34. Tatiana
TATIANA
“A drian, please.”
My feet were frozen. Bare feet and Russian winters didn’t mesh well. My feet hurt, the cold seeped into my bones, sending shivers up my body. The coat I wore did nothing to keep me warm.
I was dressed for the French Riviera, not fucking Russia.
“Adrian.” I tried to pull away as Nikita dragged me further away from the car.
“Where are the fucking Yakuza?” Nikita hissed, ignoring me. Panic swelled inside me, my eyes darting around. Adrian was typing furiously on the phone, his brows furrowing each time he looked at me.
“You’re working with Yakuza?” I accused, glaring at them both. “They’ve been trying to kill me.”
“They’re going to buy the chip,” Nikita answered.
“Actually, they’re out,” Adrian remarked. “They tried to bypass me and go straight for Tatiana. I have another buyer.”
Nikita whipped around, his grip on me slightly loosening.
“Who? You didn’t say anything.” Adrian kept his eyes on his phone, not acknowledging him. “Goddamn it, Adrian! Who?”
Adrian didn’t miss a beat. “Sofia Volkov.”
I tensed. I’d heard my brother and Illias discuss Sofia Volkov. The lunatic. Jesus fucking Christ. Why was this world so goddamn small?
“Well, where in the fuck is she?” Nikita growled.
With each of Adrian’s answers, Nikita’s grip lessened. Not wasting a single minute, I elbowed Nikita with all my strength, then sprinted forward, ignoring the probable frostbite on my feet. Adrian shouted at me to stop, but I ignored him. I kept going, putting my all into it.
It was stupid, I knew it. There was nothing around for miles. But I had to try. I had to get away.
Suddenly, I was lifted off my feet. “Let me go!” I screamed, trying to wrestle free and kicking my bare feet.
“Stop it.” Adrian’s voice suffocated me, his grip firm on me. I swung my head back and headbutted him. Stars swam in my vision. Pain shot through my brain, but I ignored it. “Stop it, or I’ll shoot you right now,” Adrian hissed, his tone furious.
I inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled, trying to calm my racing heart and adrenaline ringing in my ears.
“You calm?” he gritted. I was anything but calm, but I nodded nonetheless. He put me down and I turned around to see Adrian rubbing his nose. “Fuck, Tatiana. I think you broke my nose.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “And you fucking broke my heart. I doubt that we are remotely close to even.”
He rolled his eyes. “Stop being dramatic.”
Now that my heart rate slowed, the cold rushed through me. Goddamn it! Maybe I should have jogged a bit more.
“Adrian, I don’t have any shoes.” I shot Adrian pleading glances.
Nikita jerked my arm hard and I heard a pop in my shoulder. I clenched my teeth to stop a whimper from escaping me.
“You won’t need them,” Nikita gritted. “This road leads you to a cold, dark grave anyhow.”
“You fucking–”
“Don’t make this harder, Tatiana.” Adrian’s voice was deceptively calm and soft, but a vein thundered in his temple. He was pissed off, although it remained to be seen whether it was at me, Nikita, or the mysterious Sofia Volkov.
“Welcome to your gravesite,” Nikita drawled. “Same place where Adrian’s parents were murdered.”
My eyes flickered to Adrian. He avoided looking at me, his gaze trailing over the white landscape. White as far as your eye could see. Nothing but snow surrounded us, tainted only by our feet. But it was unmistakable where we were. The same howling wind. The same barren landscape. The same ghosts.
Goosebumps rose on my skin.
I bit my lip as I watched with horror the same parking lot he brought me to dance all those years ago. For our fucking honeymoon.
It was a different time. Different man. Different life.
“I’m sorry it couldn’t be different,” Adrian muttered and he looked like he meant it. “I mean it. I love you.”
Fury shot through me, warming my insides. It was better than cold fear. “I mean it too, Adrian. This is the final line. You shouldn’t cross it,” I hissed.
“We’ll make it fast,” Nikita spat, shoving me to my knees. The cold snow soaked through the hem of my dress and into my knees. The chill in my bones sent shudders through me. “You won’t feel… much.”
My gaze fleeted from Adrian to Nikita, then back to Adrian. No, no, no.
I couldn’t die this way.
There was so much left to do, say, see. I was too young. My babies needed to see the light. Their mama and papa. Have a beautiful, happy life. They deserved that.
“Or maybe we should drag it out,” Nikita snickered.
“Shut up,” Adrian snapped at him. His gaze darted to me and darkened. Maybe a flicker of regret stared back at me. So I tried to appeal to his good sense. For anything he might have felt for me. He said he loved me.
“Adrian, please, don’t do this,” I begged, my eyes burning from tears and the cold.
My nose tingled and I brought my tied wrists up my front to rub it.
I sniffled, a lonely tear escaping and rolling down my icy cheek.
The cold froze my skin to the point of numbness.
“Please,” I sniffled. “I’ve known you my whole life. ”
“You fucked Konstantin,” he snapped, his voice worse than a whip against the sensitive skin. “I even used that fucking cologne you raved about. Overpriced and smelly.” I stared at him, gritting my teeth. Fake. Everything with him was fake. “Any last words?”
“You’re not going to win,” I told him defiantly, although deep down I shook with fear. “Illias will find you and he’ll end you. Once and for all.”
Without a doubt, I knew my words were true. I might not live long enough to see it, but Adrian wouldn’t come out of this alive.
The cold barrel of Adrian’s gun pressed against my temple.
“By the end of this, someone’s going to hurt,” Adrian said, his voice whipping through the air. “But it won’t be me.”
My body trembled and tears sprung free. My head swam with emotions and memories. Images of Illias flashed in front of my eyes. The night he dragged me out of the burning car. His words ordering me to remain alive. Our fleeting moment in L.A. before I realized who he even was to me. Gazebo.
We had barely gotten started. I wanted to tell him I loved him. I needed to tell him that I was his, just as he told me he was mine.
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. Tears refused to stop falling. They found a way out, freezing on my eyelashes. Some made it down my cheeks and onto my tongue. My lips trembled as I tasted salt.
My ears buzzed, drowning out the howl of the wind. Numbness took over. My skin was so frozen I no longer felt the cold. Nor the pain. I was too late. I’d run out of time.
Did I tell my brothers I loved them?
I hoped they knew. I should have told them more often. God, my little nephews and niece. They wouldn’t remember me. I’ll miss them growing up. I’ll miss it all.
The lump in my throat grew bigger and bigger. Something clawed at my chest and my breathing hitched, the freezing temperatures invading my lungs.
I tried to remember a prayer. Just one before my last breath. I couldn’t remember a single prayer.
I’m going to hell , I thought with horror. My babies and I are going to hell.
Screeching tires came through my scattering throughs.
Pop. Pop.
Absolute terror consumed me. I could no longer feel the barrel against my temple. The nails dug painfully into the palm of my hands. My head swam like I was in the clouds. Was I dead? Thud . A cold, soft powder splashed against me. Warm liquid splashed over my face.
I could feel its warmth. I could feel the pain. I couldn’t be dead.
I opened my eyes. Shouting. The loud heartbeat in my ears made it hard to make out any words. More bullets. I sat frozen on my knees. The commotion around me was real, but something inside me went deadly silent for a beat.
Then I heard it.
“Tatiana!” The familiar voice. My chest warmed. Eyes wide, I stared at men, my roaring heartbeat increasing its staccato rhythm.
“If she’s hurt, I’m killing you, Konstantin.” Another familiar voice.
A sob raced up my throat, but I kept it muffled. My husband was here. Relief flooded through me, followed by a whimper. I stumbled onto my feet, my limbs stiff from the cold and my feet frozen. But I Ignored it all.
I ran towards him and collided into his warm chest, smelling of citrus and sandalwood. Home. Heart. It was all here.
Illias immediately lifted me into his arms, my legs circling his waist. I buried my face into his chest, heaving and sobbing. This brush with death was too real. Too close. My bones rattled with the intensity of my cries.
A warm touch. “I’m here, moya luna,” he rasped. Then he repeated it. Over and over again. As if he needed to assure himself as well as me. “Look at me.”
I lifted my head, my eyes meeting his dark consuming gaze. He squeezed me against his chest, keeping me in his arms. I buried my face in his neck, inhaling that familiar scent.
“You came for me,” I croaked.
“Always,” he murmured. “I’ll always come for you,” he chanted. “I’ll always save you.”
Just as he promised.
Pieces of me crumbled, only for him to put them back together. “You’re safe,” he murmured. “Never again. He’ll never hurt us again.”
He fell down onto his knees, as if he was overpowered by relief, while holding me tightly like a god of vengeance. He drew in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
“Fuck, you’re so cold.” His voice cracked, his hands roaming over my body, almost as if he hoped his touch would warm me up. It did. I needed it.
“You came for me,” I whispered again, while he placed soft but urgent kisses over my face. My forehead. My snotty nose. My cheeks, My ears.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Illias urged softly. “Somewhere warm.”
“Move out of the fucking way.” My brother’s voice came through. Sasha. “You’re lucky I didn't accidentally shoot you. Get your hands off my sister, you goddamn Konstantin.”
“Don’t push me, Sasha.” My husband didn’t even spare him a glance. “Or I’ll stab you by accident.”