16. BRAXTON
Chapter sixteen
F ighting against them was like trying to claw my way out of quicksand. No matter how hard I struggled to throw them off, it was no use; more hands grabbed at me, yanking, pulling, forcing me toward the SUV.
But I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Daria fought like a woman possessed—throwing elbows, fists, knees, her every move lethal—but she was outnumbered. Too many assailants were striking and restraining her. She was taking hits she shouldn’t have been taking.
Because of me.
Her gaze kept darting to where I was struggling, disrupting her focus. And every time she glanced my way, another fist connected or another boot plowed into her.
Guilt lodged deep in my chest, sharp as a knife.
I was a fucking distraction. I was making this worse for her.
A man twice her size rammed the butt of his rifle into her stomach. She staggered, but she didn’t fall. God, she was tough. She swung out an arm, slamming her elbow into his throat, but another man was already on her, kicking her knee out from under her. She hit the ground hard, gritting her teeth as she tried to push herself up.
All the while, I fought like hell, trying to break free, but the bastards dragging me toward the SUV were well trained. A knee drove into my gut. An elbow cracked against my jaw. My ears rang as they pinned my arms behind me, hauling me backward.
“Daria!”
She turned just as the butt of a rifle came down on the back of her head.
She crumpled.
Something inside me snapped.
I lost it.
A raw, feral rage tore through me, and suddenly, I was throwing my entire body forward, breaking free from the grip of the men holding me. A hand snatched at the rucksack, ripping it clean off my shoulders, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.
Daria’s body was limp, her blonde hair shimmering in the sun as they lifted her like she weighed nothing and shoved her into the SUV.
“NO!”
I sprinted toward them, ignoring the sharp crack of gunfire pinging in the dirt by my feet. Ignoring their warning shots, I barreled forward.
The SUV roared to life.
I pushed harder, my legs burning, my heart hammering as the tires spun, kicking up a cloud of dust.
I was too fucking slow.
The SUV tore down the dirt road, taking Daria with it, leaving me with nothing but a mouthful of dust and regret.
Whipping around, I charged straight at the man responsible for her death sentence—Nikolai Volkov.
It was all too clear—he’d orchestrated a trade, me for her. I didn’t know how he’d found me, but this outcome was unacceptable.
“You arrogant motherfucker!” My fist was already cocked back.
Nik’s men reacted instantly, stepping in, blocking me, but I didn’t care.
“You absolute fucking idiot!” I roared, dragging his lackeys along with me as I continued propelling myself toward him. “You never think about the consequences, do you? You never think about what your actions cost other people!”
Nik was eerily calm, brushing dirt off his shirt like none of this mattered.
I lunged forward, yanking free from the men who were trying to hold me back. “She was one of Ukraine’s greatest fucking assets, and you just got her killed!”
Nik’s expression darkened, something flickering in his icy blue eyes, but I didn’t stop.
“You react without thinking! Reckless! Careless! You assume because you’re fucking mafia, part of the Volkovi Notchi, you can do whatever the fuck you want, without caring about the fallout! You don’t give a shit about who pays the price for your goddamn impulsiveness!”
His jaw twitched, his stance shifting slightly, but he still didn’t respond.
“She was a double agent, you stupid son of a bitch! She was feeding intel to Ukrainian officials! Russian battle plans, weak points, positions . She was saving lives! She’s a fucking hero!”
Nik’s expression finally changed subtly—a crack in the mask.
I laughed, but there was no humor in it, just raw, blistering fury. “You didn’t even fucking know, did you? You just saw an easy opportunity for a trade, and now she’s gone.”
A muscle ticced in his jaw, a shadow of doubt creeping into his eyes. I could tell—this was news to him.
And that just pissed me off all the more.
“She saved my life,” I growled. “She got me out of a Russian prison and blew her cover to protect me. Now, she’s Russia’s number-one target.”
Silence.
Even Nik’s men stepped back as the realization of what had just happened began to dawn on them.
I took a step closer, into Nik’s space, dropping my voice to a venomous hiss. “She will not survive whatever hell they’re about to put her through.”
I exhaled sharply. My hands were trembling, and my body was wired with rage , but I forced myself to hold Nik’s gaze.
“I had no idea,” he admitted.
“No shit,” I snapped.
I was so on edge that my entire fucking body was vibrating with adrenaline, with the need to punch something—to punch him.
I shoved Nik hard in the chest.
The impact sent him back a step, his boots kicking up dirt.
Nik’s men snapped to attention, shifting forward on instinct, but I lifted my arms in mock invitation.
“Great!” I barked. “I’ll take all you motherfuckers on.”
None of them moved any closer. Because they knew better. This wasn’t their fight.
This was between Nik and me.
I grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt, jerking him forward until my face was only inches from his.
“You irresponsible piece of shit,” I snarled. “You almost got Anastasia killed. You nearly got my brothers killed. You are a goddamn liability.”
Nik’s eyes narrowed.
“You walk around playing king of the fucking world,” I spat, “but you’re just a Russian mafia lackey. You want to play hacker, cool guy, moving through the world as if nothing matters save your sister—that is, when you grace her with your occasional presence.”
The moment the words left my mouth, Nik’s muscles tensed beneath my grip. I’d gotten to his pride.
Then—
He broke my hold.
My arms flew back as he ripped away. His scowl was my last warning. And then he was in my face.
“You’re just a na?ve little boy,” he hissed in a deadly low tone, “who doesn’t know shit.”
That did it.
I swung first.
My fist slammed into his jaw.
Nik’s head snapped back.
Then he came at me, full force.
He buried a fist into my ribs, stealing the breath from my lungs. I grunted and swung again, my knuckles cracking against his cheekbone.
We went at each other hard—fists, knees, elbows—with pure, unfiltered rage.
His men circled, but they didn’t step in.
They wouldn’t.
They just watched as Nik and I beat the ever-loving shit out of each other.
Fists slammed into ribs, knuckles cracked against jaws, and boots kicked up dirt as we fought, neither of us backing down.
I drove my knee into his gut. He grunted, absorbing the hit, then countered by ramming his shoulder into my chest, sending me staggering. I twisted before I lost my footing, hooking an arm around his neck and dragging him into a grapple. We fell, hitting the ground hard, our fists still flying and our limbs tangling in a brutal struggle for control.
I didn’t care.
I needed this.
As I aimed a punch at his kidney, Nik rotated, using my own momentum against me. In a flash, he flipped me, slamming my shoulders into the ground and pressing his knee into my chest.
I bucked, clamping my fingers around his throat.
And then—
His grip faltered.
For half a second.
That was all I needed.
I flipped him hard and slammed my forearm across his throat, pinning him down.
“She never had a fucking chance in life,” I panted. “Her father murdered her mother. You hear me, Volkov? He killed her and then turned Daria into his personal Kremlin tool. Daria’s been a pawn in his fucking empire since she was a kid. She never had a choice.”
Beneath me, Nik’s chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily. He didn’t speak, just stared, taking in all I’d said.
“She saved my ass,” I muttered. “My fucking fingers were about to get chopped off. She could have left me. But she didn’t.”
Nik shoved me off him with a snarl, and we were at it again.
Fists flew. My ribs ached with every breath, sweat pouring down my back.
I swung at him, landing a brutal right hook that knocked his head sideways.
“You don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself!” I roared. “You think you’re better than the rest of them? You’re just another greedy, selfish Russian oligarch wrapped up in mafia bullshit—”
Nik’s snarl cut me off. He lunged, locking his arms around my torso as he tackled me. We hit the dirt again, hard, both fighting for dominance. We rolled, kicking up dirt, our limbs entwining as we fought like goddamn animals.
“You’re gonna get your sister killed too,” I spat, struggling beneath him.
Nik roared, his strength surging. He managed to snake his arm under my throat, wrenching me into a chokehold.
My vision blurred at the edges. I clawed at his forearm, desperate for air.
“You think I don’t fucking know that?” he growled, tightening his hold. His breathing was ragged, his voice a low, deadly rasp. “You think I haven’t spent my whole damn life trying to make sure she stayed out of this shit? To make sure she was safe?” He wrenched harder, his bicep crushing my windpipe. “I took beatings for her. Since I was a kid. Since I was big enough to stand in front of her. You have no fucking idea what I’ve done to keep her out of this world.”
I twisted, trying to break his grip, but he was unrelenting.
“It was my father who sold her to Moretti,” he bit out. “My own father. And I did what I had to do to protect her.” His voice cracked, but the steel in it never wavered. “She is my life. My blood. My responsibility. I will protect her. Now. Always.”
“And now…Daria…is mine,” I said, forcing the words through clenched teeth, my lungs screaming for air.
Nik’s grip slackened, just enough for me to suck in a large breath. His body went rigid.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “You fell for her, didn’t you?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.
His grip loosened entirely, and I twisted, shoving him off. I rolled onto my side, coughing, trying to suck in air.
He exhaled sharply. “You stupid motherfucker.”
I pushed myself up onto my elbows, dragging in gulps of air. “You’re gonna fucking help me,” I rasped, looking him dead in the eye. “Or I swear to God, I’ll tell the world your and Luca’s little secret.”
Nik’s jaw twitched.
I had him.
There were only a handful of people who knew the truth—that Viktor and Valentina Volkov weren’t actually dead. That Nik’s parents were still alive. And that Luca Genovese had them locked away in his basement.
Nik’s nostrils flared. “You don’t fucking say that out loud,” he snarled.
I smirked, letting out a humorless laugh despite the throbbing in my ribs. “Then do everything in your power to save Daria.” I leaned in until we were nose to nose, speaking in a deadly quiet voice so the others couldn’t hear. “Or the world finds out, and you’ll really learn how fragile Anastasia’s safety is.”
The fury that crossed Nik’s face was enough to kill a lesser man. His fists clenched like he was seconds away from snapping my neck.
But instead, he shoved me back and let out a guttural growl, rolling away and getting to his feet in one fluid motion.
I sat upright, resting my forearms on my knees, then wiped the blood from my busted lip with the back of my hand.
Nik’s men stood around us, silent spectators to our personal battle.
Nik cracked his neck, breathing hard, his eyes dark and brimming with unspoken fury. Then he took a step closer, peering down at me.
“I didn’t know Daria was a double agent.” He scrubbed a hand over his chin. “All I knew was the Kremlin was desperate to get her back, which makes sense. They’ll want to squeeze out every detail about her Ukrainian defection and learn about any others now in their fold. They told me they had tracked you to a farmhouse and you wouldn’t make it over the border. If they couldn’t capture you, they were going to kill you both and leave you to rot.”
He glanced up at the men surrounding us. “These guys are captains in the Volkovi Notchi. They’ve sworn their allegiance to me as their new Pakhan. Their allegiance is to me—not any government. But there are others who are old school and loyal to Mother Russia . Not to mention they’re suspicious of me after I took Viktor, Valentina, and Elena out .”
That hit differently. I needed to watch my mouth and not let my temper get the best of me. I couldn’t risk revealing too much information. The Volkovi Notchi was in a tenuous place; its members were deciding whether to follow Nik or make a move to break away. The last thing Nik wanted was there to be a power vacuum collapsing his entire regime. Not to mention, that would make it impossible for him to help me get Daria back.
“Understood,” I said, jutting my chin and locking eyes with him. “But you’ve got to understand, I owe Daria a life debt. She not only saved me, not only blew her cover…she told me your family is her father’s greatest enemy. You know they’ll see her as a traitor to both Russia and the Bratva—they make her pay in the worst sort of way.”
Nik scrubbed his jaw as he narrowed his eyes and frowned. The situation had thrown a monkey wrench into his life.
“I’ll help you,” he said darkly. “But if you ever disrespect me like that again, I will skin you alive and drop your sorry ass in a field of fucking land mines.”
I held his glare, my breath still uneven, my heart still hammering. Then, slowly, I nodded. “Yes, sir.” He needed to ensure that his men knew he was the boss and that I would follow orders. I didn’t care about any of that bullshit. The only thing that mattered to me was rescuing Daria.
Nik exhaled heavily, rolling his shoulders, and extended a hand.
I stared at it for half a second before grabbing it and letting him haul me to my feet.
“I was just trying to get you back,” Nik said with a grunt.
Around us, his men gave me subtle nods of approval.
They had just witnessed one hell of a fight, and it appeared I had just earned an ounce of their goddamn respect.
Nik sighed, shaking his head. “You have no fucking idea what it took to leverage my connections for that exchange. Every favor comes with a price. I’m just not sure how high this one will be.”
We stared at each other for a minute, catching our breath.
“You know, I promised my sister I’d keep you safe,” he said, holding his palms out and gesturing toward me. “And now? Look at you. You’re a goddamn mess. She’s going to be pissed.”
I smirked. “I’ll make sure I tell her how you ended up looking worse.”
Nik snorted, then spat blood into the dirt. “Fuck you, Thorin.”
A beat of silence.
“You want to fix this?” he said. “You’d better pray she stays alive long enough.”
He turned, exhaling through his nose, and nodded once to one of his men. “Let’s find her,” he ordered.
If Daria was still breathing, I would leave no stone unturned. And if those bastards killed her…God help them.
Nik stalked toward the SUV, his men falling into line behind him. I ran a hand through my filthy, sweat-matted hair, my pulse still pounding like a war drum. Every muscle in my body ached from the fight and from the long trek with Daria, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t rest until we found her. All that mattered was getting her back.
Nik yanked open the SUV’s passenger door and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Get in, Thorin. We’re heading back to Kyiv.”
I strode forward, catching sight of my pack in possession of one of his men. Without a word, I snatched it from him. Nik slid into the front seat while one of his men took the wheel. The other two climbed in beside me in the back.
As soon as the doors shut, Nik twisted in his seat, pinning me with an indignant look. “Call your brothers.”
Shit. I pulled my phone from my pack, my fingers already moving to turn it on. When it had powered up, it asked if I wanted to turn my location back on. Daria must have turned it off, but Nik had still been able to track me. I’d have to ask him about that later.
“Hey, I don’t have much battery left,” I said. “Do you have a charger?”
Nik opened the middle console and handed me a cord. “Conan told me that if they didn’t hear from you soon, he and Atticus were coming to Kyiv,” he said with a grunt. “And if they show up with no warning, it’s gonna be a fucking mess. So handle it.”
I barely heard him as I tapped on Atticus’s number. He and Conan were probably losing their damn minds right now. The three of us had always been as thick as thieves.
After a few seconds, the call connected.
“Hey—” I started.
“Jesus Christ, Brax!” Atticus’s voice exploded through the line. “Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea—”
“I’m fine,” I cut in, rubbing my temple. “Mostly.”
“Mostly?!” Conan’s voice joined in, sharp and furious. “The fuck does that mean? We saw the news, Brax! Your van got ambushed! Every other volunteer who was in that van is dead. And you—no one could fucking find you! Not a body, not a trace—nothing! We didn’t know what the hell happened!”
Guilt settled deep in my gut. I wasn’t surprised they were together, whatever the time might be in Tacoma. “Yeah…it was a bad situation.”
“No shit it was a bad situation,” Atticus snapped. “I told you not to go. We both did. But no—you had to go off on some fucking adventure, traipsing around a war zone with Nik of all people.”
Nik snorted in front me, clearly enjoying the lecture as Atticus and Conan shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Atticus, I—”
Conan cut me off. “Samantha was ready to call off the wedding, man. She was losing it. Anastasia though? She wanted to break Nik’s fucking neck.”
At that, Nik raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. “Charming,” he muttered.
“I’ll explain everything when I get to Kyiv,” I said, exhaling harshly. “Just—stay put. Don’t do anything stupid like coming here.”
After a few seconds of silence, Atticus sighed. “We’ll be waiting. I can’t wait to hear your story.” Another moment passed. “Brax, I’m glad you’re safe. You know we see the worst sorts of tragedies, working in the ED… My mind’s envisioned so many scenarios. It’s good to hear your voice, little brother.”
“Yours too… You have no idea. I’ll call soon.”
With that, the line went dead.
I shut my eyes, grounding myself, then shoved the phone into the pocket on the back of the seat.
Nik smirked. “No one can gut you like family.”
“No shit,” I muttered.
Nik shifted forward, peering through the windshield at the road ahead. “You can deal with that later. Right now, we need to move. We’re still close enough to the border that the Russian military could make a play for us.” He flicked his fingers toward the driver. “Step on it.”
The engine growled, and we sped forward, dirt and gravel spitting from the tires.
As the SUV ate up the distance toward Kyiv, I stared out the window, every fiber of my being focused on one thing.
Saving Daria.
She was out there. Suffering. Maybe dying.
I wouldn’t let her die—not while I was still breathing, not while I had even an ounce of fight left in me. If sheer willpower was all I had, then I’d make that be enough.
Nik could posture all he wanted. He could threaten me, warn me, try to control the situation—but I knew one thing for damn sure.
I was getting her back.