Chapter 14 Volodya #2
When he doesn’t say anything, I know I’m right. “I don’t give a fuck about any of that right now. Tell me where Maddie is.”
“Promise me you’ll let me go,” he quickly says.
“Excuse me?”
“Give me your word that you’ll let me go, and I’ll tell you where she is.”
I look at my men and ask in Russian, “Is this guy fucking serious?”
We’re all too worried about Valeri to laugh, but none of us can quite believe what an idiot Scott is.
“Fine, I’ll let you go if you tell me where Maddie is,” I tell him, switching to English.
“I just gave her to him because of what you did to Kaylee. You started this by taking her, so I told him he could do whatever was done to my sister. Just to get even.”
“Who took her?”
“Derek. She’s at his house with him.”
I grip my knife tighter. “And what exactly do you think I did to Kaylee?”
“You kidnapped her, beat her, and raped her,” he yells at me.
Something inside my brain snaps at his words. “I didn’t beat or rape your goddamn sister.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Where does Derek live?”
As soon as he says the address, I stab him in the exact spot where I shot him. His scream pierces the air, and it’s music to my fucking ears.
“You said you’d let me go,” he cries, gasping for air.
“I’m the bad guy, you stupid fuck. I lied.”
Before he can process the idea that maybe you shouldn’t trust the bad guy when he promises to not kill you, I pull the knife out and slit his throat.
“Get rid of the bodies,” I tell my men, already running for my car.
The address Scott gave isn’t far away, but the drive feels like it takes hours because all I can think about is that fucker raping and hurting the woman I love.
I pull up beside his black truck and run for the front door.
I don’t bother wasting the energy to kick it in.
I just shoot the lock out and barge in. The place is small and only one level, making it easy to see the only place they could be is down the hall.
The sound of Maddie screaming sends a cold chill down my spine.
Following the sound, I push open the door to find Derek trying to rip Maddie’s jeans off while she kicks and screams. Her face is bloody and swollen, and the sight of it makes me lose what little grip on sanity I have left.
Deep inside me something breaks, and everything goes dark.
I barely register the sound of Derek’s screams or the feel of my blade sinking into his flesh over and over again.
There’s nothing but a dark rage that consumes every fucking part of me.
I don’t know if it’s been minutes or hours, but Maddie’s voice slowly starts to penetrate the murderous frenzy I’m in.
“Volodya,” she begs. “Please stop.”
Her trembling voice is what snaps me out of the darkness and brings me back to the light.
My vision comes back to me, and when I look down, the man at my feet is barely recognizable as human.
I blink and shake my head before turning to look at her.
Her face is swollen and bruised, and she’s bleeding from a split eyebrow and has a bloody nose, but she’s alive, and I got here before he could rape her.
“Kiska,” I whisper, pulling her into my arms and hugging her tightly.
Her hands are still bound behind her back, and when I bring my knife around to cut through the zip tie, I groan at the sight of her bloody wrists.
As soon as she’s free she clings to me, shaking and crying, and we hold each other, neither one of us wanting to let the other go.
I kiss her face and cup the back of her head, convincing myself that she’s really here and safe.
She lets out a sob and brings her mouth to mine, kissing me as tears fall down her cheeks, dampening both our faces.
I lose myself in her, letting her comfort me as only she can.
After several minutes, she sucks in a quick breath when she feels the blood dripping down my arm and whispers, “You’re bleeding.” Her fingers gently lift the sleeve of my shirt so she can see where the bullet grazed my skin. “Oh my god, you need a doctor.”
“I’m fine, but we need to go to the hospital. You need stitches and,” I stop because I can’t bring myself to actually say it out loud.
She sees the pain in my eyes and cups my face. “What happened? Are your brothers okay?”
I shake my head no and whisper, “Valeri was shot. I don’t know if he’s going to make it.”
She pulls me closer and kisses me gently, looking at me with pure fiery determination in her beautiful eyes. “He’s strong, Volodya. He’s going to be okay. I know he is.”
Her words and just her very presence give me strength. I nod my head and when she steps away to button her pants back up, I feel the anger threaten to rise up again. Putting my knife away, I ask, “Did he rape you?” because I have to hear it from her. I have to hear it out loud.
She grabs my hand, keeping her eyes on mine and avoiding the body at our feet. “No, Volodya. I promise he didn’t. You got here in time.” She gives me a small smile. “I knew you’d find me.”
“I’m sorry, kiska.” My throat tightens around the words as guilt washes over me, settling on my shoulders and making me feel like I’m carrying around an extra hundred pounds.
“We’ll talk about this later, but you have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault.” She grabs my hand and pulls me toward the door. We step over Derek, leaving the bloody body on the floor. Before I drive us away, I check my phone and see a text from Vasily.
He’s in surgery. Not sure yet how bad it is.
I respond that we’re on our way and then send a text for one of the guys to come and get rid of Derek, or what’s left of him.
Several bodies will be dropped in the ocean tonight, and I don’t feel any guilt about a single one of them.
Maddie keeps her hand on my thigh the entire drive, giving me comforting squeezes and telling me over and over again that Valeri’s going to be fine, that he’s strong and he’s going to make it.
Before I get out, I remove all my weapons, ignoring the pain radiating through my arm.
We walk into the emergency room a bloody mess, but we ignore the shocked and curious looks.
I scan the crowd, immediately spotting my brother in the corner.
Nina’s arms are wrapped around him, and I can tell she’s been crying.
Ilya, Nikolai, Andrei, and Svetlana are sitting down next to them.
Their faces say it all. Shocked and devastated, they look like they’re still trying to accept what’s happened. I feel the exact same way.
“Oh my god,” Nina says when we walk up. “Are you okay?”
“Maddie needs a few stitches and to make sure she doesn’t have a concussion. I’m fine,” I wave off her concern for me and look at Vasily. “Any news?”
He scrubs a hand over his face and shakes his head. “He lost a lot of blood.” He’s about to say more, but he can’t get the words out and just shakes his head again. The utter despair in his eyes is mirrored in my own. This family doesn’t work without our baby brother. Losing him is not an option.
A nurse finally spots us and rushes over, ushering us to the counter to get signed in.
I let her lead me over because I know Maddie needs to be seen.
We get signed in, but I refuse to leave Maddie’s side.
The nurse finally gives up and brings us both back to a room.
She looks to be mid-forties, with a no-nonsense air about her that speaks to her years as an ER nurse.
I’m guessing not much gets to this woman.
“My brother’s in surgery. Can you find out how he’s doing?” I ask her as she inspects the damage the bullet did.
She raises a brow at me. “What exactly happened to your arm?”
I shrug. “I can’t remember.”
Her lips thin, and I can tell I’ve pissed her off. She glances at Maddie’s beat-up face and steps between us, putting her back to me, and for being five-foot-nothing, she’s got balls of steel.
“Did he hurt you?” I hear her whisper to Maddie.
I’d be offended if I wasn’t so impressed.
Maddie’s grey eyes widen. “No, god no, he’s the one who stopped this,” she says, motioning to her swollen face.
“What the hell happened to you two?” the nurse asks again.
Maddie gives a small shrug and says, “Can’t remember.”
She’s the only person on the planet who could make me smile at a time like this, but I’m so goddamn proud of her. When she looks up and sees my face, she gives me a wink, and I’m so overcome with love for her that I can hardly breathe.
The nurse gives up and tries to work on me, but I tell her she has to do Maddie first. After giving her a couple of stitches in her eyebrow and making sure nothing is broken and that she doesn’t have a concussion, she turns to me.
“Can you please find out about my brother?” I ask while she’s busy disinfecting my arm.
“I will as soon as I stitch you up,” she promises and then sets to work.
Maddie comes to stand beside me, and I wrap my free arm around her, pulling her close while she runs her hand through my hair and kisses my head.
I breathe in the familiar scent of her, using it as my anchor to keep the fear of losing my brother at bay.
After she’s bandaged my arm, she leads us back to the waiting room, promising to go and check on Valeri. I sit in the chair next to Vasily and pull Maddie into my lap before lightly running my fingers over her face.
“How bad does it hurt?”
“It’s fine,” she says, giving me a smile. “I barely feel it.”
I know she’s lying, but at least the nurse gave her some painkillers to help.
“How’s your arm feel?”
I kiss her forehead and pull her closer. “Nothing but a scratch, kiska.”