Chapter 30 Alina
Alina
My brothers have visited me in our new residence before, but we’ve never sat together like this.
Whenever they’d come over, the atmosphere would be painfully tense until Alexei made himself scarce and let me have at least pretend privacy to talk to them, to have the same circular conversations that always feel more like interrogations, with my brothers doing their best to determine if Alexei is indeed the monster I’d once imagined him to be…
and whether the risk of acting to extract me from his grasp outweighs the risk of letting me continue in this marriage for now.
Today, everything is different. The air in this meeting room on the first floor of our mansion still reeks of tension and an excess of testosterone, but I’m no longer the proverbial bone in the middle, the reason the men in my life are at odds with each other.
Instead, Alexei and I are united against my brothers.
Valery’s expression is coolly inscrutable, as always, but I can tell he’s irritated.
“What are you proposing instead?” he asks when I inform him that Birgit is not to be touched under any circumstances.
“She’s five minutes and one pointed question away from telling Accardi’s dirty cops all about the Russian girl who stayed with her at the exact time of Bocelli’s disappearance.
What do you expect us to do when his goons come sniffing around for answers?
Are we going to war for this German you’ve known for all of two days? ”
“No, of course not!” The last thing I’d want is for anyone to be in danger, our guards included. “This is why we’re all here, so we can figure this out.”
At my side, Alexei stirs, a dark, silent presence until now. His strong, tan fingers interlace with mine atop the conference table, a possessive hold that draws Konstantin’s gaze and makes his jaw tighten.
“I propose we extract Schwann from custody,” Alexei says. “Right away. Before that pointed question is asked.”
Konstantin tears his gaze away from Alexei’s hand on mine. His jaw is still clenched, but his tone is even. “I suppose you’ve already set the plans in motion?”
To my shock, Alexei nods. “My men are on the way there as we speak.”
I blink. How on earth…? It’s been less than three hours since we found out about the situation.
Valery’s eyes narrow, and then a cold smile spreads across his face. “Bravo. I suppose the purpose of this meeting was to keep us out of your men’s hair?”
Alexei’s smile is just as cold, even as his hand remains a warm, reassuring weight on mine. “Like you said, we get her out now, or she blabs. There was no time to waste on debates.”
I stare at my husband, impressed despite myself.
With this one maneuver, he’s forestalled any and all arguments, getting my brothers to fall neatly into line.
Because that’s what must happen now: if they don’t want this to go south, they won’t stand in his way.
In fact, they’ll support his plan in any way they can.
Already, Konstantin’s thumbs are flying across the screen of his phone, undoubtedly sending off instructions to erase all the relevant footage in the police station and whatever else is required to make sure Birgit’s extraction doesn’t leave any evidence that can be traced back to us.
I’m pondering why Alexei didn’t tell me the plan when Valery’s eyes flick over to Alexei’s fingers interlaced with mine. “A word with my sister, please.” His tone is cool and steady, even as annoyance simmers deep beneath.
Alexei rises to his feet with a sardonic gleam in his eyes. “By all means. I’ll check on the progress of the operation in the meantime.”
He leaves the dining room with a few long strides, giving us privacy that is as much a sham as this meeting turned out to be.
He knows, as we all do, that invisible cameras line every corner of this room, recording every word that will be said. Valery might as well talk to me in front of him.
I sigh and look at my brothers, preparing myself for another pseudo-interrogation. It doesn’t matter what I say about wanting to stay with Alexei—they simply don’t believe me. But they’re not looking at me.
Instead, they’re on their feet, already rounding the long oval table toward me.
I gasp when they grab me, one arm each, and pull me up to stand. “What are you doing?” I whisper-hiss, not wanting to alert Alexei to whatever craziness my brothers are trying.
They don’t answer. Their faces are tense, eyes narrowed as they drag me toward the wall that is a window—currently not enclosed in its concrete slab so as to let us enjoy the afternoon light.
I begin to struggle, still keeping quiet. Whatever they’re planning, I’m not down for this, but I don’t want anyone to get hurt, as is bound to happen if Alexei realizes what’s happening.
My struggles are in vain. Both Valery and Konstantin are tall, athletic men with significant fighting experience; my frantic movements barely register for them.
“Stop it,” I hiss in desperation. “I don’t want this!”
My brothers ignore me. When we reach the window, Konstantin slaps a tiny, cockroach-shaped metal device onto the surface. It whirrs to life, and I gape in shock as it eats through five centimeters of bulletproof glass as if it were paper.
In the meantime, Valery is attaching three more metal cockroaches, and they all move as one, cutting out a man-sized rectangle inside the window in a matter of seconds.
What the fuck are those things? And why isn’t Alexei seeing this through the million cameras he’s got hidden all over?
I cast a frantic look around the room, but I don’t see anything out of place. Yet my brothers must’ve done something to prevent Alexei’s guards from realizing what’s happening. Maybe Konstantin hacked the cameras and is feeding them a false image? Or—
“Let’s go.” Valery’s quiet voice is filled with urgency as he pushes on the cutout glass and makes it fall into the low shrubs outside. “We have less than a minute.”
Less than a minute before what?
I want to ask, but I don’t get a chance as he jumps out after the glass, landing just past the shrubs in the smooth crouch of a cat. As soon as he straightens, Konstantin picks me up and literally throws me to him, ignoring my panic-stricken attempt to grab at his shirt.
Only the fact that they’re my brothers keeps me from screaming my head off as I fly through the opening and land in Valery’s strong arms with a teeth-snapping jolt.
“I’m not a fucking sack of potatoes,” I growl when I get my breath back.
Nobody is listening. Konstantin has already jumped after us, and the two of them grab me like the aforementioned potato sack and sprint for the nearby cluster of trees—just as a huge boom shatters the silence, and scorching-hot air blasts my face and every bit of exposed skin.
I scream instinctively, ducking to hide my face against Valery’s shoulder. Then terror, raw and gut-wrenching, floods my brain with adrenaline, and I begin to fight in earnest as he carries me away from the wrecked mansion and the fire consuming it… away from Alexei, who must still be inside.
No. No, no, no! Howling like a banshee, I claw at Valery’s face, the fierceness of my attack shocking him into loosening his grip on me just enough that I manage to push away and fall onto my ass.
Ignoring the jolt of pain, I bounce to my feet and propel myself toward the flames.
My feet crunch on melting snow and bits of burning plaster as a single thought cycles through my mind.
Alexei.
I have to find him.
I have to save him.
Arms like a steel beam wrap around my waist, bringing me to a halt mid-sprint.
Shrieking, I try to turn around so I can claw at the face of my captor, but it’s Konstantin who has me now and he’s wise enough not to repeat Valery’s mistakes.
All I can do is kick backward and scream as he drags me toward the fence and the trees, away from the burning ruins of the place that has been my home for the past two months.
Away from the man I love more than life itself.
A man who may already be dead, killed because of me… because I never managed to convince my brothers that he is what I want—that he is all I’ve ever wanted, even if I didn’t always know it.
“Alina, stop it! You’ll hurt yourself.”
It’s Valery’s voice, tense and sharp. His words barely register through the maelstrom of terror and anguish swirling inside me.
All I’m cognizant of is the desperate need to get away and run back into our fortress of a mansion that was supposed to be impenetrable to any enemy yet is burning down before my eyes.
And Alexei… Oh god, if he survived the blast, he may be trapped inside, injured and burning alive.
The shriek that tears from my throat is inhuman, a sound of primal rage and torment.
Calling on every bit of skill and knowledge I possess, I fight harder than I ever have in my life.
I fight like the man holding me is my hated enemy instead of my favorite brother.
Like he’s my father trying to kill my mother all over again.
If I had a knife, I would stab Konstantin without a second thought.
But I don’t, so I just kick and punch, screaming and twisting, clawing and scratching, bucking and headbutting—all to no avail.
Konstantin is a head taller and forty kilos heavier, pure muscle while I still haven’t recovered my full strength.
Relentlessly, he drags me away, and all I can do is scream in helpless fury and anguish as I watch the fire devour the wreckage of my life.