Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
KATYA
I t takes Katerina a moment to register my words, but when she does, her reaction is huge. “We’re in danger!” She presses her back to the wall and clutches her chest, panic in her eyes.
“Luca is right outside. I’m gonna call Anton.” I dial is number and wait for him to answer. He picks up on the first ring.
“Katya?”
“Luca is here. He’s outside the house.”
“How the fuck did he find our home?” Our home . Not just his any longer.
“I have some idea, but that’s not important. You need to get here. Now.”
“I’m on my way.” He hangs up, and the silence makes my core constrict. I just have to hope Anton will make it in time.
“Anton is coming,” I tell Katerina, who nods to herself.
“Good. He always pulls through, my son. That’s what makes him the best.”
“We should just wait in here until he arrives.”
Katerina surges toward me, grabbing my arms. “But what if Luca comes inside? What if he attacks us?”
“Then we defend ourselves. We need a weapon. Surely, Anton keeps guns somewhere in the house.”
“We don’t have time to be running around the house, searching for guns! We need to escape out the back door and make a run for it.” She heads for the door, but I grab her arm.
“Katerina, if we leave this house, then Luca has a much better chance of getting us. We need to stay in here to defend ourselves. It’s our best chance. Where does Anton keep his gun stash?”
“How do you not know? You’ve lived here for weeks.”
“Katerina!” I give her a shake. “Just tell me. Now is not the time for fighting.”
“In the basement.”
“Ok. Where is the door to the basement?”
“It’s …” All the color drains out of her face. “It’s by the front door.”
“I thought that door was a closet.”
“Well, you thought wrong.”
I let Katerina go and begin to pace the room. “Ok. We need to get a gun. Two guns, one for each of us. Then we need to hide. Somewhere Luca can’t attack us on multiple sides. We need to defend ourselves in case he makes it inside. We need to go now, Katerina, before he breaks down the front door.”
“Everything in this house is impenetrable.”
A loud bang comes from the front of the house. “Are you so sure about that?”
Katerina’s eyes widen as she shakes her head. “No.” I’ve never heard her whisper before. It’s sort of scary. The once proud, great Katerina is actually afraid.
“We need to move. Now.”
“You go without me.” She sits on the bed, clenching her hands together.
“What? It would be safer if we stick together.”
“No it won’t. It will just mean Luca can use us against each other. It’s better you go get the guns and return here. I’ll just wait.”
“I need the help.”
“You don’t need the help from an older woman like me. I’ll just slow you down. Go get the guns, Katya. Do it!”
Arguing with Katerina is pointless. She’s not moving, and I don’t have time to convince her.
“Fine. But if I die, that’s on you.” It’s a harsh thing to say, but I need Katerina to know there’s more at stake than just her own self.
Instead of a snippy reply, Katerina bows her head and doesn’t say a word. I know she’s scared—who wouldn’t be? Yet, the sight of her looking so dejected scares the crap out of me, too.
“Just be safe,” I tell her, and she looks up at me sharply. “Here’s where you tell me to be safe too.”
She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.
“Right.” I turn to the door, knowing I need to go out there and grab us weapons. It’s the only way we’ll have a fighting chance against Luca.
I crack the door open.
“Katya.”
I glance back at her. “Yes?”
“Stay safe, too.”
“Thanks.” We share a long look. Both of us knowing we could die. Both of us hoping we don’t.
I step out into the hallway and shut the door behind me. I don’t hear anything from the front of the house, but that doesn’t mean a thing. Slowly, I tiptoe toward the foyer.
Once I reach the end of the hallway, I peek around the wall. No one is in the foyer.
Then a loud bang comes from the front door again. Luca is trying to get in, and it’s only a matter of time before he does.
I spy the door Katerina was talking about. It’s off to the side, white, blends in with the wall. I find it strange how there’s an entirely other part to this house I haven’t explored yet. There’s so much depth to it.
A lot like Anton as a person.
I have to survive just long enough until he can come save me. And for once, he’s not alone. He has the other men with him.
With a large inhale, I dash across the foyer and to the door. But when I try the doorknob, I find it locked. I shake it harder, but it doesn’t budge.
Ok. That’s not good.
Anton has to have a key somewhere. Presumably, he doesn’t keep it on him at all times.
I huff and run right back to Katerina. “Where does Anton keep the key for the basement door?”
She stares at me blankly.
“Katerina!”
With a jerk, she looks up at me. “Uh … in his office, I think? He showed me one time in case of an emergency.”
“Well this is an emergency! Do you know exactly where it is?”
“I can’t think. Uh …”
“Ok.” I run my hand down my face and try to calm my breathing. “But you know it’s in his office?”
“Yes.”
“Ok.” I run out of the room and down the hall the other way until I reach Anton’s office. Once inside, I start going through his desk like a madwoman. I push papers out of the way. I knock paperweights off the desk. My fingers scramble to open every drawer.
And that’s when I find it—a set of keys on a keyring. One of these has to work. but I have no idea which one.
I dial Anton’s number, and fortunately, he picks up after one ring. “Where are you?”
“We’re almost there. But we’re still a good fifteen minutes out.”
“Ok. That’s not bad. Uh, I need to know which key works for the basement door. I need a gun. I need to be prepared.”
“It’s a small key.”
I look down at the assemble of keys. “Multiple of them are small!”
“It’s silver.”
“Anton!”
“I’m sorry, baby. I don’t know which one it is by memory. I would recognize it if I saw it, but I don’t know how else to describe a fucking key. It’s small and silver. That will help narrow it down. I need to focus on driving. Stay safe until I get there.” He hangs up.
I clench the keyring in my hand so tightly that my fingers ache. A small cut forms on my hand, but it doesn’t even hurt. Nothing else matters right now but getting a gun.
Another bang comes from the front door. Luca is close to getting in. I can feel it.
I tell myself I can do this, and then I run out of the office and back toward the basement door. My body slams into the door the second I reach it.
With shaky fingers, I try one key. It doesn’t work. Another bang. The front door cracks a little. I try another key.
It doesn’t work.
Bang!
I flinch so hard, I almost drop the keys. It makes me lose my progress.
Bang!
The door cracks even more. Luca is going to make it inside, and I need to get a gun so I can shoot his fucking head.
I start trying keys by random, my hands sweaty and my heart racing. Key after key after key doesn’t work.
Until one does.
The lock clicks open, and I rip open the door and race down the steps into the basement, which is covered in guns from head to toe. I’m pretty sure none of this is legal, but then again, Anton doesn’t play by any rules. He’s a Bratva man. The law does not apply to him.
I grab a gun off the wall—a small pistol that I can easily carry. I was taught how to shoot by my father when I was younger. He wanted me to be prepared in case I ever needed to defend myself. That’s how different my life was from a normal person’s.
I find ammo resting on a platform in the middle of the room. Multiple drawers are full of it. I grab the right kind and shove it into the magazine, then shove that into the gun. I turn off the safety, then turn to run back up the stairs.
Bang! It’s even louder than before. Then I hear men’s voices.
Luca has made it inside.
I stop dead in my tracks. I’m in a room surrounded by guns, and yet I don’t feel safe at all. Yes, I know how to use a gun, but I’ve never killed anyone before. This would be self-defense, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
My eyes land on a machine rifle on the wall. My father never taught me how to use one of those, but it can’t be that hard to figure out.
I grab it and almost drop it. The gun is a lot heavier than I thought it would be. The mechanics are the same, however. I fill the magazine with bullets then slam it back into the gun.
I hunker behind the platform in the middle of the room and aim my gun at the stairwell. Come on, I think to myself. All I need is for Luca to walk down those stairs, and I’ll shoot him to death.
But he doesn’t walk down the stairs. Instead, I can hear his footsteps getting farther and farther away from the basement door.
Heading toward Katerina, I realize.
If Anton’s mother dies, Anton will never be the same again. It could ruin our relationship. Katerina haunting me even from the grave.
Even though I hate her, I need to save her life.
Keeping the machine gun strapped over my chest, I hold my pistol out in front of me as I slowly walk up the stairs. Anton would scream at me to not engage. Just wait for him.
But I can’t wait. Luca is inside, and Katerina might die. If just sit back and let that happen, then what kind of person am I?
When I make it to the top of the stairs and peer out into the foyer, I see only one man. One of Luca’s guards, I realize.
The one I stabbed in the neck with my heel. He survived, clearly.
He turns around and notices me. His eyes widen right as I shoot him.
The bullet lands in his arm, knocking him back against the wall. He scrambles for his own gun, and I know I can’t hesitate. He’ll kill me if I do.
I turn the gun toward his head and fire.
His body goes rigid as he falls to the floor with a bullet in his head.
I gasp and press my body against the inner wall of the stairwell. I just killed somebody. Holy shit.
My hands shake as I stare down at the gun. This one small pistol just took the life of somebody. I did that .
Another man runs out from the other hallway and stops when he sees the other guard dead. Before I can react, he lifts his weapon.
“Come out.”
I stay hidden behind the corner.
“Come out,” he growls. He fires.
The sound makes me scream involuntarily. His footsteps are loud as he runs in my direction. He grabs me before I can get my own gun up and drags me out of my hiding place. I struggle against him, but he’s so much stronger than I am. He rips the pistol out of my hands.
He tries to go for the machine gun next, but I manage to raise it and pull the trigger. He stumbles back in a spray of bullets and blood.
I let go of the trigger. Everything goes eerily silent.
He collapses to the ground.
And that’s when I hear him.
“Ah, Katya.”
I spin around, ready to shoot him, when I pause. Luca has Katerina, with a gun pointed at her head. One of his eyes in covered with a white bandage. I did that to him.
He makes a big show of looking at his dead guards. “See you’ve been busy. I didn’t know you knew how to use a gun.”
“My father taught me. I’ve used one before. Just ask the man I shot. Oh, wait. You can’t. He’s dead. Both of them are.” My voice doesn’t waver as I speak. Thank god. The last thing I need is to look weak in front of Luca.
“I can see that. And I must say, I’m surprised. Impressed really. Too bad you can’t win.”
“I’m going to shoot you.”
“You can, but that won’t stop me from shooting your mother-in-law first.” He tightens his grip on Katerina, making her whimper.
“Let me go,” she sobs. I’ve never heard her sound so desperate and scared. I pity her.
“I can’t let you go. If I do, your daughter-in-law will shoot me. And if she fails, your son will. I take Anton is on his way?”
“He is.”
“I figured. Honestly, I was hoping to take you first. I wasn’t prepared for you to show up looking like Rambo.”
“That’s your problem, Luca. You keep underestimating me. I stabbed your eye out, and I’ll do it to your other eye next if you kill my mother-in-law.”
“I didn’t know you cared so much for her.” He runs his hand down Katerina’s head. “Word on the street is you two fight like cats.”
“It’s true. We hate each other, but I’m not going to stand back and let her die. So, drop your gun.” I lift my machine gun higher. “You’re not going to win this time.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You see, I’m the only one who knows where your friends are.”
I tense. He’s right. I can’t just shoot him—not without knowing where Evie, Ava, and Luna are.
“So, tell me,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Where’s the fun in that? If you kill me, you’ll never find them. They’re locked up right now. They’ll all starve to death unless someone finds them. So, you need me alive.”
“But you won’t ever tell us where they are. So, what’s the point?”
“The point is, I’m willing to make you a deal. When Anton shows up, I get to kill him. In exchange, I’ll tell you where your friends are. Oh, and I get to kill you, too.”
“That’s a pretty shitty deal.”
“Do you want your friends to survive or not?” He tugs Katerina closer to him. She only cries harder.
“Let’s just wait for Anton to get here.”
His smile is pure danger. “Let’s.”
We stand in a showdown, neither moving as we wait for Anton to arrive. My entire body is tense and rigid. It feels like one small movement could break me in half.
And then I hear it—the sound of a car door closing and footsteps running toward the house. The door bangs open and there he is. Anton.
Behind him is Maxim, which is a sight that makes me happy. The more people who can help, the better.
Anton stops when he sees me with my machine gun and his mother being held hostage by Luca. “Drop your gun,” he growls, raising his own to point it at Luca. Maxim does the same.
“As I was just telling Katya, if you shoot me, you’ll never find the other women.”
Maxim’s eyes narrow. “Where’s Luna? Where is she?”
“Where are Nikolai and Dimitri?” I ask, glancing back at them.
“They’re on their way,” Anton explains.
“Where’s Luna?” Maxim asks again, his voice getting louder.
“She’s hidden somewhere. So are Evie and Ava. They’re tucked away, all safe and sound. Well, except for the fact that if I die, they’ll never be found, and then they’ll starve to death. How does that sound?”
Maxim hesitates.
“Sounds bad, doesn’t it? So, everyone lower their weapons. I proposed a deal to Katya, Anton. I’ll let the other women go if you and your wife let me kill you. That’s all you have to do. Make the ultimate sacrifice.”
“No!” Katerina shouts, struggling against Luca. He tightens his hold on her.
“We have you outnumbered,” Maxim says. “No one else needs to die. Just tell us where the women are, and we’ll make your death fast.”
“See, I don’t like that outcome. Let me live, Anton and Katya die, and I’ll tell you where your wife is, Maxim.”
The front door bangs open as Nikolai and Dimitri run inside. It takes them only a second to realize what’s going on and to raise their guns.
“Let my mother go,” Anton growls.
“Just give yourself up, Anton,” Luca says. “That’s all you have to do. I’ll make it easier for you. Katya can live.”
I can feel Dimitri look at me sharply, but I keep my eyes glued on Luca.
“All you have to do is die,” Luca continues, “and I’ll tell these other good men where their wives are.”
“That’s the deal?” Dimitri asks. “Anton dies in exchange for our wives?”
“Yes.”
“Sounds like an easy deal to me.”
Anton glares at Dimitri. “Easy for you to say.”
“Shut up,” I say to my brother. “Anton is not dying. We’re going to find out where my friends are, and then Luca is dead. Sound good? Good.”
Anton gives me a smile that’s just for me.
“I got you,” I tell him. “You’re not dying today.”
Luca’s face contorts into rage and redness. “You all don’t seem to understand what’s happening here. If I die, I won’t tell you anything. Your wives will die. It doesn’t matter if you kill me slowly or fast. I’m not going to say a thing.”
“Now, I would offer myself up,” Anton says, “if I knew you were telling the truth, but I know you’re not telling the truth. You kill me, and then you’ll kill Katya, and I can’t have that. You’re not a man who keeps his word.”
“And you are?”
Anton stands up straighter. “In fact, I am. I made a vow to protect Katya, and I’ve done that. I made a vow to keep this alliance of men next to me, and I’ve done that. I haven’t turned on anybody since I married Katya. I’ve broken my word in the past.” He glances at Nik, then turns back to Luca. “But I haven’t broken it in a long time, and I don’t intend to do that today.”
Surprise, then a small amount of pride, crosses Nikolai’s face.
“I have your mother,” Luca says. “I will kill her if you don’t give yourself up.”
“I don’t think so.” In one quick motion, Anton shoots Luca in the leg, making him fall to his knees. Maxim runs forward and kicks Luca’s gun toward Nikolai, who picks it up.
Katerina, in a shocking turn of events, runs for me, and I grab her then shove her behind me.
The four men all crowd around Luca, who moans and groans on the floor.
Coward.
“Where are our wives?” Nikolai growls.
“Just shoot me. You’ll never know, and I can go to the grave knowing I won.”
Anton shoots Luca in the other leg. The scream that leaves Luca’s throat is the most satisfying sound I’ve heard in a long time. “Just fucking tell us.”
“No.”
“Any idea where they might be?” Maxim asks Anton.
“There’s more properties we haven’t checked yet. They have to be at one of those. There’s nowhere else Luca could stash them so last minute.”
Luca’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second before he makes his face unreadable.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Anton crouches down next to Luca. “They’re at one of your properties. We just have to keep looking. We don’t need you any longer.” He stands up and turns to the other men. “Normally, I’d just shoot him, but I’m learning to be a team player. Do you guys want him dead? Or do you have any more questions for him?”
“None,” Nikolai says. Dimitri and Maxim nod in agreement.
Anton faces Luca again and puts his gun right to his head. Then he pulls the trigger.
Luca’s blood and brain matter splatter on the floor and wall behind him.
“I just cleaned, too,” Anton mutters.
Katerina sags against me with a cry. “Is it really over?”
“Not yet,” Dimitri says. “We still need to find our wives.” He looks at me questioningly.
“Go,” I tell him. “Keep looking for them.”
Dimitri gives me arm a squeeze before he, Nikolai, and Maxim rush out of the house in search of their wives.
I turn to Anton. “You did it. Luca is dead.”
“And you …” He rakes his eyes over me, taking in the machine gun still strapped over my chest. “You look like something right out of one of my fantasies.”
Somehow, he manages to make me blush despite everything we’ve done together. After everything we’ve been through together.
“Anton, please,” Katerina says. “Your mother is present.”
He laughs as he hugs his mom close. “I’m so happy you’re ok. Both of you.”
Katerina pulls back with an upturned nose. “I’m glad he’s dead. Now, we can go back to how life was before. You don’t need to keep putting yourself in danger all the time, young man.”
“That’s just the way I do it. I can’t help myself.”
With a sniff, Katerina turns to me. “And you.”
“Me what?”
“You were foolish, running around with a gun like that. You could have easily died and hurt me with that. Don’t be so stupid.”
I blink. “Wow, Katerina. I, uh, don’t know what to say to that.”
“What I’m saying is that …” She inhales deeply and lets it out slowly. “Thank you for fighting to keep us alive until Anton could get here.”
I stare at her in shock. “Was that an actual compliment from you?”
Her open expression immediately shuts down. “Don’t get used to it. Anton was the one who really saved the day here. Don’t let anything go to your head.”
“Never change, Katerina. Never change.”
She gives Luca’s dead body a disgusted shudder. “I can’t be in the house a moment longer.” With another shudder, she leaves.
“And then there were two,” Anton says, placing his hands on my hips.
“I can’t relax yet. Not when my friends are still in danger.”
“We’ll find them, baby. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“I don’t?”
“Do you trust me?”
As I look into Anton’s eyes, I know for a fact I do. “Yes.”
“Then trust me when I say they’ll be fine.”
“And then what happens?”
“Then I guess we live our lives. We get to enjoy being married.”
“I’m not sure I could ever enjoy being married to you,” I tease.
“Oh, we’ll see about that, Mrs. Volkov.” He dips me all dramatic, like we’re in a movie, and kisses me.
Even though we’re surrounded by blood and dead bodies, the kiss is perfect.