Chapter 35 – Lauren
Chapter
Thirty-Five
LAUREN
S eb looks up and around, on full alert, and meets my panicked eyes through the peephole. He doesn’t speak but gives a barely noticeable shake of the head. I get the message. He wants me to stay hidden and stay quiet. I look on helplessly as Seb cradles Taylor’s head in his lap, trying to apply pressure to the wound and stem the bleeding. “You’re all right, mate, stay with me,” he says.
His hands are covered in blood. Too much blood. How can anyone lose that much blood and live?
That bullet was meant for Seb, and now Taylor is spilling his life essence onto the grass. My hands claw against the wood, and I suck in a breath as I see what Taylor obviously saw, what Seb has also seen—the seventh man. Ivan Volkov himself strolls out from a gap in the trees, a rifle in his hands. He’s dressed head to toe in black like his men were, but there’s no mistaking his face up close. The photos I’ve seen didn’t really do him justice—he looks even more like a rat in person, his narrow buck-toothed face perched on top of a bulked-up body. I wonder how a woman like Caroline ever looked twice at him, but a little charisma goes a long way. He made her feel special, like a princess—right up until he locked her away in his tower and started abusing her.
“Mr. Donovan,” he says, smiling smugly. “We meet in person at last. I spent the last few days getting to know you and your associates really very well. Your beautiful daughter. Your partner, Mr. Sullivan. And, of course, Ms. Hayes herself. All of you seemed to think it was acceptable to interfere in my marriage, in my family life. You all seemed to think there would be no consequences. How foolish of you all, and that mudak Stepanov, to assume such a thing. He will be dealt with, I promise—but for now, I will settle for you and your friend Ms. Hayes. We know she was here with you.”
Seb spits on the ground in front of Volkov. If he expects Seb to be scared, he clearly hasn’t studied him all that well. “She’s gone,” Seb says. “Sent her packing at the first sign of trouble. She was a fucking liability, and I wanted rid of her. She’ll be halfway to a police station by now.”
Volkov raises an eyebrow and seems to be trying to decide whether to believe him or not. “I see. Well, not to worry, I’ll search this place very thoroughly before I leave. One way or another, I’ll track her down. And when I do, I’ll teach her a few lessons about respecting the boundaries of other people’s marriages, the interfering bitch. I have clients who will pay well for a fiery beauty like her.”
He looks at his dead men and shrugs. “Impressive. You’ve led us all on quite the merry dance, Mr. Donovan. But it is over now, yes? You can join your brave friend there in the afterlife.”
Seb keeps his eyes on Volkov, refusing to spare a glance in my direction. Will he fight? Will he risk attacking Volkov or trying to run? He won’t have a chance from his position on the ground, pinned down by the other man’s weapon.
I know what Seb wants me to do. He wants me to stay silent, stay hidden, stay safe. Above all else, he wants me to survive. But as Volkov walks toward Seb, raising his gun and pointing it at his head, I can’t stand the thought of doing any of those things. All my life I’ve tried to be safe, and it hasn’t worked. Danger and darkness find me wherever I go, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe it’s good, because how can we ever appreciate the light if we don’t also walk in the dark?
If I stay hidden here, I might survive. But what will my world look like without him in it? How would I ever recover from watching the man I love get his head blown off by a wife-beating, child-abusing, human-trafficking psychopath?
The two of them continue to talk, but I’m so distressed and hyped up that I can’t make out individual words. They’re just a dull buzzing sound at the edges of my hearing. Seb looks up and smiles at the trees overhead. Volkov raises his gun. His finger is on the trigger, and he can’t possibly miss at this distance.
No. I am Lauren fucking Montoya, and I will not hide.