by Bella Rose
“You were always such a spoiled brat!” Dimitri yelled. He drew back and punched Antonin in the face repeatedly.
Antonin finally got his hands free and caught Dimitri’s fist. He squeezed until he heard the bones and joints pop and crunch in protest. “You were entitled,” he told Dimitri. “You always thought you should have what wasn’t yours.”
“Your father loved you.” Dimitri yanked his ruined hand from Antonin’s grasp and slapped both palms over his ears.
The incredible pressure and instant ringing in his head made Antonin stumble back. Then he caught sight of Dimitri’s gleeful expression and charged him like a bull. He caught his friend in the midsection and lifted him right off the ground. Swinging his body up into the air, Antonin slammed Dimitri down onto the floor like a rag doll.
At the last second, Dimitri managed to get his legs up. He planted his boots in Antonin’s stomach, effectively halting his advance and sending him spinning back across the room. Dimitri used that brief period of time to struggle to his feet in an effort to reach the remote dangling from its cord.
“No!” Antonin roared.
He barreled toward Juliet, but Dimitri cut him off. Wrapping his arms around Antonin’s waist, Dimitri used Antonin’s own momentum to swing him around in the wrong direction. The two men hit another stack of tires and went down in a tangle of arms, legs, and rubber. Behind him Antonin could hear the squeal of the car crusher as it warmed up and started to fold in on itself. There was no time. In minutes Juliet would be crushed, and his life would be over.
JULIET FELT THE floor begin to move. She had not fully grasped the precariousness of her situation until she saw a metal section of the floor start to fold upward. It was rising up and separating into sections. The car parts and tires that had been scattered about began to rush toward her as though they were being localized for a purpose.
“Oh God,” she muttered. “Oh God. This is a squisher thing!”
She didn’t know the terminology, but she had watched enough television to realize that she was sitting on a platform that could be used to smash cars into those tiny squares for recycling.
Immediately searching out Antonin for help, she realized that he had his hands full with Dimitri. The two were still battling it out, but now instead of attempting to beat Antonin into submission, Dimitri only had to hang on to him and prevent him from getting to Juliet in time. She was on her own and she needed to move fast!
She had been working on her bonds since Dimitri had zip-tied her hands behind her back and sat her on this rickety folding chair. She hadn’t gotten very far, but now gravity and the stupid machine were sending wave after wave of possible weapons and cutting devices right at her. Juliet fumbled behind her, feeling her way around rounded edges and rubbery pieces until she nearly sliced her finger off with something razor sharp.
Gingerly taking hold of what felt like a long section of sheet metal, she began sawing back and forth against the zip ties holding her wrists. Blood spilled from her wrists as she sliced her skin open. There was no time to worry about that though. She needed to get free of these stupid plastic ties before she was smashed into a neat little square for recycling.
The plastic finally snapped and she started to stand. Unfortunately, the entire machine had reformed into several long rectangular sections. Even worse, the ends were collapsing in on her. The movement sent all sorts of refuse spinning toward Juliet. She plowed her way through stuff she couldn’t even identify and tried to escape the machine. It had sunk several feet below floor level, though, and she wasn’t even sure how to climb out.
The ends got closer. She finally managed to get to the edge of the machine where the moving panels met the solid floor. She grabbed a tire and placed it flat beneath her. The side panels were so close she could have touched them. Scrambling up onto the tire, she heard it squeal as it was pressed between the panels. The machine kicked into a higher gear. It made a whirring sound as it attempted to crush the tire. She was so close to death she nearly wept with the tension.
Clawing at the floor, she searched for some way to pull herself up. Her rounded belly was pressed against the edge. The tire was about to give out. In one last desperate move she leaped up and put her tummy on the floor. Lifting her legs, she used her forearms to drag herself out of harm’s way. The floor scraped her arms as she actually felt the crushing panels overcome the tire and close just beneath her legs. Pulling her legs up close to her torso, she rolled into a fetal position and remained on the floor trying to catch her breath.
ANTONIN HAD NEVER felt such relief in his life. Until the moment Juliet had pulled her legs clear of the crusher’s panels, he had been certain he was about to lose the only thing that mattered in his life. But now she was safe, and he was free to pummel Dimitri without having to struggle toward that damn remote control.
Rolling onto his back, Antonin waited for Dimitri to take another jab. The man was on his feet, kicking at Antonin. Now Antonin grabbed Dimitri’s foot and yanked his legs right out from underneath him. He went down hard, cursing as his hip hit the exposed steel belts of a tire.
“Just die!” Dimitri shouted. He struggled to roll over and keep fighting. “Why won’t you just give up? Nobody cares about you. You’re nothing but a drain on resources. The Bratva will never follow you. Your father hated you, and they know it! Mikhail never respected you. He respected Josef.”
Antonin refused to respond. There was no reason to give Dimitri the satisfaction of knowing that his words had hit their mark. Antonin regained his feet and tried to ignore the pain that seemed to lance through his body at exactly the same rhythm of his heartbeat. He stood over Dimitri, wondering how he could have been so wrong to trust someone for most of his life. Was he so desperate for validation that he would completely misread someone for so long?
“You are a loser!” Dimitri howled. He finally managed to stand up. He swung at Antonin, catching him in the gut and making him double over.
Antonin straightened and blocked the next punch. He pulled his arms up and kept his hands in front of his face like a boxer while Dimitri pounded away. The blows became so frantic that they weren’t even hard enough to cause damage.
“Just die! Die! I’m so damn tired of being in your shadow.” Dimitri continued to rail at him.
Then Antonin caught movement from the corner of his eye. His brain registered Juliet’s presence even as he saw her draw her hands back. She was holding a crowbar, and her target was Dimitri.
“Would you just shut up?” she shouted as she bashed Dimitri’s shoulders at the base of his neck. Dimitri crumpled, going down. She struck him again. “I swear. It’s like you’ve been talking from the second you came into that hospital treatment room, and you haven’t closed your mouth since!”
Dimitri was finally silent. The crowbar clanged to the floor as Juliet dropped it. Then she stumbled forward and threw herself into Antonin’s arms. He caught her and held her close. He didn’t want to think about how shocked he was that she didn’t seem upset about his history with her father. Maybe none of that mattered now.
Chapter Twenty-Six
JULIET PRESSED HER face to Antonin’s chest and inhaled his familiar scent. It was still him although she could smell the copper tang of blood and perhaps even Dimitri’s sour sweat mingled in. She was just so glad to be in his arms. Right now it didn’t matter about her father or what Antonin had done. The only thing that mattered was being safe in Antonin’s arms.
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind than she felt someone grab her by the shoulders and rip her away from Antonin. Juliet squeaked as she was yanked backward. An arm banded around her waist felt like iron, and the cold steel of a gun muzzle pressed against her temple. She froze in shock and fear.
The expression on Antonin’s face didn’t help her confidence. There was almost a sickened expression of fear on his features. He lifted both hands and held them out as though he were surrendering. “Don’t hurt her. Please. If I’m the one you want dea
d, then kill me and let her go.”
“You’re both coming with me.”
The words came from behind her. She couldn’t see her captor’s face, but she recognized Josef’s voice. It wasn’t difficult to tell that the man was very close to losing it. There was an incredible amount of tension in his body where it was pressed up against hers. He was like a spring coiled up and ready to snap. She was afraid to move lest he pull the trigger.
“You don’t need Juliet,” Antonin insisted. “Just leave her here. There’s no reason to bring her along. I swear.”
“Are you kidding me?” Josef asked incredulously. “As Dimitri was ranting only a few moments ago, why won’t you just die?” Josef paused as though he almost expected an answer. “Because if I could get you to die, I wouldn’t feel as though I needed to bring your woman with us as an insurance policy!”
Josef was already dragging Juliet backward toward the building’s office. She scraped against the cement floor with her feet, trying to gain enough purchase to somehow force him to drop her like deadweight. Her efforts only seemed to piss him off. He smacked her in the side with the butt of his gun, and she groaned in pain. Her hip throbbed with pain, and it felt instantly swollen where he’d struck her.
“Stop it!” Josef shouted in her ear. “Stop trying to get away!”
Her head was ringing with the volume of his angry words. She was never going to get away. He was going to take them both back to Mikhail’s house and shoot them in front of all of Antonin’s Bratva men.
ANTONIN FOLLOWED JOSEF at a distance. He knew exactly what the wily asshole was planning. Josef was already shoving Juliet into the backseat of his car, tying her facedown to keep her from being able to fight back. Antonin could hear her squirming, but he knew Josef wouldn’t bother to wait for him. Josef was going to get a head start and drive back to Mikhail’s. Antonin would have no choice but to follow him right into a trap.
For some reason, Antonin felt resolved. None of that mattered. Even if when he got to his father’s house and faced the Bratva and they then turned on him, he still had to try to save Juliet. He watched Josef drive away before getting into his car and trying to piece together any kind of plan that might somehow buy time once they arrived at his father’s house. Unfortunately, even by the time he pulled up at the curb in front of the home where he had grown up, he had no idea what to do. He only knew that running was not an option.
Josef’s car was in the driveway. The front door was open. Antonin could hear low-level shouting and even a few taunts thrown at Josef in Russian. If anything, the guy was walking into a place where almost every single person around had wanted him dead at some point. Antonin got out of his car and walked straight up to the front door. There was no hiding or demurring. He had no plan. He only knew that he was going to save the woman he loved and the child she carried.
“There’s the traitor!” someone shouted as Antonin entered the foyer.
There were so many people loitering about! It was as if someone had called a meeting of the entire organization. Several men waved to Antonin. A few more glared at him. He wasn’t necessarily popular. In fact, within the Bratva he was one of the youngest Brigadiers to ever be appointed, which had earned him grudging respect in some areas and outright hatred in others.
“He’s not the traitor!” This came from Alexei. Antonin had never been so glad to see a familiar face. Alexei offered a nod. “Antonin is Mikhail’s heir! The traitor is the one who had our Pekhan murdered! Don’t listen to Josef! He’s the murderer!”
There was a round of assent from the men gathered in the house. Antonin stood in the center of the foyer and faced Josef. He still had Juliet pinned in front of him like a human shield.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Josef snarled. “I didn’t murder the Pekhan. The double-crossing Dimitri did!”
“I didn’t see Dimitri do a damn thing,” Alexei shot back. “But I did see you running out of here like your hair was on fire after you shot the Pekhan!” Alexei pointed emphatically at Josef, obviously trying to get the men riled up. “That man murdered our leader! He shot the Pekhan in the back!”
JULIET WAS TREMBLING with fear and rage. She was standing in what felt to her like a rabid pack of Russian wolves. They were all screaming, most of it in Russian or some other language she couldn’t understand. She could tell that they didn’t believe that Josef had much in the way of altruistic motives, but she couldn’t tell if they were going to appease him or rip him apart. She was getting a little nervous that she was going to get caught in the crossfire.
Then she caught Antonin’s eye. It was as if he was the one calm point in the center of a shitstorm of epic proportions. His expression was almost serene. She held on to that knowledge and tried to calm down. Surely he had a plan—or something.
“Enough!” Antonin roared.
The entire room grew instantly silent. It was more than impressive; it was telling. The one thing that became almost certain was that the men respected Antonin in ways they did not respect Josef and probably never would. Juliet had always understood the great power of succession. It was the only reason a woman could be a Consigliere of the Caglione family. Juliet had commanded the loyalty of her men because of her blood tie to the family, not just where she was born or to whom. These men owed their allegiance to Mikhail’s son, not to the man who had murdered their leader and tried to take over while most of the men hadn’t even been around to have an opinion. Juliet had the odd thought that it was very similar to Giovanni trying to take over the entire Caglione empire.
She suddenly caught Antonin’s eye and smiled. He quirked an eyebrow as if he was trying to figure out what she was about to do. She figured surprising him in this case probably wasn’t a bad idea. “I wanted to tell all of you men that your leader—Antonin Mikhailovich—is a man who has already provided an heir to the Bratva.” There was a ripple of conversation through the men, but they seemed eager and not negative. She continued, pressing her hands to the baby bulge in her belly. “I am with child, and Antonin is the father. The two of us have every intention of marrying, raising our family, and continuing to make all of you prosperous here in this city.”
“Don’t listen to her!” Josef shouted, his voice shrill. “She’s a Caglione! She’s our enemy!”
“The Cagliones are not your enemies!” Juliet argued. She pitched her voice to be heard all around the room. “There is no reason why we can’t all be prosperous together! We want what you want. We want good business and cops that look the other way. We want to raise healthy families in a neighborhood where we know the people around us. We want loyalty and respect and to earn a good living while being true to our oaths and our leaders.”
ANTONIN HEARD JULIET’S words and felt as though his heart might burst with pride. He held out his hand, intending to salute this woman who was more of a man than any of those present could boast. “Listen to her!” he called out. “She has lost more than any of us, and yet she is willing to extend the hand of forgiveness in order to gain prosperity for both sides!”
Behind him Antonin heard Alexei voicing his support. The other men took up the cry until everyone in the room was cheering for Antonin and for Juliet. Behind her, Antonin could see Josef getting more and more agitated. This situation was not going at all the way he had hoped it would. It would only be a matter of time until he snapped and lost his temper completely.
Josef lost it quite suddenly and almost as thoroughly as a spoiled child. He abruptly shoved Juliet across the room and pointed his gun at Antonin. Acting reflexively, Antonin grabbed Juliet and pulled her into the curve of his body while turning his back toward Josef. His intention was to protect Juliet. He felt the first bullet rip through his shoulder as Josef fired upon him. Then after that he heard nothing but the battle yells and angry shouts of his men.
Antonin’s shoulder hurt like a bitch, first because Dimitri had shot him three times just a few hours ago. And now because Josef’s bullet had ripped right through his shoulder onc
e again. He felt a renewed ache that was very likely going to require surgery of some kind. Somehow none of that mattered. Juliet was safe in his arms. He could press his palms against her belly and feel the baby bump moving as if a little hand or foot was poking him. She was safe. The babe was safe. They were all going to live.
Then he stood up cautiously and looked around. The men of the Bratva had made their decision regarding Josef’s leadership crystal clear. In his arms, he heard Juliet’s sharp intake of breath right before she made a delicate gagging noise.
“Don’t look.” He turned her head and pressed her face against his chest and arm.
He felt her shudder. “Is that normal?”
“I would say Josef got just a little worse than I’ve seen others in the past, but when a man tries to take over and is rejected by the Bratva, they have a way of telling him that he’s been rejected that is extremely permanent.”
Of course permanent in this case meant that the men had basically ripped Josef apart. There was nothing but a bloody husk lying in the middle of the floor. Wanting to get Juliet away from the gruesome sight, Antonin escorted her to the rear of the house. Alexei went with them, opening doors and checking rooms as though he’d been born to the task of a Pehkan’s personal guard.
As Antonin sank down onto a sofa with Juliet in his arms, Alexei pursed his lips and gave Antonin a pointed look. “I think the two of you might want to go down to the local police station and have a look at their holding cells.”
“What?” It was Juliet who responded. “Why would you say that?”
Alexei chuckled. “Josef might have overexaggerated the success of that recent skirmish between the Bratva and the Cagliones. It was the Caglione leader who called the cops on his own men. For some reason he wanted them locked up, but I’m sure they would appreciate being bailed out.”
