Chapter 38 #2
I spun and ran for the lounge room. He opened fire and I dropped, skidding on my knees as I grabbed the wall and used it to fling myself around the corner.
Without losing speed I jumped to my feet and darted for the mirror.
Pressing my hand to the reflective surface, it popped open and I squeezed inside, just managing to hide myself in the hidden passageway before the guy with the machine gun followed behind me.
I held my breath as he walked past, the two-way mirror giving me the ability to see out but not allowing him to see in.
There was no way anyone was killing me in my own goddamn house.
I knew this place like it was the back of my hand.
For years, Father would surprise my siblings and I at all times of the day and night with drills where we had to work our way through the house and outside while dispatching anyone we came across.
We’d use the hidden trap doors and passageways to our advantage, which is exactly why he had them built in the first place.
If someone decided to attack us, we would have the upper hand.
Once the guy with the machine gun walked past, I slipped out silently and sneaked up behind him.
My hand slapped over his mouth, silencing his scream as I rammed my knife into his back.
It went under his rib cage, through his lung and into his heart.
He slumped against me and I lowered him to the ground.
Quickly checking over his weapons, I decided what was worth taking and what wasn’t before moving on. I swept the rest of the downstairs area, coming across the dead bodies of our guards and one of our maids. She mustn’t have been able to get to the safe room in time.
I moved through the kitchen, my eyes sweeping outside through the glass sliding doors as I moved fast and proficiently.
Someone came running at me from the left and I shot him in the chest. Another guy charged me from the right, his fist flying towards my face.
I reared back, avoiding the blow, and smashed the butt of my gun into his nose.
He cried out in pain, falling back. I shot him in the heart.
Pain shot up my spine as someone tackled me from behind. I flew forward, crashing into the kitchen table with a grunt, the weight of another body holding me pinned.
I swung an elbow back, connecting hard and pushed away from the table, turning quickly to face my new opponent.
A nasty gash cut through his eyebrow, blood pouring down his eye. He picked himself up and stared me down. He had balls, I’ll give him that.
I aimed my machine gun and fired.
Nothing happened.
Fucking out of bullets. Should have kept count.
I unclipped the strap around my shoulder and let the gun fall to the ground. I only had enough room to pack one extra clip for it, so with no more bullets it was nothing but dead weight.
The man charged me, throwing a vicious right hook. I ducked under his swing, wrapped an arm around his and flipped him onto his back, stabbing him in the chest the moment he slammed into the ground.
Someone ran in from the right. I yanked my knife out of one body and impaled it into another, hurling the blade across the room and into the guy’s throat.
Pain exploded in my shoulder. I growled, my teeth grinding as I felt a blade slice through my skin. I kicked out behind me, smashing my foot into the guy’s knee and forcing him back.
I ignored the pain coursing through my body and went after the little fucker. I ran, faked left and spun right, coming up behind him to wrap my arms around his neck. I lifted him off the ground, his legs kicking out in panic as I squeezed.
The click of a gun being loaded made me stiffen.
“Let him go!” someone yelled.
I glanced over my shoulder. Standing in the entranceway to the kitchen was a guy holding a shotgun, the barrel pointed right at me. His eyes darted around the room, taking in all the death and carnage, and he swallowed nervously. The gun shook in his hands.
I slowly turned to face him, lowering the guy in my arms so his feet touched the floor. I kept my grip tight around his neck, just giving him enough to draw breath.
“I said let my brother go!” the guy with the shotgun screamed, pointing the weapon at me aggressively.
Brother? That worked to my advantage.
I used the guy in front of me as cover, curling my body inwards so I hid as much as was possible behind his smaller frame.
I needed a second to think about my next move.
Based on the way the shotgun trembled in his hands, Nervous Nelly wasn’t a confident shooter.
If he was, he likely would have tried to take me out already.
But it was clear he was afraid of hitting his brother too, so he was resorting to posturing and threatening.
The guy in my arms wheezed, his face no doubt turning purple from the lack of oxygen. All it would take is one tight squeeze and he’d be dead.
“You-you let him go or I swear I’ll shoot you!
” Nervous Nelly shrieked, his shotgun shaking through the air so much I was afraid it might accidentally go off.
“I’m going to give you until the count of three before I blow your fucking brains out!
One! Two! Thr—” his words cut off abruptly as he cried out in pain, dropping to his knees.
Standing behind him was Drea, her hair drenched in blood, a truly dark and savage look on her face.
Two curved blades were in her hands, the same ones from up in the safe room she was meant to be inside.
She was splattered head to toe in blood.
On her face, arms, all over her clothes.
She looked like a vicious little attack dog. Bloody and brutal.
She leapt onto Nervous Nelly’s back and rammed her blades into his chest over and over again, stabbing him all over in quick, deep punctures like a woman possessed with a need for death.
The guy in my arms screamed and cried. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he flailed against me.
I snapped his neck and dropped him to the ground. I marched towards her. “I told you to stay in the safe room.”
“I think what you meant to say—” she exhaled heavily, pushing a strand of bloodied hair out of her face as she straightened from Nervous Nelly’s dead and mangled body. “—was thank you.”
I gripped her by the hips and lifted her off the ground, bringing her to eye level. Her feet dangled loosely in the air. She didn’t fight me, her hands curling around mine as best they could with the weapons in her hands.
I smashed my lips to hers in a brutally punishing kiss, pushing my tongue deep into her mouth. I groaned at the feel of her, the taste of her. She was so unbelievably sweet. I kissed her like I couldn’t survive without her, like she was my everything. Because she was.
I bit her bottom lip before pulling back. “Thank you,” I murmured, placing soft, little kisses over her lips. “Thank you, malyshka .”
She gave me a beaming smile. Then her eyes widened in shock. “Fuck, Aleksandr! You’ve got a knife in your shoulder!”
Did I?
I turned my head, seeing the hilt of blade sticking out of me. Oh, that’s right. That fucker stabbed me. I’d completely forgotten about it. Adrenaline did a lot to mask pain.
I hefted Drea up higher, wrapping her legs around my waist. “Pull it out.”
“What?! Are you crazy? We need to leave it in there and get you to a doctor!”
I repositioned her on my hip, reached back and yanked it out myself. I hissed through my teeth at the pain, throwing the knife away. It clattered on the ground.
“Aleksandr!” She climbed over me, her stomach digging into my other shoulder as she leaned around to get a good look.
“Relax. It’s a flesh wound. I’ll be fine.”
“ Maldito idiota .” You fucking idiot, she chastised, pulling back and shaking her head.
“Aw, isn’t this sweet?”
My whole body stiffened at the deep, baritone voice that filled the air. I slowly lowered Drea back to the ground, keeping her body close to mine as I turned to face the new threat.
Recognition flared through me the moment I laid eyes on him. It was the man I’d seen in the café with Rayna. I’d recognise that long, scraggly mop of hair anywhere. Men swarmed into the room a moment later. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Where the fuck were they all coming from?
They surrounded us, forming a loose circle around Drea and I. They each held a weapon of some sort in their hands—a knife, axe, machete, pipe, crowbar, baseball bat. The only one with a gun was Scraggly Hair.
I sized up my options, trying to figure a way out of this mess. My brain ran a mile a minute going through all the different scenarios. I had three knives and two handguns left. Drea had a knife in each hand. Maybe she had other weapons hidden on her, I wasn’t sure.
The odds were stacked against us either way.
Scraggly Hair rested his AK-47 on his shoulder, a taunting look on his face. “Take him alive,” he said, pointing directly at me. “Kill the bitch.”
That’s going to cost you your tongue.
One of the men laughed, licking his dirty lips. “I want to fuck her first.”
“Since when does a woman need to be alive for you to fuck her?” the guy on his left chuckled.
“Good point. Dibs on her body.”
I kept tight control on the anger thundering through me at their words. Getting pissed off would do nothing but hinder me and help them. I had to keep calm, even though I wanted nothing more than to smash their fucking faces in for even thinking about touching Drea.
All in good time.
“Get them,” Scraggly Hair ordered.
When they ran towards us, I front kicked a guy in the chest and then rear kicked another one with the same leg in a fast double touch.
I whipped out my gun and managed to get two shots off before someone whacked it away.
My body went into autopilot, attacking and defending as knives, baseball bats and axes came swinging towards me.