Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
KATYA
T he sight of Luca makes my blood run cold. Panic seizes my throat. For a moment, I can’t breathe, and then I tell myself I’m not dying, I’m just scared. Anton is across from me. He’ll keep me safe.
He has to.
“What are you doing here?” Anton growls.
Luca makes a show of looking around the restaurant. “This is an Italian restaurant, is it not?”
“It is. But you don’t own every one. I know for a fact you don’t own this one.”
“I know I don’t, and that’s a shame. I should buy it.”
“You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
A dark smile creeps onto his face. It reminds me of the smile he gave me when I was on his bed. When he touched my breast. I tell myself it could have been worse. I’m fine. I’m lucky in many ways.
And yet, I can’t stop thinking about that moment and how terrified I was.
“I’m here because I wanted to talk to you, Anton. You managed to do the impossible. You survived despite me coming after you. How did you do it?”
“I’m a little bit crazy,” Anton replies, leaning back in his seat like he doesn’t have a care in the world, whereas I feel every ounce of Luca’s eyes on me. I wish I could be like Anton, carefree and crazy. But unfortunately, I’m neither of those things.
“Mmm,” Luca murmurs tightly. “You see, Anton, I didn’t appreciate you killing my men.”
“They were coming after me. What can I say?”
“Oh, I know they were. I still didn’t appreciate it.” He swipes his finger along the white tablecloth. Seeing his hand so close to me sends fear ripping right through my body.
Luca turns his eyes onto me. “How have you been, Katya?”
I try to speak, but no sound comes out. It’s like I’ve become mute.
Anton looks at me intently with a frown on his face. “She’s been good,” he answers for me.
“I asked Katya.”
“She doesn’t want to speak to you. Not after you tried to kill her. So, if you’re not going to do anything Luca, then leave. We’re trying to enjoy our meal together. We’re on a date after all.”
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Luca makes another big show of looking around the restaurant. “It’s quiet in here tonight. Barely anyone else around.”
It’s then I notice he’s right. We’re the only customers.
I give Anton a questioning look, and he shrugs. “I paid out the restaurant. I wanted it to be only us.”
Of course, he did. But now that means we’re alone with Luca. There are no other people here to protect us, to act as witnesses to stop Luca from doing whatever he wants to do.
While Luca is looking away from me, I grab the knife on the table and slip it into my lap. Holding onto it gives me a small sense of protection. If Luca tries anything, I can stab him.
That is, if I have the courage to do it at all.
“Unlucky for you,” Luca says, turning back to us. “I came here to deliver a message.” He whips out his gun and points it right at Anton’s head. “My men failed to kill you. So, I just have to do it myself.”
I react without even thinking. I slam the knife into his thigh, making Luca cry out and stumble back. Anton jumps up, grabbing my hand as he does it, and pulls me toward the door.
“You can’t get away from me!” Luca shouts.
And that’s when I hear it.
The gunshot.
It’s right by my ear, but it misses us both. Anton ducks into a booth, pulling me in with him.
“Good thinking with the knife,” he says.
“Thanks. Don’t you have a gun?”
“Oh, I do.” He sits there with his hands clasped like a schoolboy.
“So, why aren’t you using it?”
“It’s more fun this way.”
“Anton, I don’t want to die here!”
“And you won’t.” He grabs a knife from the table and hurls it at Luca as he races toward us. Luca has no choice but to dodge out of the way.
Anton uses that advantage to run right for Luca and barrel into him. They fall to the floor. The knife is still sticking out of Luca’s leg—well, until Anton rips it out, and blood begins to gush from his thigh.
“I think I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Anton says, bringing the knife toward Luca’s throat.
But Luca has ideas of his own.
He brings his gun to Anton’s side and fires.
The bullet rocks Anton onto his back as he groans and grips his stomach.
Oh, no. Dread fills my entire body. This can’t be happening. I can’t be about to lose Anton.
Luca manages to stand up, despite his hurt leg. He’s going to kill Anton.
With a gasp, I run to another table, grab the knife, and throw it at him. It lands in his shoulder, rocking him back. I don’t hesitate to run at him and shove him to the side. I kick him in the leg, and he falls right to the ground. Blood seeps from Anton’s wound, and he’s gets paler by the second.
“Anton, come on,” I say, grabbing his shoulders. “We have to get out of here.”
With gritted teeth, he sits up, still clutching his stomach. “I think I’m dying, Katya.”
The thought of Anton dying doesn’t make me as happy as I thought it would.
I’m not sure I want Anton to die at all.
“Come on,” I beg.
“Not so fast,” Luca growls, raising his gun. Thinking on my feet, I grab a glass from a nearby table and fling it at his head. It hits him straight in the forehead, sending him to the floor.
“Anton. Come on.”
He stumbles as he stands up, but he eventually makes it to his feet. But then he slumps against me, and I can barely hold him.
“I’m not sure I’m going to make it,” he murmurs.
I glance back at Luca. He’s knocked out. Hopefully, he’ll just bleed out and die.
“We need to leave before Luca wakes up,” I say, walking us slowly to the door. The restaurant staff are nowhere to be seen. They’re probably hiding in the kitchen. I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t blame anyone for running from a gun fight.
Anton manages to walk, albeit slowly and hunched over, as we move down the street toward his car.
“Just keep moving,” I say. “Don’t stop.”
“Why do you care so much?” he grunts.
“Because …”
“Because?”
“Just shut up! And keep walking.” I grip Anton’s waist to keep him moving, but it doesn’t help much when he stumbles forward and falls to his knees.
I know I can’t do this on my own. Anton is too hurt. The police are out of the question. Never involve the police in Bratva business—that was what I was taught as a little girl.
But there’s one person who can help me even if I’m still mad at him.
I tap on Dimitri’s number in my phone and hear it ring. My hands are shaking by the time he picks up.
“Yes?”
“Dimitri, it’s Katya.”
“Katya? I didn’t recognize the number.”
That’s because I never gave him my new number. I was upset with him, but none of that matters now.
“Anton is hurt, and I need your help. We’re at Allora, an Italian restaurant. Luca Moretti is inside. He shot Anton. Get here. Now.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No. Just get here.” I hang up before he can ask too many questions and get distracted.
Anton’s wound is bleeding more and more, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s bad.
“You’re going to be fine,” I tell him. “What do I do? Anton? Talk to me.” I tap his cheek to keep him from closing his eyes. “Talk to me.”
“Don’t press down. That will only make it worse.”
“Ok. So, how do I stop the bleeding, then?”
“By getting me a to a doctor.”
“You can’t even stand up,” I remind him. “And I can’t carry you. I called Dimitri. He’ll be here.”
“Will he make it in time?” His normally tan skin is turning pale.
“He will. You’re going to be fine.”
“You know, if I’m dead, then you’ll be free of me.”
I give him a sharp look. “Just shut up. Ok? Just shut up.”
“I thought you wanted to keep me talking.” His voice comes out quieter and quieter. I can barely hear him.
“I do. If you keep talking, that means you’re alive.”
“Why do you care so much?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. But what I do know is you saved my life from Luca, and it’s only fair I return the favor. So, you need to stay alive until Dimitri gets here. He’ll save you.”
“I doubt it. He hates me.”
“You need to try with him.”
“But he’s such an annoying asshole.”
“Anton.” I shake my head and smile despite how scared I am. “Just try.”
He takes my hand with his bloody fingers. “Fine. If I make it out of this, I’ll try.”
“No ‘if.’ You will survive this.”
“Mmm.” His eyes start to flutter closed.
“Anton? Anton?” I tap his cheek, and when that doesn’t work, I slap it. I slap as hard as I can, but he doesn’t open his eyes. I check his pulse—it’s still there, just weak.
This can’t be happening. I don’t want to lose him, even though losing Anton would make my life easier. I could be free to live my own life. I’ve never been truly free to do that before.
I could just let Anton die and move on. It’s not like I love him.
And yet the thought of him dying fills my heart with so much pain, I can’t even make sense of it all.
“Anton!” I cry, slamming my hands against his chest. “Stay with me. Come on!”
Right at that moment, Dimitri’s car pulls up to the sidewalk, and he jumps out. “Katya.”
“Save him.” I scramble upright. When Dimitri hesitates, I snap at him. “Now, Dimitri. Now!”
He nods and manages to get Anton into his car. “Are you sure he’s not dead?”
“He’s not dead, but he will be if you don’t get him help soon.”
“All right. I’ll take him to my doctor. Get in.”
Dimitri drive us to Dr. Wilson’s clinic—the doctor who helps him with no questions asked. He once fixed up my arm when I got hurt a year ago by another madman who wanted to hurt my family.
Dimitri doesn’t say a word on the drive, which I’m grateful for. I couldn’t talk even if I wanted to.
Together, we get Anton out of the car and into the clinic. The nurse behind the front desk stands up with a frown.
“We need help!” I shout.
Dr. Wilson comes running out of the back, takes one look at the situation, and motions us to follow him. He gets Anton onto an operating table in the back room.
“He’s shot in the stomach,” I explain.
“Ok. You two need to get out of here. Now.”
The nurse from the front comes running back, giving Dimitri and me a dirty look. She and the doctor start to scrub up.
“You’re wasting too much time!”
“Katya, come on.” Dimitri pulls me out of the back room and into the small waiting room at the front of the clinic. “There’s nothing else you can do. You just have to let them save Anton.”
“He could die!”
“I know that. But he’s with Dr. Wilson, who’s saved my life a bunch of times. You know that. There’s no one better to save him. Now, sit down.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snap.
Sighing, he sits and runs his hand over his face. “What happened?”
“Luca showed up and shot Anton. I managed to knock him out, but he probably survived and got away. I’ve dealt with enough bad men to know they don’t go down easily.”
“How did you knock him out?”
I blush slightly. “By throwing a glass cup at his head.”
“Impressive.”
“I thought so, too.” I pause and realize I’m bantering with my brother. It’s something we used to do before he completely betrayed me by giving me to Anton. “No. We’re not going to do this.”
“Do what?”
“This.” I wave my hand between us. “Pretend to be friends again. I still hate you.”
“Fine. Hate me all you want, but I did just save your husband for you.”
“Need I remind you he’s your business partner? You should want to save him regardless of me.”
Dimitri shrugs. “Well, with Anton, I figure if he’s dead, then he’s dead. No skin off my back.”
“That’s my husband you’re talking about, you know.”
“The husband you didn’t even want to marry. So, don’t lecture me.”
“But you did marry me to him! And now, he might die. It’s not my fault I’ve tried to like him. That I’ve tried to make the best out of a shitty situation with him. I’ve done what I’ve had to do. And I like Anton now, ok? I don’t want him to die. So, don’t act so blasé about him getting hurt. It makes me hate you more.”
His eyes widen. “Sorry. I didn’t realize.”
“How could you not? You married me to him. Did you expect me to be miserable with him my entire life?”
He averts his gaze and coughs into his hand.
“Clearly, that’s what you thought,” I mutter.
“Can you blame me? I hate the asshole. I never wanted him to get his hands on you. You’re my sister. It’s my duty to keep you safe, and I gave you to a fucking madman. I was hoping you’d hate him and want to run away so I’d have an excuse to kill him and take you back.”
“You wanted to save me?”
“Of course! You’re my baby sister. I’ll always want to save you. I want to save you right now, in fact. Anton got you into trouble with Luca. It’s all his fucking fault. You said Luca shot Anton tonight?”
I nod.
“Luca could have easily shot you instead. I don’t want you in danger. I don’t think being with Anton is the answer, Katya. I think you should come back home with me. Evie misses you.”
“Evie sees me all the time.”
“You know what I mean. It’s not the same. She’s worried Anton is abusing you every single day, and I have no way to comfort her because I have no idea if Anton is abusing you or not.”
“He’s not,” I seethe. Why am I so protective over Anton? It’s not like he deserves it after how he tried to kill Dimitri over a year ago. Anton is not a good man; I need to remember that.
Yet I’m having difficulty doing just that.
Dimitri holds his hands up in surrender. “Ok. Fine. He’s not abusing you. But, Katya, I don’t want you with him. Return home with me.”
“Anton will just come for me, and you know it.”
“He might die.”
I go very, very still as I look down at my brother. My strong, confident, brave brother who betrayed me. “He might live.”
“He might. But what if he doesn’t? You’re not safe in his house alone. Not with Luca out there looking for you both. Come home with me, and I’ll keep you safe. It can just be temporary. Until Anton is healed and can protect you himself. Though I doubt Anton’s abilities to protect anyone. He’s gotten you into trouble. That’s not a good husband in my book.”
I scoff. “I seem to recall you getting Evie into trouble a lot early on in your marriage.”
“I’m not Anton, and Evie isn’t you. I never wanted to hurt Evie.”
“Whereas Anton wanted to hurt me? He hasn’t hurt me, Dimitri.”
“Can you honestly say that? He pissed off a powerful Italian, and now, that powerful Italian is coming after you. He’s hurt you, and you just don’t want to see it.”
“If you never wanted me to marry Anton, then why did you give me over to him? Why try to make peace if it was pointless for you?”
“Because I thought it would temper Anton until I could kill him.”
His stark admission brings me up short. Hearing Dimitri actually admit that makes me feel cold.
“You were just using me as a pawn, then?” I whisper.
“No.”
“It sounds like you were.”
“No, Katya.” He stands up and reaches for me, but I back away from him. “You were never a pawn.”
“But I was a sacrifice for you to find time to kill Anton. But now I like Anton, and you don’t know what to do with that. You never planned on me liking him.”
“Of course, I didn’t. Why the fuck would I? He’s a terrible person. I thought you’d be fighting tooth and nail to leave him.”
“But since I’m not … then, what? What are you going to do, Dimitri? Still try and kill him? I don’t want Anton dead.”
“Why not? What hold does he have over you? I just can’t imagine you’d ever fall for an asshole like him.”
I stare my brother down with my chin raised high. “And what if I have? Fallen for him? What does that say about me?”
“It says you’re confused. You’re young and naive. You wanted to make the most of your marriage with him. Fine. I get that. But, Katya, you can’t actually love him. Not when he’s done terrible things.”
“So have you,” I say in a low voice. “So has Nikolai. So has Maxim. You’ve all done terrible things.”
“Yes. But I did my terrible things to keep you safe. Anton does bad things because he finds it amusing. It’s not the same thing. You cannot fall in love with a madman like him. Come back home with me. You’re not safe returning to Anton’s house, not with Luca looking for you.”
“Maybe Luca is dead,” I say even though I don’t believe it.
Dimitri’s expression says he thinks the same thing. “Just come home with me. I’ll keep you safe, Katya.”
“And what happens after Anton is better? If he survives this?”
“Then I’ll deal with him then. But for now, let me keep you safe. Let me make amends for what I did to you.”
I can tell my brother means it. Rarely does he ever sound this desperate, but right now, the desperation in his voice is killing me. I can see the regret in his eyes.
Regret about marrying me to Anton.
Everything is so complicated now, though, because I actually kind of care about Anton. If he died, yeah, I’d be free. I’d be a widow, and a widow in the world of the Bratva has a lot more opportunities than an unmarried or married woman.
I wouldn’t have to play mind games with Anton. I wouldn’t have to feel my face flush every time he was around me. I wouldn’t have to feel my heart skip a beat when he touched me.
I could just focus on myself.
But I don’t want that. I know it deep down inside me. I want to blush when I’m around Anton because it means we’re bantering back and forth. I want him to touch me because it means I feel more alive than I’ve ever been before.
And strangely, the mind games we play thrill me. It makes life fun.
Anton is a challenge for me, and I’m a challenge for him.
I can’t give that up.
But he has to survive, and he might not, and I know it will break my heart. I might not love him, but I do know I don’t want to be without him.
“I’m not going to leave him, Dimitri. If he survives this, you need to know that.”
He bows his head, looking utterly dejected. I can tell my marriage to Anton has taken a toll on him from the bags under his eyes and the paleness of his skin. My brother is a man women would kill to be near, but right now, he doesn’t look like a god. He just looks like a broken, regret-filled man.
“But,” I say, making him raise his head and look at me, “I will go home with you. I don’t want to be alone in case Luca comes looking for me. You’re right about that. So, I’ll go. But it’s just temporary. And you need to put aside your hatred for Anton. If you truly want peace, that’s what you’ll do.”
He nods and doesn’t say a word. I notice he doesn’t verbalize any promise to me. It’s because he doesn’t want to have to do what I say, and knowing my brother, he’ll find a way around it.
I’ll have to find a way to stop him and Anton from fighting, but for right now, all I can focus on is the hope that Anton will survive.
ANTON
I wake up and feel nothing. No pain. My body doesn’t even feel like it’s attached to my head.
I jerk and try to sit up, but a woman pushes my shoulder back down onto the bed.
“Lie down,” she says. “You were shot. You need time to heal.”
It’s then I notice the oxygen tube in my nose. “Where the fuck am I?”
“At Dr. Wilson’s clinic.”
Ah, Dimitri’s doctor. Things are starting to come back to me, like Luca shooting me and Katya trying to save my life. Everything after that is just black.
“What happened? How did I get here?”
“Your wife and brother-in-law brought you in.”
So, Katya asked Dimitri for helped, and clearly, since I’m alive, Dimitri did, in fact, help me. Who woulda thunk it?
“Where’s Katya?”
The nurse hesitates as she fiddles with the IV bag next to me. “You have morphine running through you to help with the pain. Just relax.”
“Where’s my wife?”
She sighs. “Your wife isn’t here.”
“Then where the fuck is she?”
“I’m not sure. She left with her brother. That’s all I know.”
So, Katya is with Dimitri. That’s not a bad thing—he’ll keep her safe no matter what.
But then a darker thought enters my mind. What if Katya left me? What if she thought I’d die here, and she took that as her chance to escape?
“I need to leave,” I say, ripping the oxygen tub out of my nose.
“No. You need to stay right here. You’re still healing from your gunshot wound. You got lucky. It didn’t hit anything vital. But you still need your rest.”
“No. What I need is to be with my wife.” That is if she hasn’t left me. If Katya thinks she can just run away from me, I’ll show her she has another thing coming. I’m never going to let her go.
I get out of the bed, despite the nurse’s protestations, and limp out of the room. I can barely walk, but that won’t stop me from getting Katya back.
Nothing ever will.