Chapter 52
She’s the only thought on my mind as I fight my way to Ivan. I knew he wouldn’t be dumb enough to come alone. From what Dom and Leo have told us, he’s always got a plan. But even the slipperiest snake has a predator that can kill it, and I will be Ivan’s demise.
Even if it kills me.
Seven men isn't a lot, but it’s enough to slow me down for now.
They fall one after the other, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that these men have minimal training.
Enough that they can defend themselves, but not much more, not half of what Leo or Dom have.
I’d be shocked if any of them had ever been in an actual fight outside of training.
I hear the click of a gun's safety switching off as I turn to face the last two men who stand between Ivan and me. The man holding the gun doesn’t look cocky, though. If anything, he looks afraid. His arms shake as he aims the barrel of his gun toward my head.
“Shoot her,” Ivan’s voice booms around the room, and the man in front of me cringes at the command.
Something about this isn’t adding up. Nothing about this man says he wants to do this, wants to fight for Ivan, or kill me.
Taking a chance, I glance across the room to where Ivan stands, leaning over the chair he has Hazel tied to as she tries to wiggle free of her restraints.
I doubt she can, but I can’t help the feeling of pride that wells in my chest for her trying.
It would be so easy for her to give up, but even as scared as she is, she’s still fighting.
That’s my best friend.
If I make it out of this, I’m going to have to show her how to fight. There is no way I can let her get caught like this again. It’s not fair to keep her in the dark when she’s clearly in danger by association.
Turning my attention back to the two men before me, I change tactics. Raising my hands, I hold them palms up.
“You don’t have to do this. I don’t want to fight you. I just want my friend back,” I tell him, keeping my voice low and steady. There’s no way not to spook him, though. I know he just saw me take down the rest of his friends, but I have to try.
He flinches, his eyes flicking from Ivan back to me, and I know whatever Ivan has with these men isn’t loyalty. No, they follow him in fear.
“I just want my life back. You don’t have to die for him,” I assure him, taking a step toward him.
He shakes his head violently, squeezing his eyes closed, and I chance another step.
“You don’t understand,” he says, his English rough, his words forced, making him harder to understand, but I don’t miss his fear.
“I said shoot her!” Ivan demands from the other side of the room, but he doesn’t dare leave Hazel.
Smart.
“Why don’t you shoot me, Ivan? So ready to end me and take what’s not yours, but you won’t do the dirty work?” I ask, taking a risk and turning to face him.
I’m almost positive the guy with the gun doesn’t want to shoot me. All I can do is pray that I’m right and keep going, though. I don’t have another option.
Ivan steps around Hazel, pulling his gun, but from across the room in the low lighting, he doesn’t have a clear shot.
This underground city might have been great once upon a time, but now it’s in shambles; garbage and debris litter the floor.
Shit, I’m not even sure it’s stable down here.
Support beams hang from the ceiling, gaping holes in the walls revealing the dirt behind them.
“What’s the matter, Uncle? Afraid to lose your leverage?” The goons behind me both gasp aloud, but I’m not concerned with them right now. No, Ivan is who I need to worry about. Goading him probably isn’t the smartest idea, but it’s effective the way it always is with egotistical assholes.
A shot rings out as I sidestep behind one of the beams. I hear the two goons shuffling around as they search for cover. One less thing for me to worry about.
“Or is it something else? You don’t seem to be afraid of breaking the rules, so maybe you're afraid of getting your hands dirty?” I continue to taunt him, listening as he takes a few more steps forward.
That’s it. Keep coming for me. Follow the sound of my voice.
“No, that can’t be it either. If that were the case, I would still be safe at home, wouldn’t I?”
The two guys whisper near me, but I tune them out. Right now, my concern is saving Hazel and killing Ivan, in that order.
“I should have killed you that night and been done with it! Letting you live was the worst mistake I’ve ever made.” Ivan’s words ring out around the room, and I know he means them. There was a time I would have agreed with him, would have begged to die instead of being handed the fate I was given.
Too bad for him. Those days are long gone.
“I always knew my brother was soft, worried about women and children.” He spits the words with disgust. “Your bitch of a mother only made it worse with her bastard son. But there was always hope that one day, Mikhail might step down. He’d spoken of the possibility of leaving the family to me so that he could focus on them.
It was disgusting and disgraceful, but it would give me what I deserved. So I let them be, encouraged it even.”
He’s trying to distract me. Hoping to use the information he’s throwing at me to catch me off guard.
It won’t work. I know all the tricks. I’m a master of them myself, yet I still soak up every word.
It could all be nothing but lies for all I know, or he might be monologuing our history.
“Everything was fine until you came along. You could do no wrong. Following your brother around like a lost puppy, demanding to be trained with him. At first, it was funny. A woman in the mafia is rare enough as it is. They aren’t made for our lives.
The only reason we have wives is to take care of the home and the children.
To be seen, not heard! Generations of our fathers and their fathers ran our family the same way, and we rose to the top, where we have been for almost a century. ”
His movements are slow and calculated, but not as quiet as he seems to think they are. The state of the room is helpful. The debris that litters the floor is a perfect gauge of his distance, crumbling beneath his feet with every step.
“I should have killed your mother the day I found out she was pregnant again, but she knew me well enough not to let me anywhere near her. She didn’t deserve to live after she left me, but she wormed her way into my brother’s bed like the whore she is, creating herself a safe haven.
You and your brother are the biggest disgrace to our family, and I intend to purge us of our shame! ”
I let him get less than ten feet from me before I move. I should be able to use the wreckage around the room to my advantage and get to Hazel unnoticed, but I can’t be too safe with her. I need to give myself every damn second I can in case he doubles back.
“You ruined everything. Not only did you demand training, but he let you have it. The spineless bastard couldn’t tell you no, no matter how ridiculous your request.”
I move silently through the shadows around the edge of the room. Ducking and rolling between broken-down furniture.
“His little princess!” he mocks, his words dripping with the disgust he clearly feels about the nickname I vaguely remember my father had for me.
“Of course, you couldn’t just train and be done with it.
You had to be the best, and you were great!
You took training sessions and devoured them, eager to learn and unwilling to give up.
By the age of four, you were holding your own not only with your brother but my son, who I had trained since he could walk.
Your father’s delusions only grew as you did.
He wanted to make you an official member.
” He barks a humorless laugh as I roll behind a board and come face-to-face with his two goons from earlier.
I hadn’t really cared where they went when they ran earlier. I’d just assumed they would get out and be long gone by now, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Both of their eyes go wide when I look up at them, and I feel terrible.
They didn’t ask for this, and I’d rather not be the reason they get killed if I can help it.
Pressing my finger to my lips, I ask them to be quiet and say a silent prayer that they listen. It takes a second, but eventually, the one who couldn’t shoot me gives me a stiff nod of agreement.
The second he agrees, I’m moving again, trying to close the distance between Hazel and me.
“Can you imagine having a woman in our ranks?! I humored him, but tried to push him to reconsider the dangers. One night, we flew out on business with the Italians. We were running some of our weapons through their territory, and he brought the two of you with us. Elio’s father was just as disgusted by you as I was.
He hated his own daughters as it was, but the idea that you were being trained.
It was unheard of. He demanded you fight his son, and wouldn’t you know it, you won. ”
I bolt the last twenty feet, out in the open, taking my chances as I almost slam into the chair Hazel remains tied to.
“Jade?” Hazel breathes my name as if she doesn't dare hope it’s really me, and it breaks my heart. Crouching down behind her chair, I grip her hand hard, hoping to reassure her silently as I pull at the knots viciously, desperate to get her free.
Once her arms are free, I lean forward, pressing my mouth to her ear, my words hardly more than a breath.
“I’m going to distract him. Once his attention is back on me, untie your legs and hide.
Get out of the open. I’m going to get you out of this, I promise,” I tell her, letting her hear just how certain I am of that fact as I rest my head on hers.
It’s the closest thing I can give her to a hug without drawing more attention to us than I probably already have.
She nods, and I hear her breath hitch, and I know she’s crying.
Damn it. Hazel doesn’t deserve this.