Chapter 34
NIKOLAI
The sight of Adrianne in that red dress almost brought me to my knees.
She stood in the center of the ballroom, right where we’d kissed, the dress clinging to her curves, beautiful and obscene. A mockery of everything my mother had suffered.
Beside her, Sasha looked equally broken. The signs of the torture and abuse clear on every inch of her skin.
My father stood between them, a gun pressed to Adrianne’s temple, smiling like he’d won already, while Alexei stood tall beside them.
“Hello, syn.” Son. His voice echoed through the empty ballroom. “So glad you could join us.”
“Let them go.” I kept my gun trained on him, even though I knew I couldn’t take the shot. Not with that barrel pressed against her head. “This is between us. Let the girls go.”
“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong.” Vladimir stroked Adrianne’s cheek with his free hand, and I saw her flinch.
“This stopped being just about us the moment you decided to play hero. And that fact alone gave me the ammo I needed to see you suffer for your treason. I heard you wanted to take my place. Become Pakhan.”
“I don’t give a damn about your position. You could be God for all I cared.”
“Always so dramatic.” He laughed. “Look at you. Ready to die for her. Ready to throw everything away. How does that win you my legacy?”
“Fuck your legacy. Everything you’ve built was built on the pain of others.”
“So true. And that’s exactly how you control the mobs. You make them fear you. Respect you.”
Behind me, I heard footsteps. Matteo and Liam taking positions, their weapons raised. Someone else followed with heavier footsteps, labored breathing.
Adrik marched into the ballroom, blood streaming from his head wound.
“I told you to stay–” I started, but Vladimir cut me off.
“Adrik! Perfect timing.” Vladimir’s smile widened. “Come join the family reunion.”
“Let Sasha go. Please. You have what you want. You have Nikolai. Just let her go.”
“Let her go?” Vladimir tilted his head. “After all the trouble I went through to acquire her? After she’s been such excellent motivation for your cooperation? No, I don’t think so.”
“I gave you everything! I told you their plans, I disabled the alarms. You were supposed to set her free and take me instead.” Adrik said, but his hand behind his back was gesturing to me.
“You did exactly what I forced you to do. Don’t mistake coercion for loyalty, Adrik. You’re not special. You’re just weak.”
“Then kill me!” Adrik took a step forward. “Let them go and kill me instead. I’m the one who betrayed him. I’m the one who deserves to die.”
“Oh, you’ll die.” Vladimir nodded to his men. “But not yet. First, you watch.”
Six men materialized from the shadows, surrounding us before we could react.
“Drop your weapons,” Vladimir commanded. “Or I’ll paint the walls with her pretty brains.”
I looked at Adrianne. Her eyes met mine, and I saw fear there. But there was also trust. Hope that I’d find a way out of this and save us.
Instead, I lowered my gun.
“Kick it away.”
I did. Beside me, Matteo and Liam did the same.
“Good boys.” Vladimir gestured. “Now, on your knees. Hands behind your heads.”
We had no choice but to comply.
Vladimir’s men zip-tied their wrists behind their backs, forcing them down, while Alexei made it a point to deal with mine, tying them extra tight. One of them hit Adrik hard enough to make him drop to his knees, then secured him the same way.
“There.” Vladimir finally removed the gun from Adrianne’s temple. “Much better. Now we can really begin.”
“Begin what?”
“Your education.” Vladimir sheathed his gun and started removing his jacket.
“You see, son, you never understood what power really means. What it takes to hold it. So I’m going to show you.
Besides, you lied to me. Imagine my perplexity when I reached out to our friends over here,” He gestured towards Matteo and Liam, “And found out that you tried to trick me with a bastard sister instead of the mafia princess. Now someone needs to pay for your lack of respect, don’t you think? ”
Slowly, I watched as he moved toward Sasha first.
“No!” Adrik screamed, struggling against his restraints. “No, please, don’t.”
Vladimir grabbed Sasha by her blue hair, yanking her head back. “Your brother fed me so much information to keep you safe. Betrayed his closest friend. Destroyed his own honor. And for what?”
Without warning, he backhanded her across the face.
Sasha’s head snapped to the side, but she didn’t cry out. She just stared at him with defiant eyes.
“For this?” Vladimir hit her again. “For a sister who isn’t even grateful?”
“Stop!” Adrik shouted, while I tugged on my restraints, my rage building. “Please, I’ll do anything.”
“You’ll do nothing.” Vladimir grabbed the front of Sasha’s dress, tearing it right down the middle. “You’ll sit there. You’ll watch. And you’ll learn what your betrayal cost.”
“Vladimir, don’t!” I strained against the zip ties, feeling them cut into my wrists. “You want to hurt someone? Hurt me. Leave her alone.”
“But where’s the fun in that?” He turned to Adrianne. “Besides, I have plans for this one, too.”
He moved toward her, and something inside me snapped at the sight of his hands on her skin.
“I’ll kill you! I swear to God, I’ll fucking kill you!”
“No, you won’t.” Vladimir grabbed Adrianne’s arm, yanking her forward. “You’ll watch. Just like you watched your mother. Just like you watched your sister. You’ll stand there, helpless, while I destroy everything you love. And this time, you two won’t be able to do a fucking thing.”
His hand slid down Adrianne’s dress, trying to find the zipper.
Despite the beating and humiliation, despite the collar and all her bruises, Sasha lunged forward and drove her fist into Vladimir’s throat. His men were so fucking dependent on his word that they didn’t even react.
Vladimir staggered back, choking, and Sasha grabbed Adrianne’s hand, pulling her behind her.
“RUN!” I screamed. “The maze! Go to the maze!”
They didn’t even hesitate, both of them running towards the door.
“Stop them!” Vladimir wheezed, still trying to catch his breath.
His men moved, but Sasha and Adrianne were already through the door. I heard their footsteps echoing down the hallway, fading into the distance.
“GO AFTER THEM!” Vladimir roared.
Three of his men took off in pursuit, Alexei in the lead.
Vladimir turned back to us, his face purple with rage. He pulled his gun, pressing it against my head.
“You just killed her,” he said, his voice hoarse from the punch. “You know that, right? My men will catch them. And when they do, I’m going to make sure you hear every scream as they use them, fuck them, and then kill them.”
“How amateurish, Posol. Haven’t been on the field for so long, you can’t even hold two women hostage.” Ambassador. I taunted, trying to get under his skin as my hands worked on the tie that bound me. I felt it sink into my flesh as I pulled, blood starting to drip onto my fingers.
“I have no idea what kind of miracle you’re expecting, Niko, but you’re in no position to try and shame me when you’re the one kneeling at my feet, begging for me to let her live.”
Vladimir moved closer, and before I knew it, he hit me with the heel of his gun, pain exploding across my face. I shook my head, straightening again, going at the damn zip-tie even harder as blood started clouding my vision.
“You’ll die tonight knowing you failed her,” Vladimir said.
“That your grand gesture of love ended with her screaming in the snow while my men take turns with her, just as they should to any woman in red. Poetic, don’t you think?
” He turned to his remaining men. “Go help the others. I want both women found and brought back here. Alive, if possible. Dead, if necessary.”
Two more men left, leaving only one with Vladimir.
The zip tie was cutting deeper into my wrists, the blood making it slippery, but I felt it weakening.
Just. A little. More.
Left at the rose bush. Right at the split oak. Straight through the hedge gap. Left at the fountain.
I chanted in my head again and again, trusting that my Babochka would make it.
With a last twist of my wrists, the zip tie snapped, and my hands were free.
I caught Matteo’s eye, giving him the slightest nod that he understood immediately.
The remaining guard’s radio crackled on his belt. “Boss, they split up in the maze. We lost visual on both.”
“Then find them!” Vladimir snarled, visibly losing it.
The guard turned slightly, distracted. This was my shot.
I pushed forward, grabbing the guard’s knife and driving it into his throat before he could react. Moving just a second behind me, Matteo tackled Vladimir, both of them crashing to the ground.
I cut Liam and Adrik free, and as I made my way towards them, a gunshot rang out.
Matteo rolled off of my father, blood pooling beneath him.
Vladimir raised the gun toward me, but Adrik threw himself forward, knocking Vladimir’s aim off. The shot went wild, hitting the wall behind me.
Adrik’s fist connected with his face, the fury in him making him shake like a man possessed. Good, Vladimir deserved his rage, and mine for that matter.
“Nikolai!” Adrik yelled as he fought with my father. “The girls! Get them to safety.”
He was right. Adrianne was out there. In danger.
I grabbed the guard’s gun and ran.