Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
AVELINA
I don’t think.
I act.
My feet move before I can process what I’m doing. My keys are already in my hand as I sprint back to my car, stumbling over the gravel. I trip. Jump back up. Yank open the door. Leap into the car. The engine roars to life the second I twist the ignition. And I floor it.
Knuckles white, I grip the steering wheel. Gennady is creeping back toward Viktor and the other men. Slinking through the shadows.
The men are trying to tend to Viktor and don’t notice. Gennady is near them. He raises his arm again.
He wants to finish Viktor off.
I don’t brake. Don’t slow. The tires squeal.
Gennady spins around. Sees my car coming. He’s wide-eyed. Mouth open in shock.
I speed at him before he can pull the trigger again.
The impact is sudden and sickening.
His body slams against the hood, rolls over the windshield, and is flung behind me. One of Viktor’s soldiers sprints over to Gennady and kicks the weapon from his hand.
I’m shaking in the driver’s seat. Fumbling to throw the car in park. My legs are Jell-O as I fling open the door. But I don’t let that stop me. I run to Viktor.
He’s semi-conscious, hand pressed into his side. Blood soaks through the dark material of his shirt. His eyes flutter open, then close.
“Viktor!” The word feels like it’s been clawed from my throat. I say it again and again as I collapse beside him.
“Avelina…?”
“I’ve got you,” I whisper, gripping his face with both hands. “I’ve got you.” He tries to sit up, but I push him down gently. “Don’t move. You’re bleeding.”
“Gennady... I gotta...”
“Don’t worry about him.” My voice shakes.
“We should move Vik into the SUV and keep him warm until we can get him out of here,” Matvey says in a gruff voice.
As I watch Nikolai and Matvey hoist him up, a pained moan sounds from behind me.
My head whips toward it.
Gennady. He’s crawling. One leg twisted at the wrong angle, blood pooling behind him.
My heart trips over itself as I walk slowly toward him.
Viktor’s soldiers are keeping watch over him as Gennady tries to claw himself along the ground.
“Leave us, please,” I say to the soldiers.
Their eyes swing to Grigory, who gives them a brief nod before they move away from Gennady.
His gaze lifts as he rolls onto his back, spitting blood, eyes narrowing into slits. “You,” he croaks in a half-choked laugh. “I should’ve broken you when I had the chance.”
My fists tighten even as my fingers shake. I’ve never killed anyone before. And it’s obvious that Gennady is taking his last breaths now. There’s no way he’ll survive his injuries. The enormity of that weighs on me.
“I’m not a scared little girl anymore,” I say.
His smile is cruel and bloodstained. “Aren’t you? You think he’ll protect you? That you’re safe? He’s nothing. You’re nothing.”
“I don’t care what I am to a monster like you,” I say more firmly. “I know what I am. I know what I am to my daughter. What I am to Viktor.”
His face twists and sneers. “You stupid girl. You were always useless. Weak. Pathetic.”
I shake my head because I know that’s not true. “I’m a woman who’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family,” I grit out.
I watch as he chokes on his own blood, his body jerking. Then he goes still, his eyes wide and glazed.
My knees wobble, but I keep watching until I’m sure he’s dead. Gone forever.
“Avelina!” Grigory’s voice cuts through the ringing in my ears.
I turn.
He’s barking orders into the radio on his shoulder, calling for more transport and help. But his gaze is glued to mine. And briefly, I see the flicker of something I don’t expect.
No judgment. No pity.
Just understanding. And respect.
Turning back toward the lifeless body, my knees give out, and I crash to the ground. Tears blur my vision.
Warm hands wrap around my arms, hauling me up. “Alright,” Grigory says softly. “It’s alright.”
With his help, I stumble across to the SUV. Viktor’s paler now. But he’s talking, mumbling something in Russian. I squeeze past to see Matvey still putting pressure on the wound.
Viktor’s gaze finds mine, glazed. “You okay?”
I nod through my tears. “You got shot, and you’re asking if I’m okay?”
His lips twitch for a brief moment. “Matvey said you ran him over?”
I nod, my stomach bottoming out again.
Viktor’s head falls back slightly. “That’s my girl… Remind me to never piss you off.”
Despite everything, I huff out the smallest laugh.
“We’re getting you out of here, Vik,” Matvey says, his voice cracking with concern.
I climb into the SUV and cradle Viktor’s head in my lap as the tears roll down my cheeks. “Just hold on,” I whisper to him. “You’ve got to hold on.”
Grigory’s voice and the rest of them fade into the background as they coordinate the extraction and set up for men to meet us at a private hospital.
But all I take notice of is Viktor. I brush back the hair from his clammy brow. “I don’t like killing,” I whisper.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “You shouldn’t have had to do that, Avelina. I should have done it.”
I swallow the taste of bile. “I’d do it again if I had to. To protect you. And to protect Sofia and Leon.”
“You won’t have to,” he says. “You’ve got us. And if anyone tries to retaliate, they’ll have hell to pay. Grigory and I will see to it.” His hand slowly lifts to wipe away my tears. “You’re family now, Avelina. And I protect what’s mine.”
A helicopter arrives. The sound reaches me before I see it—low, rhythmic, thunderous. My pulse leaps. I shield my eyes as it descends, the blades whipping my hair into a frenzy. The noise is deafening, drowning out everything but the pounding of my heart.
Viktor is barely conscious now. His breathing is shallow and rattling.
I grip his hand tighter, refusing to let go. “They’re here,” I whisper, though I don’t know if he can hear me anymore.
The moment the chopper touches the ground, men in black rush toward us with a stretcher. I don’t move. Can’t. One of them tries to gently pry me away, but I shake my head violently.
“I’m going with him,” I shout over the roar.
They hesitate for a split second, then nod.
I help guide Viktor onto the stretcher, biting back a sob when he moans out in pain. His eyes flutter open for a second. Just long enough for me to say, “You’re going to be okay. You hear me? I’ve got you.”
We lift into the air moments later, the world shrinking beneath us. And all I can do is pray he makes it.
The ride to the hospital is a blur. Viktor fades in and out of consciousness. He’s surrounded by blood-soaked gauze, and his pulse is weak.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper over and over again, like the repetition might help him.
A team of doctors meets us on the helipad on the hospital roof, rushing out toward us as soon as we land.
Grigory barks orders at them. Nikolai and Matvey haul Viktor onto the trolley while I hover at the side, arms wrapped tightly around myself as I refuse to take my eyes off Viktor.
We all follow as the doctors run inside with the gurney wheeling between them. Until we reach the door of the operating room and can go no further. Then all we can do is wait. And pray.
The adrenaline is wearing off now. My limbs feel heavy, and my mind is too loud.
The images from earlier keep replaying in my mind.
The sickening thud as my car hit Gennady.
Gennady’s twisted face.
His sneer.
“Avelina?”
I blink, snapping back into the room. “Huh?”
The men look at me with curious glances before Matvey speaks again. “Can I get you anything? A drink?”
I shake my head.
I should be sorry, shouldn’t I, for taking a life? For killing someone.
But this man threatened my daughter. Shot Viktor. Nearly wrecked my whole world.
So, I’m not sorry. And maybe that makes me a terrible person. But I’d do it again and again if it came down to protecting the people I love. Sofia. Leon. And Viktor.
I don’t know how much time passes. It’s all a blur as we wait for an update.
Eventually, the doctor informs us that the bullet missed anything vital. There’s damage but no serious organ trauma. Viktor needs rest, antibiotics, and time.
“Is it…over now?” I ask Grigory as the doctor goes back to Viktor.
Grigory doesn’t answer right away. The pause makes me look up at him. “The Russian government won’t dare touch Viktor.”
I nod, chewing my lip. “They’ll still come looking, won’t they? For me.”
Grigory stands there, arms crossed over his broad chest, studying me for a long moment. “They’ll poke around, ask some questions. But if they value the weapons routes and supplies we give them, they’ll keep their mouths shut. Nothing will happen to you or the children. You have my word on that.”
Soon, I’m allowed in to see Viktor. His breathing is soft, steadier now. I reach out, brushing my fingers over his knuckles.
His hand twitches under mine. Then his voice, low and gravelly, breaks the silence. “I wanted to protect you. Didn’t want to let you down.”
I shift closer. “You didn’t, Viktor. You’re a protector. You’re my protector.”
His eyes open, heavily lidded. “I do a lot of bad things, Avelina.”
“And you do a lot of good things too. Cradling a little girl while she cried over her cat. Getting her a stuffed animal to soothe her. Buying her and her little brother so many gifts and toys. Letting a stranger stay in your room while she recovered.”
He lets out a breath that’s half a laugh. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It’s not. But you still did those things. A bad man wouldn’t have.”
He turns his head to look at me fully. “You killed him.”
It’s not a question, but I answer it anyway. “Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
I swallow. “I don’t know. But I don’t regret it. I’d do it again if I needed to.”
Viktor goes quiet, but his expression softens. “Come here, my sunshine.”
I shake my head. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine,” he insists.
I huff but scoot closer to the edge of the bed.
“You’re not alone anymore,” he says, his hand curling around mine. “You don’t have to carry everything. Or everyone. I’m here. Nikolai and Matvey too. Hell, even Grigory would kill for you at this point.”
The ache inside me eases a little. “Grigory arranged for the body to be dealt with.”
Viktor laughs before wincing again. “Careful. You’re starting to sound a little like us.”
We sit in silence for a while, his fingers still tangled with mine. And it’s comfortable.
“You’re all family now. Sofia, Leon—even when he screams his little lungs out—and you. You’re family. Forever and with no conditions.”
My throat tightens. “You’re sure?”
“You ran over a man today to save me. And to save Sofia.” He tilts his head just enough to meet my eyes. “I’ve never been more sure. You’ve changed me. You’ve changed all of us.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t change you, Viktor. I just met you where you already were.”
I want to tell him I love him. I want to say it out loud so he’ll understand. To make it real and not just a feeling choking me.
But I don’t. Not now.
So, I just rest my forehead against his and close my eyes.
And we breathe.
Two broken people, slowly becoming whole.
After checking in with Babulya, I spend the rest of the night at the hospital with Viktor. The next morning, I return home and slip into Sofia and Leon’s room to check on them.
It’s still very early. Sofia is curled in the bed, one hand gently clutching her stuffed cat, the other petting Queenie. Queenie is back home now and is sleeping peacefully against Sofia, purring in a slow, steady rhythm. The sight makes my chest ache in the best way.
Sofia stirs when the mattress dips beneath me. “Is Viktor okay?” she asks in a whisper. “I asked Babulya where you all were, and she said he’s in the hospital.”
“He’s going to be,” I offer as I click on the lamp. “He just needs some rest.”
She nods, her eyes wide. “Did you help him?”
I hesitate for a few moments. “I did.”
She pauses. “You stopped the bad men?”
I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. She must have heard Babulya or one of the others talking. “I did.”
She reaches out and pats my hand softly. “Good.” And just like that, she settles back onto her pillows, nestling down as her eyes flutter closed.
I tuck the blanket around her shoulders and kiss her forehead.
For once, I don’t feel that black hole of danger looming over me in the shadows of the room.
For once, I don’t check over my shoulder before I switch off the lamp and leave my children to sleep.
For once, I simply breathe.