by Tabatha Kiss
“Where is he?” I hiss, letting up on his leg to make him stop squealing.
He smirks at me. “My son is safe.”
My rage boils, flashing white light in my eyes.
My son. He’s my fucking son.
“Where?!” I ask again, leaning into his wound.
Gio grunts with frustration. “What was it like, eh?” he spits through his teeth. “Taking another man’s wife, right under his nose? In his own fucking house?”
“Not bad, honestly,” I quip.
“Do you have no honor, Lutrova?”
“It comes and goes.” I bend down, blissfully enjoying the pain in his eyes. “And for the record, she wasn’t even your wife yet. She came to me because she couldn’t stand the idea of you getting to her first. And come, she did.”
Sofia squeezes my hand. “Luka…”
Gio’s eyes shift towards hers. “I should have known when my virgin bride didn’t bleed for me.”
“She bleeds for no one,” I say. “Not anymore.”
He laughs. “You think you’re just going to walk out of here with her? Look where you are. You’re dead where you stand.”
“Your guards are gone, Gio. All of them — even that pathetic assassin you sent after me. You want to kill me? You’re going to have to try a little harder than this.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
“Don’t bother,” I say. “You won’t see the next sunrise.”
“Your bastard won’t either,” he chuckles and licks the sweat off his lips. “Go ahead. Kill me. I dare you.”
I put all of my weight onto his leg and he growls in pain.
“Luka.”
I look over my shoulder at Fox and he beckons me down the hall.
“Don’t go anywhere,” I growl at Gio. “We’re not done yet.”
He spits at my feet as I push off of him. I hold Sofia’s hand a little tighter as we move down the hall towards Fox. I may never let go of her ever again after this.
“We’ve got company,” Fox says.
“Who?”
“Three cars just parked outside. Someone must have called for backup.”
“How many men?”
“A dozen? Maybe more and I’m low on ammo.”
“How low?”
“Too low.”
“Then, I hope you’re good with a knife.”
“Better than most,” he shrugs.
Definitely cocky.
I pause, taking a quick breath to try and think a little clearer. Gio has my son. There’s no way I’m leaving here without knowing where but we’re officially out of time.
Sofia stares up at me, shaking with confusion and fear behind a veil of blood on her face but I don’t see a wound anywhere.
And then I realize.
“Where’s Rosalie?” I ask her.
Her eyes swell and she looks behind my back to Gio’s study down the hall.
I move towards it and she drags her feet, dropping my hand completely by the doorway to avoid going inside.
The smell of blood and sweat reaches my nose before I even see her on the floor.
But mostly blood.
Gio laughs. He fucking laughs.
“That one is on you, by the way,” he says, propping himself up onto his elbows. “If you had kept your hands off of my wife then she never would have seen a thing and she’d still be breathing right now—”
“Shut up,” I seethe. He chuckles even louder to himself. “No, Gio, this is on you, just like Hans Petrovin is on you.”
He smirks. “Prove it.”
“I’m working on it.”
Fox rushes in our direction from the front of the house. “We need to move now, Luka.”
I keep my eyes on Gio. “Where is Lucian?”
He shrugs and anger spikes in me.
I stride towards him, ready to pull him off the floor and beat him to death, but Sofia grabs my arm.
“Luka—!” She pulls at me and I jump back to dodge the gunfire blazing from down the hall.
We retreat together into the study to avoid it and Fox leaps in behind us. He kneels by the doorway and peeks out with his rifle, firing off the last of his rounds before throwing the strap over his shoulder and reaching for a switchblade in his belt.
I look out into the hall again and grit my teeth in anger.
Gio is gone.
“How many?” I ask Fox.
He pokes his head out for a quick second, just narrowly dodging the bullet before it pierces the wooden doorway. “About seven.”
Sofia gasps beside me, her ears tuning to the sound before it even reaches mine.
A crying child.
“Lucian—!” She lunges for the windows and looks outside into the back garden. “Luka, it’s him.”
I push the curtains aside and watch as Gio limps into the trees with my son thrown over his shoulder.
“Get back,” I tell Sofia, guiding her away from the windows as I spin around to grab the nearest chair.
Fox flicks his switchblade open and yanks an eager gunman from just outside the doorway. Sofia screams, jumping away as Fox flips him onto his back and plunges the knife into his chest to put him down.
I throw the chair at the window and it shatters.
“Sofia, come on!” I grab her hand as Fox pulls the assault rifle from the man’s dead fingers.
We climb outside and Fox kneels beside the window, firing bullets inside to give us time to run. Sofia bolts ahead of me, following Lucian’s piercing cries into the woods over the pop of gunfire behind us.
She slips from my fingers and she runs, weaving in and around trees in the dark without even needing a map, just like that day fifteen years ago when I followed her in as I am now.
Except this time, I’ll actually try and seek out Gio as he hides from me.
And when I find him, I’ll kill him.
“Lucian!” Sofia cries out his name, running on pure adrenaline and motherly instinct as I race behind her, trying to keep up.
I lose her in the dark and Lucian’s piercing cry disappears.
“Sofia!”
My eyes adjust to the darkness and I make out the garden shed, nestled between two large trees near the back wall. I’m struck with a vivid hesitation. The last time I saw this place, we conceived our son.
Terror grips my chest but I step towards it. “Sofia…”
I push the door open and I feel the presence in the room. It’s too dark, so I search for the string hanging down somewhere in the center of the room.
I flick the light on and there she is, kneeling on the floor with Lucian in her arms.
He’s not crying anymore but she is, holding him close and whispering in his ear as he gazes up at me with those silver eyes.
“Where’s Gio?” I growl.
Sofia shakes her head.
Shouting voices echo behind us, accompanied by feet racing towards us, and my heart stands still.
It was the ultimate trap. Use Lucian as bait to lure us out here with nowhere to go but up against a fucking wall.
Beep beep beep.
My ears twitch and I step back outside to find Fox kneeling by the wall, laying something on the ground in front of it.
He rushes over to me and ducks behind the shed.
“You might want to get down…” he says.
He reaches into his vest and pulls out a small, black device. It fits snug in his palm and he lays his thumb against a smooth, round button at its tip.
A detonator.
I fall to my knees beside Sofia and Lucian to shield them as Fox pushes the button.
The bomb explodes, shaking the earth and the shed nearly topples around us. Sofia screams, completely caught off-guard by it and I hold her even closer against me as Lucian cries in her arms.
Fox stands and runs to the hole to jump through it first. I pull Sofia up and we follow closely behind him, squinting through the dust and debris as it settles to the earth.
Then, she stops.
“Sofia, come on…” I extend my hand to her, eager to get her and Lucian as far away from this place as possible.
Her eyes fall to my fingers and for a brief moment, she smiles.
She takes my hand and we run together, leaving the confused shouts of Gio’s men behind us.
Chapter 17
Sofia
I’ve never been on a plane before.
Twenty years on this earth and I’ve never had both feet off the ground at once. It’s scarier than I thought it’d be, especially in a plane this small. Every gust of wind, every shift in pressure. I feel it all with closed eyes, counting the moments until it’s all over but when we finally land, I won’t be in Italy anymore.
I’ll be in Russia.
I sit in my seat with a white knuckle grip on the armrests around me. Lucian lays beside me, curled up in Luka’s jacket, sleeping as if he didn’t have a care in the world but I wouldn’t have it any other way. If only I could be as calm as he is. If only I could forget about all of this and grow up without any memory of tonight or where I came from.
“Sofia?”
I flinch and look up to find Luka staring down at me from the thin aisle. He extends his hand to me but I hesitate to move.
“It’s okay,” he whispers, careful not to wake Lucian.
I release the armrest and my fingers ache from stiffness. My red skin feels sticky and cold. I can’t stand to look at it but Luka shows no fear as he takes my hand. Warmth trembles my fingers as he guides me from my seat and leads me towards the back of the plane.
Yuri looks at me but turns away, forcing his eyes down at the very sight of me. I’m not sure if he’s angry or disgusted or scared or all at the same time. I know I certainly would be if I could feel anything at all right now.
My eyes fall on the American. He looks at me without turning away and I study his handsome face. Short, brown hair and big, brown eyes. Soft features, nothing like the sharp Russian ones on the others. He gives me a respectful nod and I blink at the white scar across his cheek.
Luka pushes open the restroom door and I step inside the cramped, airless space as he grabs several hand towels from a cupboard outside. He follows me in and closes the door behind him.
“Sit down,” he tells me.
I do as he says and he wets a towel with water from the tiny sink.
“Who is that man out there?” I ask.
Luka kneels in front of me with the damp towel and takes my hand. “His name is Fox,” he answers, wiping the blood off my wrist.
“Is he a friend of yours?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
I watch him work. Each swipe of the towel removes a little more red from my pale skin.
“I wouldn’t get too attached to him, though,” he adds. “He won’t be around for long.”
“Where is he going?”
He glances up at me but doesn’t answer as he moves onto my other hand with a fresh towel. While I am sheltered, I understand silence very well. This kind can only mean one thing but I’ve seen my fair share of death tonight.
“He helped you save us,” I say.
“There’s more to it than that.”
Of that, I have no doubt. I fall quiet and Luka finishes wiping the blood off of my fingers. He looks up and studies my face.
“Hold still,” he says, moving the towel to my cheeks.
I lean into his touch as he cleans me up. I haven’t glanced in a mirror all night. I can only imagine the horror I must look like but Luka’s eyes show nothing of it. Unlike Yuri, who seems ready to scream at the very sight of me.
Luka lays a red-covered towel into the sink and I cringe as he grabs a fresh one.
There was so much blood…
“You’re going to be okay, Sofia,” Luka whispers at me, his eyes fixed on mine. “You’re both safe now.”
He wipes the towel down my neck, taking his time with a gentle touch. Pink water stains the basin each time he wrings the towel out and I can’t pull my eyes away from it.
“He’ll come looking for me,” I say, my voice shaking.
Luka pauses. “Maybe,” he nods. “But where we’re going, he’ll need an army to get to you. I won’t let that happen.”
“How long until we land?”
“A few hours.” He looks down. “We’ll find you some clothes when we do.”
I follow his eyes and glance at my dress, stained through and ruined.
“Rosalie made this one…” I mutter without thinking. “She really liked sewing…”
“Sofia…” Luka cups my face with his hands as a rock grows in my throat. “Look at me.”
I close my eyes, squeezing them together to hold back the tears fighting to bleed through.
Everything shakes. Just one slip and I’ll fall to pieces but I can’t do that right now. Lucian needs me to be strong but I don’t know how I can be when I can’t even remember how to breathe.
Luka draws his thumb beneath my eye, banishing a tear as it slips out. “Look at me, lyubov’ moya,” he whispers.
I open my eyes and he stares back at me with the same eyes as our son; the same eyes I fell in love with the day he was born.
Luka fills his lungs, breathing in the stale, almost nonexistent air, and he waits for me to do the same. I inhale a shaking breath and he blows his out through his lips.
“Just like that,” he says. “That’s how we stay alive.”
I nod and take another deep breath, feeling his calloused hands warm my cheeks.
“It’s not over until we can’t do that anymore. I won’t stop fighting for you until my last breath, Sofia. And I promise you… that I will make Gio Zappia suffer until his.”
The lump shrinks in my throat. I don’t think I’ve ever trusted anybody or anything as much as I trust him in this moment.
Luka Lutrova. The Russian mobster. The father of my child. Our savior.
Luka moves to stand and I reach out to stop him. He pauses, gazing back at me and I can’t help myself. I kiss him softly and he instantly pulls me in, cupping my face to hold me there as our lips blend together.
I stand and he rises with me. His hands fall to my hips, drawing me closer to his wide frame and I melt against him as he leans me back against the wall.
A cry rings out, traveling over the rumbling engine and my motherly instincts kick in. “Lucian…” I whisper, pulling my lips from Luka’s.
Luka smiles, stealing one more quick kiss from me before taking a short step back and sliding the door open.
I step out, instantly feeling the cold air on my face as I dart down the aisle to my seat. Lucian stands up and raises his arms at me, begging to be held and I reach for him.
“Shh,” I soothe into his ear. “It’s okay.”
We pace back and forth in the aisle and Lucian’s voice calms more and more with each step I take. I look around, feeling their eyes on me. Yuri still can’t maintain eye contact with me for very long but he glances hard at Lucian, no doubt just realizing that he’s an uncle.
Fox keeps a somber expression, seemingly unfazed by everything around him. Something tells me he’s been through far more uncomfortable situations than this.
I step towards him, balancing Lucian in my left arm, and pause above his shoulder. “Thank you,” I tell him. “Whoever you are.”
I extend my hand towards him and Luka steps behind me.
“Sofia…” he says, his voice uneasy.
Fox’s eyes shift from mine to Luka’s, but he takes my hand. His grip is soft and restrained, just like his eyes. There’s so much hidden beneath the surface but he shows me enough to make me think twice about distrusting him.
“You’re welcome,” he says.
I return to my seat with Lucian and Luka follows us like a shadow, taking the chair beside me with hard, protective eyes.
***
“Bozhe moi!”
Nina Lutrova places her hand over her heart the second we walk through the front door. She glares down at us from the stairwell i
n a blue, silk robe, her eyes hopping from face-to-face, from Luka to Yuri and me to Fox. Then, finally, to Lucian yawning quietly in my arms.
“Yuri…?”
“Oh, no,” he says, shaking his head at Luka. “Don’t look at me.”
Luka keeps his grip on my hand and she notices, her eyebrow popping upward. “Ma…”
“Wait—” She holds up a hand to silence him. “I have a feeling your father should hear this.”
She takes off down the hall and Yuri walks away with her. Fox lingers behind with us, obviously as hesitant as I am to wander through the Lutrova family estate.
Luka looks at me and offers a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Is it?” I ask.
He squeezes my hand a little tighter and steps forward, leading me down the hall and he gestures at Fox to follow along with us.
My eyes scan the dark entryway as we push forward. Several guards stand scattered in the halls as we pass by, as armed and alert as the ones back in Italy. The walls are practically bare with minimal decorations compared to the Zappia estate, but I say that with great appreciation. I always hated how flamboyant and colorful everything was there, almost like it was all a clever ruse to hide the darkness within. At least the Lutrovas seem to own their reputation as a notorious crime family.
Nina and Yuri disappear into a room down the hall and I instantly hear the quick chatter of voices but there’s not nearly enough time to prepare Nikolai Lutrova for what he’s about to see walking through his house in the middle of the night.
We arrive in the doorway and he looks up at us from his desk with great confusion.
“What is she doing here?” he barks, letting his hands flip back and forth in the air.
Luka pulls me into the room with him. “She needs help.”
“Where is Giovani? Does he know she’s here?”
“Pops…” Luka pauses, his voice falling but I don’t blame him. I have no idea where to start with any of this either.
“I left, sir,” I say. Nikolai and Nina draw sudden breaths at the sound of my voice. I suppose I’ve never spoken to either of them before now. “I ask for asylum.”
Nikolai shakes his head. “From what?”
Luka steps forward. “Gio tried to kill her,” he says.
