Chapter 44 – Vivian
“ S tay here!” Luka’s command rang in my ears. The ghostly touch of his fingers on my shoulders pulsed where he’d gripped me.
“Like hell I’m doing that,” I muttered, looking at the gun in my hand.
I was a mobster’s wife. Where was my place if it wasn’t by his side, protecting our family? It was time to own this life.
“Okay, safety off.” Click. “And keep my finger off the trigger until I’m ready. Then point and squeeze. Don’t jerk my wrist, just curl the finger.”
The instructions from the few times Laurel drug me to the shooting range played through my mind. I slid to the door but stopped partway across the floor. The straps on the stilettos broke with a snap. I tried and failed to tear the long material of my skirt.
Urge! The girls in movies always made it look so easy.
Giving up, I left the room. The hem brushed the ground as I ran. My pulse pounded, the blood a relentless roar that echoed in my ears. At first, it muffled the shouts and gunshots. Every muscle in my body burned with exertion, but I pushed through the pain, my legs pumping furiously beneath me.
I skidded to a stop and peered into the private salon. It was empty.
Where the hell are they?
The air was thick with the scent of smoke and fear, each breath a harsh rasp that tore at my throat. There was a noise behind me. I crept to it. In the ballroom, the rich and powerful were hunkering on the floor. Their gems sparkled almost as much as the tears staining their cheeks. But none dared make a sound more than a whimper.
“Ladies and gentlemen of Chicago, may I have your attention,” a voice boomed. “I am Commander Blitz, and this is your formal notice that I’ve been appointed as faction leader here in the Windy City. Think of me as your negotiator. I have blackmail on each and every one of you, so you’ll want to pay close attention and do exactly what I tell you to do.”
I frowned. There was no sign of the Vlasovs in here. Backing away, the last thing I heard him say before the voice faded from view was:
“The Toro Syndicate owns you.”
I ducked into another room, a staging area where the catering equipment was helter-skelter. There was still no sign of the Russian mobsters.
Think. Think! The guys would have tried to move the girls to the back. But if they couldn’t escape that way—
“They would have gone up!”
I darted to the back staircase. Sure enough, the sounds of gunfire filtered down. Panic clawed at my insides, a gnawing worry that twisted my stomach into tight knots. The world around me blurred into a frenzied haze of colors and shapes, but I kept my eyes fixed on the stairs. At the top, I could hear distant cries, muffled and desperate, driving me forward with a renewed sense of urgency.
“No, wait!” I spun on my toe and peered down behind me. There were men in suits entering the hall.
My heart leapt to my throat. I couldn’t breathe.
Through the tunnel vision, a familiar form took shape compared to the others. I blinked, trying to focus. It couldn’t be.
“Weston,” I breathed.
The lawyer had a gun at his side. He carried himself like he was familiar with this kind of situation.
I only waited long enough to see them file into the ballroom, guns raised. Bullets exploded a moment later. Whatever was happening down there didn’t matter. I had to reach the others!
Sweat trickled down my back, soaking through my dress. Each step was uneven as I padded down the hall to the upper meeting and boardroom spaces. This area was designed to hold conventions or business retreats.
“Vivian!” a high, frightened voice called.
I turned and followed the sound. Daniella’s teen cousins were huddled in the corner of a conference room.
“What are you two doing here?” I hissed, hurrying toward them.
Camilla slid a look to her sister. “It doesn’t matter right now.”
Brittany dropped her gaze to the ground. “I was having a private party up here with some kids from school. Cami found us and shooed them away.”
“And then the shooting!” Camilla looked up at me.
“Okay, it’s going to be fine.” I don’t know how I knew what to do, but I wrapped a protective arm around them, pulling them along with me.
Shouting had us pressing against the wall a moment later. A string of language came through.
“Do you know what they’re saying?” I mouthed to the girls.
Camilla lifted her shoulder.
“It’s bad Spanish,” Brittany whispered. “It’s run-run .”
The blood in my veins raced with a frantic rhythm, each pulse a painful beat of the time passing.
When the footsteps faded, I drew the first real breath since Luka left.
I gave the girls a squeeze, disentangled myself, and whispered to the door. The hall was empty. Beckoning them forward, I took a step from the shadows.
“What do we have here?” a masculine voice sneered.
The speaker sneered at us. The only feature that registered through the suffocating panic was his beady eyes.
Dread settled heavily on my chest, making my lungs stop working. And yet, despite the terror and the physical torment, a fierce resolve propelled me forward. This man wasn’t going to hurt those I cared about!
I tucked my gun to my side. “Girls, move behind me!”
“Stop.” A tobacco-stained smile flashed. He had a gun—a big one. It was pointed at us.
Oddly enough, a wave of calm spread through me. My next three steps became crystal clear. I would shout for the girls to drop. I would lift my gun. And I would shoot the fucker center mass as I’d been taught.
Shadows loomed behind him. They morphed and changed. Thin branches—no arms!—reached around. I wiped my eyes. This time there was something there. I wasn’t seeing things. It wasn’t too dark. My brain wasn’t playing tricks on me.
There was a monster, who just killed the man threatening me.
Drop—drop—drop.
Blood dripped on the floor.
I focused on that, instead of looking at the body slumped at Luka’s feet. Like in Florida, that very first night, I had the overwhelming urge to run. My feet took off, and I launched myself into Luka’s arms.
Only, he didn’t catch me.
He pushed me.
I connected hard with the wall as a shout sounded. A gun boomed. Brain short circuiting, I swiveled my gaze between Luka and the man at the mouth of the stairs.
That glacial gaze dropped to the red flower blooming large on his chest. “Fuck, that hurts.”
A wisp of black flew through the air.
“Missed,” someone crowed.
Hand pulled by a puppet string, I lifted my gun. The extended clip unloaded. Ten pops filled the air. The man at the end of the hall fell.
But I was already springing toward Luka.
Whose eyes rolled into the back of his head. He was unconscious, bleeding badly.
Someone was screaming. The world became a garish blend of too bright lights and too much crimson.
Camilla was at my side a moment later. “You have to quit that noise,” she hissed. Black flashed. My dress tore. “Britt, make her be quiet or they’ll come for us.”
Through the blur, I realized it was me. I was screaming. I slid my hand into Luka’s. The screaming faded. Hold onto me, mister. Stay holding onto me.
“Oh, shit,” someone boomed.
“He has blood in his lungs—hemoptysis.” Camilla rolled Luka over.
Stay, Luka. Stay for me!
“Get him to the ER! Now, Dimitri,” Camilla snapped.
“Vivian, are you hurt? You look like you’re going to faint—”
“Leave her. She’s fine, just in shock.”
“She should be with him.”
“She’ll weigh you down.”
They were all speaking at once. I couldn’t focus on who was there, let alone what they said. It was probably important. There were more instructions rattled off, but before those words could shape into something with meaning, Luka’s grasp slid from mine.
Hold onto me!
I clawed at the hands holding me until I was finally free, and then I staggered after Luka. But he was moving out of my reach. The pain in my skull throbbed, but I would not deal with it right now. Not when Luka needed me! Time and distance ceased to compute. I couldn’t see my surroundings. Reality passed me by, until suddenly it was cold. The fall wind pushed insistently at my back. I rubbed my bare shoulders, peering into the dark. Twin spots of red blinked at the end of the alley before vanishing.
“Wait for me!” I croaked.
“I’ve been waiting for you all night.” The words were accompanied by a prick.
I swatted at my neck as the world spun around me.