Chapter 72 Gennadiy
GENNADIY
I had him right in my sights, but I didn’t dare shoot, not with Alison’s head lolling and swaying in front of his. Blyat’, she looked so pale! I glanced helplessly at the two FBI agents who’d shown up, but there was nothing they could do, either.
We advanced down the side of the house, following Grushin as he backed towards a car.
With every step, I could feel the tension ratcheting higher in my chest. Sirens were wailing in the distance.
Grushin was going to get away, and the cops would turn up just in time to arrest us and stop us from going after him.
Grushin would go into hiding, his friend the DA would cover things up, and the clinic would be running again within a month.
I growled and pushed forward, closing the distance to Grushin, but he pushed his gun warningly against Alison’s temple, and my steps faltered.
I just need one little break, I prayed. One chance. Just one.
And then, as Grushin reached for the handle of his car door, I got it.
Alison’s blonde-haired friend came lurching out of the bushes in front of the house, tears flooding down her cheeks, and plunged a knife into Grushin’s side. He tottered sideways, letting go of Alison...and that’s all I needed.
I launched myself at him and tackled him to the ground, then started punching him.
The fury I’d honed for so many years roared to life.
For Alison! And Yakov! And Bronwyn! My fists smashed into his face, left then right then left, the rage whirling faster and faster.
The casino! Our money! All the Bratva he’d killed and terrorized back home!
All the people he’d killed, to take their organs!
This ended now. I was going to destroy him completely, so he could never hurt anyone again.
I glanced up and saw Mikhail running towards me. Mikhail! Grushin killed his friend and the woman he loved. My fists swung again and again, blood flying.
“Stop!” yelled the male FBI agent. But I didn’t.
Valentin reached me and put a hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me away, but I shook him off. Then Mikhail was on my other shoulder, but I twisted away from him, too. He deserves it. He deserves to die. I pounded Grushin’s face, on and on—
And then I glanced up and saw Alison. She was lying on her back on the front lawn, with the older, female FBI agent crouching next to her. She needed me. And she needed Grushin alive to clear her name.
A week ago, I wouldn’t have been able to pull myself back. But now...
My fists rose, trembling, dripping blood...and paused. I knelt there sucking down the cold night air, clawing at the anger inside me, willing it to slow and slow...and stop.
Immediately, the guilt rushed in, eating away at my vulnerable, unprotected core. It hurt so much I hunched over, fists clenching tight. I knew I couldn’t take it forever.
But for her...I could take it for a while. Until—I looked across at Valentin—until I could do what needed to be done.
I stood and ran over to Alison, then knelt down beside her and wiped my hands on the grass. Blyat’, she looked so fragile! I just wanted to pull her into my arms, but I didn’t dare risk moving her. “Will she be okay?” I asked, brushing my fingers across her cheek.
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” said the older, female FBI agent, her voice tight with worry. “The paramedics are on their way.”
Alison murmured something I couldn’t hear. I leaned closer, my heart pounding. “What did you say?”
She was mumbling, spacey from the blood loss. “Did I catch the bad guy?”
I glanced around at Grushin, bloody and battered, but alive. And then I looked down at myself. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Yes,” I managed around the lump in my throat. “You did.”