Sinful Promise (Koslov Bratva #6)

31. Danil

31

DANIL

I can barely remember the route the guards took me on to get me here. All I know is that they dragged me up some stairs after we left Emily behind, which means that she is likely to be in the basement of wherever the hell we are.

I need to get my hands on her. I need to feel her warm skin beneath my fingertips and to hear the sound of her laughter.

What if I never get to hear her laugh again?

The realization hits me like a ton of bricks.

This can’t be how we end.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the gun, making sure to click off the safety before I start making my way along the corridor ahead. It’s well-lit, which means there’s nowhere for me to hide should Igor decide to come and pay me another visit.

The fluorescent lights overhead are blinding, which only adds to my headache.

I can’t wait to get the fuck out of this place and pretend that tonight never happened.

By now, I only have about twenty-five minutes until my brothers are dead. All I can hope for is that Dimitri remembers the pact we made when I was a boy and understood the hidden meaning behind my words before he ended the call.

It’s the only hope Emily and I have of getting out of here alive.

I’m not sure whether this place is a house or some kind of abandoned office building, but either way, it’s damp and depressing and frighteningly quiet.

If Dimitri were here, no doubt I would hear the sound of gunfire and yelling.

Instead, all I can hear is the sound of my own breathing and my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

I need to get to Emily. Now.

I stalk quickly and quietly as I can along the deserted corridor. There is no sign of Igor’s men.

Have they all left for my apartment already? Surely, some would have stayed behind to guard both me and Emily, unless…

“No,” I breathe as I increase my pace to a run.

She can’t be dead, because I’m not sure I could survive in a world without Emily Mullens.

When I reach the end of the corridor and turn left, I come face to face with a set of iron stairs that lead down into a darkened basement.

My legs almost give out beneath me as I realize this must be where Emily is being kept. But whether she’s still alive is another matter entirely.

The thought has me sprinting down the iron stairs, not caring that the impact of my feet against the metal echoes around me. Right now, all I care about is getting to Emily.

I’m not a fool. I know Igor was never going to honor his end of the bargain by sparing Emily’s life if I offered up my brothers. Underneath his brutish exterior, he’s a very smart man, and one I would do well not to underestimate.

All I can do now is pray that I’m not too late.

“Emily?” I call out, not caring if I alert some hidden guard to my presence.

Let them come. I want nothing more than to put bullets in each and every one of their skulls for the part they’ve played in Emily’s suffering.

But I’m met with nothing but silence.

My stomach turns to lead as I hold my hand up to the door.

“Emily, malishka … Are you in there?” My voice cracks as I try not to picture what I might find on the other side of the door.

We were meant to have a lifetime together.

“Danil?”

Her voice is so faint that I can’t tell if I imagined it.

“Emily?”

“Danil!” Her voice is hoarse, probably from dehydration, but she’s alive.

My baby girl is alive.

“Oh, thank god.” My legs almost give out beneath me. “I’m going to get you out, Em, okay?”

“Okay.” She sounds so small and fragile, so different from the Emily I know, that it makes my heart ache.

I might only get one chance before Igor’s men realize I’ve gotten out, so I need to make it count.

Taking a step back, I quickly glance over my shoulder to make sure that I’m still alone before bracing my body. Lifting my right foot, I take one last deep breath, before sending all of my weight through my foot which slams into the door.

The sound of my foot colliding with the metal door reverberates throughout the basement floor, and I wince as the hinges break and the door goes crashing to the floor.

I might just have set off a ticking time bomb on mine and Emily’s lives, so I need to make this quick.

The light from the corridor floods the room and when my eyes land on Emily huddled in the corner, all the air leaves my lungs.

“ Malishka .”

She lifts her head and when her green eyes meet mine, her entire face crumples as tears start to pour down her cheeks.

“Danil.”

“It’s okay, malishka , I’m here,” I soothe as I rush into the room and crouch down beside her.

“I-I thought you w-were dead,” she sobs.

“I’m here,” I repeat as I reach out to stroke her face.

Her hands are tied behind her back, but there’s one thing I need to do before I can untie her. I take her face in my hands. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I lower my face to hers, and I kiss her.

My touch only makes her cry even more, as if she can’t quite believe I’m here.

I can taste her tears as they slide down her face, but I don’t stop kissing her. At least not until a huge crash comes from overhead, and I quickly break apart the kiss to glance over my shoulder.

Emily’s eyes widen. “What was that?”

“I don’t know.” I reach for my gun just to make sure it’s still there before turning back to face Emily. “But we need to move now.”

She nods.

I gently stroke my fingers down her cheeks to wipe away her tears.

She eyes the dried blood on my forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Bit of a headache, but no permanent damage done,” I tease, and she laughs, though it doesn’t meet her eyes.

I move around her so I can get a better view of the ties.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” I gently start untying the rope.

Her wrists are red from where she’s been pulling against them, so I do my best not to rub the rope against the delicate skin.

Emily shakes her head, and a wave of relief hits me.

“Danil, Igor is going to kill everyone. Even the childre—” Another wave of sobs comes over her.

I lean forward to press a kiss to her shoulder. “I’m not going to let that happen, you hear me? I promise. No one is going to hurt my family.”

“But—”

“Do you trust me, Em?”

“With my life.”

“I’m going to get us out of here.” I tug at the rope.

Emily winces, but stays quiet as I work as quickly as I can.

There is still no sign that Dimitri is here, and I’m starting to panic.

How am I meant to get Emily out when I only have one gun, and we could be facing dozens of guards?

If something were to happen, and she got caught in the crossfire…

“Danil?” she whispers, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Those three words have a choked sound escaping my lips.

I’ve wanted to hear them for so long, and I’ve wanted to say them for even longer.

The rope finally comes free, and I quickly pocket it before moving around Emily and taking her face in my hands.

“I love you too.” I kiss her once more.

Emily’s hands find my face and for a moment, I forget about what we might face when we leave this room. Because for right now, all that matters is that she loves me, and I love her.

“I’m so sorry this happened.”

I know that even if Emily can find it in her heart to forgive me, I’ll be carrying around this guilt for the rest of my life.

“It’s okay, Danil. It’s not your fault.”

“God, I thought I lost you…” I rest my forehead against hers.

“Me too.”

The voice I dread the most comes from the doorway. “Well, I wouldn’t want to interrupt such a touching moment.”

I don’t think, I just move.

I’m on my feet in an instant and move to stand in front of Emily as I face Igor.

How did I not hear him approach? Though, I suppose that doesn’t matter. What does matter is killing him before he has a chance to kill me or anyone in my family.

I focus on the heavy weight of the gun in my waistband. I don’t want to pull it just yet. It could work in my favor to have Igor thinking I’m unarmed.

“Don’t you have some of my brothers to kill?”

Igor’s lips pull up into a smile as he regards me.

“I will say, Danil. You’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”

Emily whimpers behind me. She’s climbed to her feet, and her hands are resting on my back as I shield her from view.

“You’d do well not to underestimate my brother,” Dimitri’s voice sounds from behind Igor.

Igor whirls around to face my brother, and I see my one chance.

I pull my gun free and aim it at Igor’s shoulder.

My entire body jerks as I pull the trigger, and Emily’s hands grip my shoulders as she buries her face on my back at the sound of the gunfire.

For a fraction of a second, time seems to stop.

And then Igor’s body jolts, and he throws his head back and howls.

“You fucker?—”

I get ready to fire again when Dimitri takes Igor’s head in his hands and slams his own into Igor’s nose.

As blood starts to pour from his broken nose, I send another bullet into the back of his thigh, causing him to go crashing to the floor.

Dimitri wastes no time in landing a swift kick to Igor’s head, knocking him completely unconscious with one blow.

For a moment, the two of us just stare at each other, both panting hard, as Igor lays in a heap at Dimitri’s feet.

“You came. I wasn’t sure if you’d get the message. If you’d even remember…”

Dimitri’s answering grin has the weight lifting from my shoulders.

“I told you back then I’d always be there to help you. You’re my brother.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat.

I pocket my gun. “Do you know how difficult it was not to just shoot the fucker in the head?”

My brother rolls Igor onto his back. “That would have been an easy death. He deserves to suffer for what he’s done to our family.”

I reach into my pocket and pull out the bloody rope that was used to bind my own hands. “Here. You might need this.”

I toss the rope to Dimitri, who makes quick work of securing Igor’s hands together.

He looks around. “Is there any more?”

I pull out the rope that was used on Emily and throw it to Dimitri before I have a chance to wrap it around Igor’s throat.

Emily appears at my side. “What are you going to do with Igor?”

Dimitri’s head snaps up at the sound of Emily’s voice. His shoulders sag. “Emily. You’re all right.”

Emily looks up at me and smiles.

“I am now.”

Dimitri gets to his feet. “We’re going to take him back to the warehouse. But you two should get checked out at the hospital.”

I look at the unconscious man onthe floor, and my mind runs all the scenarios of pain I can bring him. But my brother is right. “I don’t need checking out. But I will make sure Emily is taken care of.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t finish anything without you. Mikhail and Alexei are upstairs, and Anton is on the way with Lev. We’re going to have some fun.” Dimitri grins. “I’ll have Zara meet you at the hospital so that she can take over for you when you’re done.”

I nod.

The exhaustion is suddenly starting to hit, but it’s going to be a while yet until I can finally sleep.

“Take my car. Here.” Dimitri reaches into his pocket and pulls out his keys, throwing them into my ready hand.. “Oh, and Danil?”

“Yeah?”

“If you so much as scratch it, you’re dead.”

I can’t help but laugh.

I pocket Dimitri’s keys and turn to face Emily.

She looks up at me with such hope in her eyes that it almost sends me to my knees.

I reach out to gently stroke her cheek.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“For what?”

“For giving me something to fight for.”