25. Lev
LEV
The soldiers moved out with me, ready to fall into formation. They were always there to keep me safe as a higher-ranking member of the family, but they were also there to serve as the trained professionals they were.
Killers.
Hunters.
Negotiators and agents in retrieval missions.
Like now.
I’m coming, Mila.
You are mine and I am coming for you.
I’m coming.
Because I can’t lose you.
Even if you don’t want to be with me, I can’t lose you.
Guns up and at the ready, we filed out of the car and charged ahead. We’d determined in that rush of an impulsive plan that Alexei would stay back.
So would Nikolai with his car as backup on the other side of the compound.
I led the rescue efforts, all the Bratva men running through the darkness like Mila had not all that long ago. Not even an hour had passed since she left the car like a blur of a shadow, ready to sneak in and spy and get back.
But she hadn’t come back.
She’d gone offline, and no matter what my brother or anyone else insinuated, I refused to entertain the idea that she had taken this chance to escape me. To leave the Bratva she was already coming to serve and fit in with.
The men waited for my orders to proceed through the cut in the fence that she’d made. Further south, the other men in the backup vehicle headed in. Three of them there, two near Nikolai’s side, and one with me here. We met in the middle, stealthily advancing through the compound.
Whoever noticed us was dead. Despite the silencers we had equipped our guns with, there was still the commotion of our discovery.
Trespassing with speed like this, we were ensured the element of surprise.
I ran forward, aiming my gun at anyone who happened to be patrolling.
I pumped my arms to sprint faster, searching every building that we could.
And still, I pulled the trigger to kill anyone who crossed my path.
Indiscriminately, I shot at every person I could.
The Bratva soldiers with me did the same, and we didn’t let anything last long enough for combat to become an issue.
Coming in hard, fast, and violent with the intention of leaving without a speck of mercy granted, we scoured the compound.
Every door we kicked in revealed another macabre scene of blood, guts, and gore.
We steered clear of the buildings we’d recognized from the feed on Mila’s camera, the larger structures where groups of men were terrorizing women.
Tunnel vision guided me to the taller building that looked like a headquarters. She’d been there last, before we lost her, and I went straight there to search for her.
Sounds of men shouting in a back room reached us as soon as I opened the door with a slam.
Whoever was in here would be dead. Red-hot rage coursed through my veins as I ran in, eager not to find intel on Yusef Antonov, but impatient to slaughter and destroy anyone who could have captured Mila.
My Mila.
The Bratva men stuck with me, rushing forward until we came upon a door that had been left ajar.
Together, we burst in. The depth of my obsession crystalized as I watched a man raise his arm, his hand flat with the anticipation of delivering a striking blow to her face.
Mila!
She was here.
Her arms were held back, leaving her defenseless to block a hit.
Her knees were scraped on the dirt floor as she wavered to stay upright.
Her head hung down with her short bob of waves shielding her face.
Her breaths wheezed out with the telltale sound of pain and the determination not to give up.
I didn’t think. I didn’t plan or plot.
I was here. I was in control again. Because as I lifted my arm and aimed my gun at the head of the idiot who wanted to demonstrate how they had been mistreating her, I was fully in power of the situation.
I delivered the proof of who was the boss, of who held the power and control.
With one tug on the trigger, I blew his brains out.
The bullet didn’t miss, piercing the back of his head and exiting through his eyes.
A stained mirror on the opposite wall was immediately splattered with the spray of blood.
That cyclops-like hole was rimmed with crimson as he canted to the side and dropped.
Mila reacted then, slanting away from him and jerking her head up.
She locked those blue eyes on me.
And my soul was healed again.
My life made sense once more.
Parting her mouth to pant and breathe faster, she gaped at me. With surprise. Utter shock. Disbelief? The range of emotions that flitted over her face marred with strikes and small cuts would be a sight I’d take to the grave. Because this was the last time I would ever allow her to be hurt again.
Not for the sake of a mission.
Not to please me.
Not because she had once been nothing more than a slave to buy and order around.
In the stark clarity of this moment as she locked her gaze on me, she was so much more.
She was mine. To save. To own. To worship and pleasure because in the depth of her gratitude as she realized I had shown up to rescue her, I knew that sooner or later, she would submit to me.
Seconds passed of us staring at each other with so many powerful things left unspoken between us. It was all the time I could allow to appreciate that she was alive. That she was still here to be with me.
Men turned, reaching for their guns to aim them at us, but they were already dead, too slow to come out of this alive with us outnumbering them. More could come to assist them in this compound, but we weren’t going to linger long enough for their backup to turn this in their favor.
We fired without pause. Picking off the assholes who’d captured Mila, we killed them.
All but two, which Alexei had ordered for us to capture and bring in for questioning.
We’d come here to steal intel and spy on Yusef, if he was even here somewhere.
Now we’d be leaving with a couple of men to interrogate.
Through the comms unit, my brother instructed the men to bring two captives to question. I would’ve allowed one of these motherfuckers to live—only to die later after he’d been interrogated. But it wasn’t the time to argue.
Mila listed forward. She pitched toward the floor, like she was losing all of her strength to stay conscious and upright.
I rushed toward her, letting the men with me handle the rest of the details. Two stayed on lookout to get us out of here. Two more struck the captives we’d take with us.
I lunged forward to break Mila’s fall. She tilted down, unable to twist fast enough so she wouldn’t face-plant.
In just the nick of time, I was there. Shooting my arms forward, I caught her and sank to my knees.
Curling around her and careful to keep her from dropping any further, I tried to roll her as gently as I could.
I pivoted, crouching to secure her against my chest. Then as I cinched my arms around her, one at her back and the other under her knees, I leaned into the momentum of rising to my feet.
She moaned softly. Reaching her hands toward me, she tried to grab at my shirt. To hold on.
“I’ve got you,” I told her roughly as I hoisted her fully into my arms.
She frowned, sinking closer to unconsciousness, limp and lax, barely able to keep her head up and not rolling back over my arm.
I shifted her higher. I was already walking toward the door, and after another hoist up, she fit against me naturally.
Her smaller, petite body was an easy load for me to carry with her head now propped against my shoulder.
“I’ve got you,” I repeated.
She didn’t reply, but I wasn’t seeking one this time. I wasn’t desperate for some communication with her. All I needed was to get her out of here. To sprint her to safety and see to her injuries.
“Let’s go,” I told the soldier closest to the door. He’d been standing by as lookout after we’d killed the men in this disgusting hell hole.
He nodded once and we all filed out together. The captives were gagged with the expert and quick work of the Bratva men. They were rushed out, bound and captive to be taken right off their land.
Yusef Antonov wasn’t here. I knew it now, because if anything like this was going down and no central person of authority was rushing in to take charge, it meant no higher-ranking person like a lieutenant was present to rule and command.
I’ve got you.
I ran with her in my arms, flanked by the Bratva men who made sure no one was going to pick us off with snipers or other firearms as we rushed out.
We’d killed so many on our way in, like wraiths slipping in and out, mostly undetected in the darkness of the night.
The sun could rise and shine on all the dead bodies we were leaving in our wake.
I’d kill them all over again if I could.
The captives we were forcing to go with us would be dead as well.
Regardless of how efficiently we moved as a team, and how much the Bratva men were experts on task forces like this one, I couldn’t dispel this gnawing fear of losing her. Of her not waking up. Of someone setting a trap and keeping us on this compound where she could be killed faster.
“There.” One of the men pointed at the cut-out point of the fence.
Almost there.
I wouldn’t be able to relax and calm down until I had her in the car. Until we were on our way out of here and en route to making sure she would wake up and be all right.
I’ve got you, Mila.
We’re almost there.
Picking up speed as we approached the fence, I clutched her tightly.
This was the final stretch, and the determination to save her this time heightened my emotions even more.
My heart thundered so fast, my muscles braced for the run.
In a file, we escaped right back through the hole in the fence she’d cut tonight.
Splitting up to the cars as they rushed toward us, I held her and counted down the seconds until I could get Mila in.
The engine revved as Alexei brought the SUV we’d arrived in closer.
He braked hard, sending dirt and rocks flying.
Behind him, another soldier came in to pick up the other men and one captive.
In the distance, Nikolai sped up to retrieve another Bratva man and drive the other captive to keep at the holding cells we owned and maintained.
“Is she hit?” Alexei asked, twisting to watch me climb into the backseat with her.
“Not with a gun,” I replied. I didn’t think she was.
“Fuck.” He uttered it with a twisted grimace as he got a look of her face in the dim light overhead as I pulled her fully onto my lap to hold her on the ride back.
I let my anger fire up all over again. The sight of even a single contusion or swollen bump on her smooth skin enraged me.
Feeling the rumbles of low moans of pain she emitted even as she remained unconscious spiked my fury.
“I’ve got you,” I murmured to her as the soldier closed the door to shut us in.
I stared down at her face, hating that she’d been hurt at all.
I’ve got you.
Alexei sped off, sending gravel spraying once more.
I’ve got you, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let you go.
I let a hard exhale whoosh out of me, able to relax with the fact that I had her in my arms and could be in control of her safety once more. I could relax with the truth of that declaration ringing so loud and clear in my head too.
I’ve got you, Mila. And I won’t ever let you go.