Chapter 25Hazel
25
Hazel
D avid opens the car door. He turns around before he stands up, a mixture of hesitation and resignation blending into his features.
He cradles my face in his hands. I feel the dampness on my cheeks. He wipes away my tears with the pads of his thumb, then leans in, pressing his lips to mine. This time, the kiss is soft.
“It’s not goodbye,” I whisper to him. “Go do what you need to do. Save us all.”
David nods. Vlad is already storming the building with his men. Fights are breaking out. Yelling echoes through the darkness.
“If you hear gunshots, do not get out of this car,” David warns. His eyes scan my face. “Promise me, Hazel.”
I’m nodding before words form. “I promise.” Now that we’re in the thick of it, I’m too scared to argue.
“Just take pictures from the safety of the car,” he says. “If anything happens, if any of Oleg’s men come after you, run. Call the police and run.”
I’m nodding like my head is being controlled by a marionette. “I will. I promise.”
My pulse thunders through my ears as David rushes into the building. I’m by myself. Miroslav joined David and Vlad in the attack.
I roll down the window and point my camera lenses at various targets. The warehouse. The unmarked box trucks for transporting guns. The machines manufacturing them. Several crates piled high with contents I can’t make out from this distance. I zoom in as close as I can. I’ll examine the photos later, hoping I’ll spot something useful.
My heartrate spikes with excitement. We’re so close to victory now. I’m gaining a ton of evidence in these photos, adding to the bulk of what I’ve already obtained in my research logs. I’d taken a few quick snapshots at this same warehouse when I came here by myself, which reinforces what I’m finding tonight.
I can’t wait to present these to Robert and watch his jaw drop in shock. He doesn’t even know the mountain of gold I have to make this a story of the year. He’ll regret taking me for granted.
This concept makes me feel fearless and invincible.
Then I spot David.
He’s a blur of limbs and strength and height. Gunfire pops inside the warehouse.
I bite my lip so hard I taste blood. I choke down the scream rising in my throat, then clamp a hand over my mouth. My palm is moist and tastes like salt. Pressure builds in my brain, adrenaline fusing to the bones in my skull.
I’m struggling with a sense of helplessness as I watch David tussle in the dusty, unpaved part of the parking lot.
David’s fist slams into Oleg’s stomach. Oleg stumbles back, sending a plume of dirt around his ankles. Oleg recovers quickly and charges David again. More gunfire pierces the night. I squirm in my seat, watching my bratva boyfriend pummel his enemy to the ground.
I gasp as Oleg crashes his knuckles into the side of David’s jaw. David’s eyes bulge and his mouth hangs open. He looks pale in the glow of the warehouse floodlights, his head swiveling from the crushing blow.
David collapses to the ground, his shoulders digging into the dirt as Oleg leaps on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
David lifts his knee and barrels it into Oleg’s side. Oleg’s fist smashes into David’s temple. David’s eyes close. For a moment of horror, I’m afraid he’s been knocked unconscious.
David’s eyes bolt open and he’s grinding his teeth, the veins and tendons in his neck straining as he tries to wrestle Oleg off him.
A bullet whizzes by David’s head. He ducks down. The air in my lungs fizzles out. My body evaporates. David is on the ground again.
“Get up,” I whisper as hot tears streak down my cheeks. “Please, David.”
After another moment, David blinks, and looks at Oleg still looming over him. Fury blazes in both their eyes. The contempt between them is going to end here. Someone is going to die. I screw my eyes shut and pray it won’t be David.
Another gunshot makes my eyes dart. It’s louder this time, closer. Ice scales my spine, making me shiver. Fear immobilizes me.
Oleg’s eyes are vacant. His jaw is slack. His body drops like a lead weight on top of David. David sputters. Blood spackles his shirt and face like paint.
“Everyone is dead inside!” The voice is Vlad’s. He’s framed in the light, standing just outside the doors leading into the warehouse.
When he sees David, he charges across the lot and collapses to his knees in front of him. Oleg’s limp body lays on top of David’s chest, his arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish.
Vlad lifts Oleg’s lifeless form from David’s torso. David is panting hard. My hand clutches the door handle, swinging it open.
My legs are a force of their own as I sprint across the parking lot. I crumple by David’s side.
“I’m okay,” he stammers, still looking a little gray. His bottom lip is bleeding, and his left eye is starting to swell.
Vlad’s eyes are huge. He’s breathing fast. “We swarmed them. We took down all of Oleg’s men.”
David tries to smile but it’s more of a grimace. He props himself on his elbows, the expression on his face a little disoriented.
I touch his face. Beads of sweat mix with a film of dirt and a layer of smudged blood on his cheeks and chin. I swipe them away with my thumb.
“It’s okay, baby,” I whisper. “You’re safe now. You did it.”
“We all did it,” he pants, licking his lips, looking at Oleg’s body which is laying face up next to him.
I catch a glimpse of Oleg’s dark eyes, staring up at the black sky, two empty vessels. I turn my head away. I breathe in through my nose to quell some of the nausea cresting like waves in my stomach, but the air smells like sweat and gunfire and blood.
Vlad and I help lift David to his feet as some of his men start stumbling out of the warehouse with dazed expressions.
Some of his guys are busted up very badly, bleeding, bruises blooming on their faces, gashes sliced across exposed skin, shirts ripped open.
I swallow down another aggressive swell of sickness and press my face to David’s hard chest. He kisses the top of my head. “You’re not hurt, right? The baby is okay?”
I lift my chin and offer him the most reassuring smile I can manage. “We’re fine.”
David exhales through his teeth. “Thank god.”
“I was so worried when I saw you and Oleg brawling like that,” I admit.
David’s eyes glide to Vlad. “I might not have gotten out alive if it wasn’t for him.”
Vlad gives David a stoic nod. “I did what I had to do, boss.”
I swallow hard, realizing that in the chaos, Vlad was the one who fired the fatal bullet that hit Oleg. I knew it had to be this way in the end. Either David or Oleg as the last man standing.
“Thank god you were there,” I whisper, my eyes meeting Vlad’s.
He gives me a quick nod of approval. “Did you get the pictures you need for the police?”
I tap my camera with one finger. “Yes. Even though Oleg is dead, I have the pictures to prove he was the mastermind behind all of this. We can use the research I’ve obtained and hand it all over to the police. I’ll explain the findings, and hopefully David’s name will be cleared.”
Vlad clears his throat and shifts his weight. “The fires at the warehouses can be traced back to Oleg too. All his men are dead, and our guys will never talk. We’re in good shape to pin it all on him, since it’s well known by law enforcement that there was already bad blood between the bratva crews. They know you wouldn’t sabotage your own warehouses, David.”
“We’ll let them think that anyway.” I grin at David.
David’s eyes shine in the moonlight. “What a relief. I couldn’t have done it without either of you.”
“I love you.” I turn to face him, hugging him close. “You’re a loyal man who deserves to be cleared of something you had nothing to do with in the first place. You’ll be a hero to our baby because you’re one to me, too.”
He smiles and pushes my hair back. “I love you so much. Fate brought us together. I know that now.”
Pride takes root in my body and branches out. With the war behind us, David and I have so much to look forward to.