Chapter 25 - Lev
Our vehicles drive up to the second location we’ve identified from the list of possibilities our location tracker has hallmarked based on the GPS signals Pippa’s phone has given off.
We enter the abandoned docking station and exit our vehicles, guns drawn. Boris, Damien, and I exchange looks. It smells like we’re heading right into trouble.
We see abandoned cars with doors wide open beside us. From inside, we hear screams.
“Fuck,” Boris says.
We begin to make our way toward the entrance, clearing the area cautiously and moving toward the source of the screams. My heart pounds with worry for Pippa and Anoushka. As we round a corner, we come face to face with a trio of armed men.
I raise my gun, ready to fire, but before I can, Damien takes the lead. “Who are you?” he asks.
“The mafia,” one of them says. “If you’re Lenny’s men, run. Save yourselves. The guy owes us money.”
What idiots, I think to myself. Because of them, we now know who the enemies are.
Boris motions at his men. Our Bratva grab the three fools from their blind spots, kicking their weapons out of their hands, bounding and tying them up. They try to scream, but no one can hear them over the noise.
Boris kicks the warehouse door open and I storm in first, gun raised, Mikhail and our men at my back. There’s chaos around us—yells, gunshots, blood, the stench of fear. My eyes dart frantically through the anarchy, searching for that familiar brunette hair, those gentle brown eyes. Where is she? Where are they keeping my Pippa? I look for those blue-green eyes that are so typical for the Zolotovs. Where is my sister?
A bullet whizzes past my ear and I duck behind a crate, heart pounding. Focus, Lev. You can't help them if you're dead. I peek around the edge, squeezing off a few shots at the nearest goons. They dive for cover. Amateurs.
"Hey, Bro, heads up," Boris shouts as he lobs a grenade over my hiding spot. It explodes in a burst of heat and noise, taking out a knot of Italian gangsters. Nice.
I sprint through the opening, scanning the room again. A flash of pink in the corner—could it be a woman’s dress? I make a beeline toward it, bullets biting at my heels. Skidding behind another stack of crates, I find nothing. Just a torn, shredded piece of cloth. My heart sinks. No Pippa. No Anoushka.
Dammit. I'm not leaving this hellhole without my girls.
I spring up, sprinting through the warehouse while bullets fly past me. My men are pinned down behind crates and machinery, exchanging fire with the rival gang, giving me shelter. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Lenny making a break for the exit. That slimy rat.
I intercept him halfway, tackling him to the ground. He struggles underneath me.
"Where's my sister? Where’s Anoushka?" I snarl, pressing my gun against his temple.
"I ain't telling you nothing!" he spits back.
I dig the barrel harder into his skin, and he whimpers. "Want to try that again?"
Sweat beads on his forehead. "Basement," he gasps. "Hidden room in the basement. Now let me go!"
"I don't think so." I pull the trigger, blood and brain matter splattering the floor. One less problem to deal with. How dare he kidnap our women? Fuck the money he stole from us. That is something I could have let him get away with. This? Never.
I bring together Boris, Damien and a few men and tell them what Lenny said about the basement.
We sprint for the basement steps, my heart thudding the whole time. Almost there, Baby. Just hang on a little longer…
Suddenly, a hail of bullets forces me back. We're surrounded, pinned down on all sides by the rival mafia. My brothers and I exchange glances. This could get ugly.
“You killed the bastard who owes us!” one of them shouts at us. “Now, you’ll pay the price.”
Clearly, we really pissed off the mafia by killing off Lenny.
Taking cover behind an overturned table, I exchange fire with the enemies. The crack of gunshots is deafening, drowning out the screams of the wounded and dying. My clip empties and I slam in another, picking off two more goons.
We're outnumbered but not outgunned. I won't stop until every last one of them is dead or we find the girls. Whichever comes first.
I peer over the table, scanning for any sign of Pippa or Anoushka amidst the chaos. Bullets whiz past my head as I duck back down, cursing under my breath. Where could they be?
Mikhail covers me, spraying bullets across the room. I hear a few satisfying grunts and thuds as bodies hit the floor. We're making progress, but it's not enough.
Suddenly, an explosion rocks the building, throwing me to the ground. My ears ring from the blast as dust and debris rain down. Through the haze, I see some of our enemies fleeing out the back, but a hardcore group remains, determined to fight to the bitter end.
I struggle to my feet, shaking off the dizziness. The battle rages on as both sides empty round after round. My men are skilled, but we're badly outnumbered now. We have to end this soon.
I motion at three of my men at the grenade I spot on the floor near the rival gang. My men pass on the message for safety. Lunging forward, I grab it and hurl it at them before diving behind a sturdy pillar. The Bratva all take cover. The explosion leaves my enemies screaming in agony, some blown to bits.
I peer around the pillar. Only a handful remain on their feet. My brothers and I advance, guns leveled, fingers on triggers.
We’re here to win it, for without us, Anoushka and Pippa don’t stand a chance. There’s no other choice.
***
My heart pounds against my ribs as the last of the rival gang members fall to the ground. The warehouse is eerily quiet now, only the groans of the wounded and dying breaking the silence.
“Spare the wounded innocent,” Boris tells our men. “Get them medical aid if they need it.”
Our men disperse, working out Boris’s orders.
Boris, Mikhail, and I run down to the basement to see if we can find Anoushka and Pippa. We hunt down every corner, turn every table, open every door. Only to find…nothing.
They’re gone.
My heart drops into my boots as we stare at the empty basement. I begin to imagine the worst.
“Perhaps they escaped?” Boris suggests. I can hear the worry in his voice.
We head back upstairs. I scan the carnage desperately, looking for any sign of Pippa or Anoushka. But there's nothing. No trace of them at all.
Panic seizes me in its icy grip. Where could they be? Were we too late? Have we lost them both?
No. I can't think like that. I need to focus. But I can’t move. I’m paralyzed, frozen in place.
"Fan out!" Boris barks at his men. "Search every inch of this place. Find them!"
Everyone’s panicking now.
I'm nearly frantic now, images of Pippa hurt or worse flashing through my mind. Images of Anoushka being tortured, dead somewhere grip my heart with an iron fist. I should never have gone for this mission. I should have protected them better.
Just as I'm about to completely lose hope, my phone rings. I fumble to answer it, hands shaking.
"Lev Zolotov," says a distorted voice, aided by a machine of some sort to keep the caller anonymous. "Go to the corner of 5th and Grand. You'll find the women you’re looking for there."
The line goes dead. I stare at the phone in bewilderment.
I motion at Boris and Damien and tell them what just happened.
“What if it’s a trap?” Damien frowns.
“What if it’s not?” Boris adds.
“What other choice do we have?” I say, in acceptance of the situation.
Anoushka and Pippa are not here. We have no other clues. The only option we have is to go to the corner of 5th and Grand.
***
My chest tightens with anticipation, fear a constant flicker in the corner of my mind as our convoy makes its way through the darkened streets. With each turn we take, I can't help but imagine the horrors Pippa and Anoushka might be facing at this very moment.
"Stay sharp," I warn my brothers. "We don't know what we'll find when we get there."
"Lev, just pray for the best," Damien advises, his steady presence a source of comfort in the chaos.
"Hard not to let my imagination run wild," I admit, my mind plagued by thoughts of Pippa's soft curves and Anoushka's feisty spirit being abused by ruthless hands.
"Hey, don't go there," Boris chides gently, understanding the direction my thoughts are taking. "We're almost there. We'll handle whatever comes our way."
As we round the corner, we park the car, and all of us exit our vehicles, guns drawn. I walk a little further and spot the street sign that matches the location provided by our informant. 5th and Grand. Right on the corner. My heart slams against my ribcage, my breaths becoming shallow and rapid.
"Here," I announce, my eyes scanning the area for any sign of Pippa and Anoushka. The street is dimly-lit, shadows casting eerie shapes across the pavement.
“Fan out,” I tell my men. We’re all just splitting up when I notice movement on my right.
I turn, and my knees begin to shake. I go weak and fall to the ground.
For there, emerging from the shadows of an alley, are Pippa and Anoushka. Boris and Damien look at me, fallen to my knees, and then trace my line of vision.
“Jesus!” Boris gasps.
“I’ll be damned,” Damien almost begins to cry.
Our men cheer and whoop. The girls come out into the light, bruised and battered but alive.
Our men check behind them to make sure there are no hidden traps. When all is deemed clear, a relief washes over our crew like a tidal wave, leaving my heart pounding so hard I wonder if I’m having a heart attack.
"Lev!" Pippa calls out, rushing into my arms. Her body trembles against mine, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I knew you'd find us."
She pulls me up to my feet.
"Of course I did," I reply, trying to sound casual despite the tears I’m holding back threatening to choke me. "You didn't think I'd let some lowlife thugs keep you away from me, did you?"
Pippa's laughter is watery but genuine as she buries her face in my chest. "Never," she whispers, and I can feel the weight of her words seeping into my very soul.
"Lev," Anoushka cuts in, her tone serious.
Pippa pulls away. I lunge at Anoushka, grabbing her in my arms and kissing her forehead, over and over again. In true Anoushka fashion, she tires of my sentiments and pulls away.
Then, she hands me an envelope, her own hands trembling slightly. "This was left with us."
With a deep breath, I unfold the envelope. It has Boris, Mikhail and my name on it. We all crowd around it and open it to read the message: "You're welcome. Trust that we'll meet again, soon. Until then, the caller."
"Who the hell is the caller?" I mutter under my breath, my fingers tightening around the paper.
“Probably the man that saved us,” Anoushka says.
“Who was it?” Boris asks, now deeply curious.
Anoushka and Pippa exchange glances.
“W…we don’t know,” Pippa says.
“One moment, the mafia burst into Lenny’s, and we thought we would die in that hideout. The next? A third group appeared. They took us, kidnapped us, only to release us here.”
"Who could it be?" Damien muses, leaning forward to get a closer look at the note. "There are so many factions in this city—it could be anyone."
“It doesn’t matter who they are,” Pippa shudders. “What matters is that they saved us, and we can all go home now.”
For once, we’re all on board with that idea.