, I check the warehouse once more. The fire is still roaring away. Sparks are flying into the air, and I can see the windows have cracked and broken from the fiery pressure inside.
When I hear the sound of an engine approaching, I turn to Doc and grin.
“Hey, looks like they’re here!” Doc’s voice is excited. We make eye contact, then slowly nod. It’s our old code – the Renegade Reapers always used to use it before a fight. It’s always been a secret thing between us, and I know Doc and I are going to kick some ass.
I don’t know how many men Abram’s brought with him. A big black SUV screeches to a stop on the frozen ground, and Doc and I listen for footsteps. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like too many men came with Abram.
I peek around the corner and watch as a man runs into the building. He’s screaming, but I know it’s more from the horror of watching his drugs burn than pain. On the silent count of three, Doc and I leap out from our hiding place.
Abram and two men are standing directly in front of us. Abram looks exhausted. There are circles under his eyes, and he’s swaying from side to side. I can hardly believe this is it. This is the confrontation I’ve been waiting for, and, for once, I have the advantage.
“So,” Abram says. He crosses his arms over his chest. “This is it.”
“We’re burning your empire, Abram,” I say proudly. I gesture to the flaming warehouse. Sparks and smoke are coiling towards the sky in hectic spirals of destruction. “Say goodbye to your drugs and your money.”
Abram glares at me with unmistakable hatred. His eyes are narrowed into angry slits, and I can’t help but smile. finally, I’ve won.
“You’re not getting away with this without a fight,” one of Abram’s men says. He steps up with his leader. He’s short, squat, and looks like an overgrown kid – I know I could take him in seconds.
“Oh yeah?” I turn to Doc, smirking. “I think we can handle that. Whaddya say, Doc?”
He nods. He balls his hands into fists and lowers his head, growling.
Doc and I charge towards Abram and his two stooges. I reach the fat one first. He’s caught off guard as I swing my fist back and land a powerful punch in his jaw. As the man cries out in pain, I hear Doc tackling the other man to the ground and raining blows down on his head and chest.
Abram is standing there, watching us. His hand is wrapped around a pistol, but it’s pointed at the ground. I look up at him and sneer, then bash my head against the fat guy’s forehead. There’s a horrible sound, like an egg cracking against the lip of a bowl, and then the fat guy lurches backwards. His eyes roll into his head and drool spills out of his mouth. After a few seconds, blood starts seeping through his light hair. In the dark, it looks as black as tar.
Only a few feet away, Doc’s wrestling with the other stooge. I hear a series of grunts, punches, and slaps as Doc pins the man down on his stomach. Doc pulls out his gun and pushes the barrel against the base of the man’s skull. He turns to Abram with a sneer on his face.
“Abram, is this the way you want things to end? With me shooting this guy?”
Abram shrugs. “I do not care,” he says. His English is so heavily accented that I can barely understand. “Shoot him.”
Doc shrugs, then pulls the trigger. This time, the gunshot is loud enough to reverberate through my whole body. Doc steps away from the body and pockets his gun.
Abram looks naked without his two men. When I step close, I realize how small and frail he really is.
“We’ve won, Abram,” I say loudly. “Now tell me – where did you hide Natalia?”
Abram turns to me with a smirk across his face. “Natalia who?”
“Where the fuck did you put her?”
Abram shrugs. “You will have to find her,” he says. “I’m not going to help you.”
Doc grabs the gun and points it towards Abram’s head. “I can save some of your drugs,” Doc says. “But you gotta help us. Where’s Natalia?”
Abram turns towards the warehouse. In his eyes, I watch the reflection of the flames licking skyward. I know Doc’s bluffing because there’s no way the drugs inside can be saved.
Abram sighs. “I cannot tell you,” he repeats. “What are you going to do to me?”
Doc and I turn to each other. Just as I’m about to speak, there’s a big explosion from the inside of the warehouse. My mind goes black as I’m thrown backwards by the force.
Shit , I think as my body crunches on the hard ground. Now I’m really done for .
Chapter 31 Natalia
When an hour passes and Abram still isn’t back, Aleksei drags me into my room. This time, I’m not afraid to kick and scream and use force. While I’m strong enough to push him away, I’m not able to completely wreck him like I was before.
“Fuck you,” Aleksei snarls.
I glare at him, panting. I’m standing there with my hands on my hips, glaring at him. “I hate you,” I say loudly. “Why the hell do you think I’d do anything to help you, huh?”
Aleksei shakes his head. “I thought you wanted to know your father. I thought you wanted to be a family with him. Why the hell are you being so resistant?” He steps closer and I swing at his face until he leaps back. “Fuck!” Aleksei yelps. “Calm the fuck down!”
“No!” My anger is too much. I’ve always had a problem with anger. Back when I was dancing, Patty always told me it was a good thing. She encouraged me to channel whatever emotion I was feeling into my dancing. That had always worked wonders with casting directors, and they were always impressed by the things I was able to do. But now I just felt trapped.
“I know it’s a lot, but why can’t you just trust that everything will work out?” Aleksei looks up at me. “I know I’m not your first choice, Natalia. But we’ll have a good life in Russia.”
“My life is here!” My voice comes out as a wail. “My life is here, Aleksei! And it’s not with you! It’s with Beast!”
Aleksei’s lips curl into a savage smile. “So you don’t really care about me, do you? It’s all about Beast.” He steps towards me and I begin to quake with fear. Is he going to try to rape me? What about after the wedding when Abram returns?
I know I can’t fend him off forever.
“Of course it’s all about Beast!” Tears come to my eyes at the thought of the man I love, and I blink them back. “He’s going to save me. Just watch, Alyosha. He’s going to break in here and save me.”
“No one is going to save you,” Aleksei says slowly. He pushes his sleeves up, then advances on me.
I step backwards, but he continues following me around the room, chasing me in slow circles. “Help!” I scream. “You fucking eunuch!” I turn to Aleksei and feel the anger burst out of my mouth. “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried!”
To my surprise, Aleksei stops dead in his tracks. He looks up at me like a deer in the headlights. “How—how did you know?”
/> I narrow my eyes. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Aleksei flushes. I can’t believe it. It’s one of the only time I’ve ever seen a man blush.
“Aleksei,” I say quietly. “What are you talking about?”
“Your father…” Aleksei trails off. He coughs nervously into his hand, then wipes his palm on his thigh. For some reason, he’s having trouble meeting my eyes.
“What?”
“He–he caught me with someone,” Aleksei says slowly. “Someone I wasn’t supposed to be with.”
I frowned. “I’m still not sure I understand,” I say quietly. “Aleksei, what the fuck is going on?”
Aleksei stared at me. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
Finally, it comes to me. “Oh, my God,” I say. “Were you—were you with another man?”
Aleksei glares. “Don’t you fucking repeat that,” he says.
“Oh, my God,” I repeat. “That’s why Abram is forcing you to marry me! Because he knows your gay! I bet he threatened you, didn’t he?” I can’t help but grin at this new information. “Aleksei, look, you should really—”
“I said, don’t repeat that!” Aleksei’s voice comes out as angry growl and he launches toward me again, holding out his hands in claws of rage. I scream and duck to the side but Aleksei’s quicker this time. The anger must have renewed his energy. I don’t remember him being this powerful before.
We struggle, clawing at each other. Aleksei’s hands land on my shoulder, and he tries to push me away as I reach for his eyes, baring my fingernails and growling. As we grip one another, I’m aware of myself falling through the air. Aleksei’s closer than a lover. His breath is in my face, his grip tightens on my shoulders as we crash to the ground.
I continue trying to fight him off even after we fall to the floor.
“You can’t rape me,” I say, struggling to pin Aleksei down on the concrete. “I bet you couldn’t even get it up to have sex with me! You don’t even like women!”
“Shut up!” Aleksei growls. He reaches back, and I cringe, thinking he’s going to slap me again. Just as the blow lands on my cheek, there’s a grinding sound behind us. As quickly as I can, I push Aleksei away and scramble to my feet.
Someone’s opening the door from the outside, and I can hear lots of yelling and shouting.
Aleksei glances over at me. His chest is heaving, and he’s breathing hard. He looks absolutely enraged. “Now you’ve done it,” Aleksei growls. “Now we’re really going to get it, you stupid bitch!”
Chapter 32 Beast
After hitting the ground, I roll a few feet to the side before catching my breath. My chest is aching, and I feel like I might have just broken one of my ribs. Quickly, I look around for Doc and Abram.
Doc’s sitting up as I struggle to my feet. He’s clutching his arm and looking like he’s in pain, but true to his stoic nature, he says nothing. He gets to his feet and brushes himself off.
Abram is still lying on the ground a few feet away. He’s moaning loudly and incoherently, rolling from one side to the other.
Doc and I exchange glances. I know immediately what he’s thinking: “the cops are gonna be here soon, and we need to get going.”
“Abram,” I say loudly. “Abram, get the fuck up.”
Abram doesn’t move. Instead, he groans again and throws his head back to the sky. When I walk around to face him, I see his face is covered in tears.
“Everything is gone,” Abram moans. He collapses, letting his face fall in the snow. I can barely make out his next words: “Everything is gone. It’s all gone.”
“Get the fuck up,” I snarl. Reaching down, I grab Abram by the arm and yank him to his feet. He crumbles immediately, falling to his knees.
Doc rolls his eyes. Just then, we hear sirens in the distance.
“You’re such a fucking drama queen,” I say to Abram. Doc pulls a length of rope from his pocket and together we bind Abram’s arms behind his back.
“I’m going away,” Abram says tearfully.
“Yep. I’d say probably for life. You’re lucky New York doesn’t have capital punishment anymore,” Doc cracks. He turns to me. “Boss, you ready to go?”
I reach into Abram’s pocket and pull out his wallet. An address falls out, scribbled hastily on a slip of paper. Tossing the wallet to the ground, I grab the address and hold it under Abram’s nose. “Is this where Natalia is?”
Abram nods. He looks into my eyes, and I can’t help but notice how sad he looks. He’s a broken man, now. Doc and I have toppled his whole industry. There’s no way the warehouse can be saved. The explosion that tossed us to the ground surely signified the destruction of everything inside.
Doc and I are silent as we ride our bikes to the address. It’s in the Bronx, only about a mile away from Abram’s warehouse. The sirens get closer as we ride off, and I thank my lucky stars Doc and I could make our escape before the cops showed up.
The address turns out to be another warehouse – oddly similar to the place I call home. There’s no guard. When Doc and I burst through the front door, we’re both shocked to see the room is empty.
“We gotta find Natalia,” I say quickly. “You take this end, I’ll go down here.”
Just as Doc and I are about to split off, an ear-shattering scream pierces the air. Instantly, I know it’s Natalia. Doc and I make eye contact and nod before rushing down the hallway. It’s not lit very well, and once, I almost stumble over my own feet. When I get to the room at the end, it’s blocked with a heavy metal door. My heart leaps into my throat as Doc, and I rush at the door, pushing it open with all our might.
The door springs open, and I rush inside. There’s another scream. As my eyes adjust, I see two figures tussling in the corner. There’s a large man on top of a pair of very familiar legs.
“Natalia!” I scream, running towards the pair. No doubt about it, Natalia’s underneath the man, and she’s fighting to keep him away from her.
“Beast!” Natalia’s scream is loud and throaty. It sends a chill down my spine, but I can’t tear my eyes away from her. Even though she looks hungry, cold, and exhausted I can’t remember ever having seen her look more beautiful.
“Hey, asshole!” Doc taps the man on the shoulder. When he twists his face over his neck, I punch him square in the nose. The man cries out and blood pours from his nostrils. Grabbing him by the shoulders, I spin towards the center of the room and throw the man against the opposite wall. His body makes a sickening thud as he lands against the concrete.
I know I have to finish him, but right now there’s nothing more important than pulling Natalia into my arms. Leaping across the room, I hug her tightly. She’s crying and she buries her face in my neck, sobbing loudly. I can feel her snot mixing with tears and soaking the front of my shirt, but I don’t care.
“I love you,” I tell her. “I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay, baby.”
Natalia pulls her face away and wipes her nose. Her almond-shaped eyes are rimmed with red, and she looks even thinner than she did a few days ago. “Beast,” Natalia whispers. “You saved me.”
“And I’m never letting you go,” I growl. “I can’t stay away from you, Natalia.”
Natalia blinks at me. A single tear drips from her eye and rolls down her cheek. It breaks my heart to see her like this. I vow in my heart to make sure she never cries again.
“I know I should’ve told you about your father, but I didn’t want you hurt you,” I say quickly. “Do you forgive me?”
Chapter 33 Natalia
I can barely speak. Beast’s right in front of me, holding me in his arms. My lower body is crushed against his muscular legs, and my heart is beating so fast that I’m afraid it’s going to pop out of my chest.
“I forgive you,” I whisper tearfully. I hate myself for crying so much, but it’s like I can’t stop. Just being this close to Beast’s beautiful blue eyes is making me feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven. His beard is longer than
it was before. I can’t look at him for another second. As quickly as I can, I bury my face in his neck and wrap my arms tightly around his neck. “I love you,” I whisper into Beast’s neck. “I––I’m so sorry, Beast. I need you so much.”
Beast squeezes me tightly. It feels so good to be in his arms again that I can barely think.
“Babe, I gotta take care of this guy,” Beast says softly. He pulls away and points to Aleksei. “What the fuck was going on?”
