Chapter 29 Natalya
NATALYA
Arseni pushes me down under the living room window, watching two entrances while my father yells out at Anton in the foyer, the one behind us that leads out and the dining room where we rushed through. I’m practically shaking in my boots as I crouch down here.
I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but he’s going to kill me. Maybe he’ll just shove me out in the middle of the gunfire. Maybe he’ll do it now. I don’t know.
I lift my head up a little and see movement in the dining room. Before I know, a shadow rushes forward and grabs Arseni from behind. They struggle until Arseni pushes the shadow back into the living room. And then in the light coming in from the window, I see the face of his attacker. Mikki.
My heart leaps as I realize how close I am to escape. The two of them struggle at first until Arseni breaks free of Mikki and darts off for the kitchen. Mikki stands and fires several shots after him.
“Are you all right?” he whispers at me.
I nod. He comes into the living room and takes my hand and says, “Let’s get out of here.”
We move slowly, keeping our heads down as we creep through the living room and dining room and across the kitchen. We don’t get far as I notice my father standing on the stairs, gun in hand…
And I hear the sound of the door opening. Someone’s coming.
My father opens fire and suddenly, the hallway erupts with gunfire. Mikki grabs me and pulls me around the counter to shield me from any stray bullets.
I hear the sound of grunting. Whoever father was shooting at, he’s hit him.
I pull away from Mikki and look around the corner to see my father walking down the stairs slowly. “Didn’t Maksim ever teach you to check every corner before you walk into a strange place?”
Maksim… oh, no…
He kicks at him and there’s the sound of clattering. Mikki pulls at my arm. “Let’s go,” he whispers.
I yank free, leaning forward so that I can get a better view. I see him. Anton’s crouched before my father and blood is dripping from his body and pooling on the floor.
“Natalya,” Mikki says, and I turn to him.
“Anton’s hurt,” I whisper back. I turn back just in time to see my father lowering his gun down toward Anton.
“I will be sure to tell your men that you died well… once they are calling me Pakhan,” my father says.
“NO!” I’m moving before I realize it. I run across the kitchen and throw myself in front of Anton. My father flinches slightly, but his gun is still pointed at him through me… well, it’s pointed at my head now.
“Don’t,” I say desperately. “Don’t do it, Dad.”
There’s a half-second of surprise on his face, then he rolls his eyes and says, “As much as I loathe the whole star-crossed lovers bullshit that you’re trying to pull, you clearly still do not understand the lengths I will go to do away with Anton Romanov.
I will kill the two of you on the spot, Natalya. ”
“Three,” I say. My voice shakes, betraying the fear in my bones. “The three of us, Father.”
It takes him a moment, but I see the realization in his eyes as they drift down to my abdomen. I also feel Anton move behind me, his breath hitching. I did not want him to find out like this.
“What…?” The word comes out of my father almost involuntarily. Like an accidental whisper on a breeze. His skin gets blotchy as he stares at me with an expression I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Is it surprise? Fear? Disgust? All of the above?
“You might be vile enough to kill your own daughter in cold blood,” I say to him, “but how low of a worm would you be to kill your own grandchild too?”
“You lying little slut,” he says, his face going from blotchy to bright red. “You’re not pregnant.”
“Wouldn’t it be terrible if you found out for certain after you’ve killed me?” I’ve grabbed hold of Anton’s arm behind me and my hands are sweating. I’m honestly so afraid to look him in the eyes right now. I can’t imagine what he must be thinking.
He steps back from us, lowering his gun. “Pregnant…? Pregnant??” He stares at us, his eyes darting from face to face. “You… you will stop at nothing to ruin my plans, won’t you?” Then he raises his gun to us both. “Well, not today.”
The hallway explodes with the sound of gunfire. I flinch and close my eyes, turning my head, waiting for the hot burning of lead to enter my chest.
It never comes. I look up just in time to see my father flinching and grabbing his shoulder.
He stumbles forward, then runs past us, nearly knocking us both down as he darts out of the house.
Mikki steps out of the kitchen, tendrils of smoke coming out of his gun.
He raises it again and fires. The second shot catches my father in his shoulder blade.
He cries out in pain as he stumbles forward.
I hear the roar of one of his cars just beyond the driveway. My father looks to the side and stumbles out of view.
Mikki steps forward and Anton is already getting to his feet. I do my best to help him stand, but he’s pushing me away. “He’s mine,” he tells Mikki.
Holding his side, he and Mikki move quickly, going outside just as the car pulls out of the circle drive and down the driveway.
“What are you doing?” I yell after him. He glances at me over his shoulder, then he turns to Mikki and says, get that car running, now.”
The car with my father in it turns and is halfway down the block now.
As Mikki goes to hotwire the car, I rush back inside to his office where he keeps his car keys.
I grab one of them and rush back. I have to bypass the front door since I’m barefoot, going through the kitchen and out the sliding door.
But by the time I’m in front of the house, they’re still working on hotwiring the car.
“You’re going to need these if you want to chase after him,” I say, dangling them as I rush over to them.
Anton is leaning against the bullet riddled wall and behind him, I see the shadows of his men as they descend on the scene.
I also see the bodies of all the men who just perished in this gunfight.
I can’t tell which men belong to which Bratva, but I guess none of that matters right now.
Anton looks over at me weakly and says, “Stay here with Mikki.”
“No.”
“Natalya—”
“If you want to get him, we’d better get moving.” And with that, I walk past him to the car that goes with the keys in my hand.
As I get in, I see him standing up slowly and watching. Mikki’s half in and half out of the car in front of the door, also watching me with interest, as are the rest of Anton’s men.
I turn the car on and rev the engine, praying that at least Mikki comes and joins me. There’s no universe where I can take on my father alone. He and Anton exchange a glance, then Anton nods his head toward the car as he starts quickly limping toward me.
A second later, he’s in the passenger’s seat and Mikki’s opening my door. “You’d better let me do the driving.”
Mikki drives like a bat out of hell. We screech down the street at breakneck speed. Anton asks him, “You know where he went?”
“No idea,” he says. “I know which direction, though.”
“He’s hurt. He’s probably gone somewhere underground where he can get patched up.” Anton glances back at me. “Any ideas, Natalya?”
I think for a few seconds as we reach the main road. Then it hits me. The name Mantis. I’ve heard it more than once when someone asks him to get something checked out. “There’s a guy that I think is a doctor,” I tell him. “All I know is that his name is Mantis.”
“Any idea where this Mantis is?”
I shake my head. He looks to Mikki, who’s rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“There’s a vet on Main Street named Mantis. Bet you anything he’s our guy. Can’t be too many Mantises in town.”
“Let’s go then.”
Mikki turns the corner and the car squeals loudly. I do my best to hold on as he burns through the streets on the way to the downtown area. We don’t get too far before Anton nudges him and points. “There.”
A car, a few lengths away from us. Even from here, I can see that it’s one of Father’s cars. The same sleek black luxury car design as all the others are. I’ll never get why my father decided to buy more than one of the same fucking car.
“Is that him?” Mikki asks.
“It’s him,” I say.
“You heard her,” Anton says, pulling his gun out. “Step on it.”
Mikki steps on the gas as Anton rolls down the window. “Natalya,” he says without looking at me, “Get down on the floor.”
I obey him, wedging myself down on the floor of the car. The car jerks to one side and I hear Anton yell, “Get right up on him.”
Gunshots ring out, Anton shooting at my father’s car. I feel the car lurch and swing hard to one side. “Stay on him!”
I lift my head up just enough to see through the front window. Mikki is swerving to keep up with the car as it speeds forward. Then it disappears, the headlights turning sharply to the left.
I hang on as the car banks hard, nearly tossing me to the other side of the backseat. “Fishtail ‘em,” Anton says.
I’m holding onto the seat as Mikki speeds up and the car hits my father’s bumper. The ass end of my father’s car swerves but regains its path. Mikki speeds up and hits it again. This time, the whole car shakes around us and my father’s car screeches and spins out in front of us.
Everything stops. Mikki gets out first, followed by Anton. I peer out from behind the seat just as Arseni gets out of the driver’s side of the car, his gun out. He sees Mikki and sweeps upward, a knife glinting in the moonlight.
And then I remember. That what was so familiar about Mikki’s attack. Arseni loved knives. Stole them from other family members, even. As long as he’s worked for my father, I’ve never seen him with a gun.
Mikki jumps out of the car as Arseni advances on him, swinging and tearing his shirt as he backs off. Mikki ducks another swing and brings his leg around, kicking him in his side and sending him crashing into the car. Arseni’s knife flies out of his hand.
Mikki wastes no time and shoots him twice in the chest. Arseni falls back and slides down the side of the car.
Anton is on the other side. He opens the passenger’s side and wrenches my father out. He falls onto the pavement like a blob of spit, rolling on the ground helplessly as Anton stands over him.
“Please!” my father pleads. Then in Russian, “Brother! Don’t do this! You win! You can have Natalya! I’ll leave you in peace! Please let me live!”
It’s almost comical. All that talk and posturing. All the yelling and threats to my life, and now that he’s staring down the business end of Anton’s gun, he crumbles like the coward that he is.
“I will give you the Bratva,” he says. “I’ll step down and it will all be yours. Please, Anton!”
Anton’s just standing there, looking down at him with a sneer of disgust on his face. “I have everything I’ll ever need from you, Vladimir,” he says. Then he lifts his gun and fires once. My father’s head jerks back hard against the pavement and his body goes still.
He’s dead. He’s really… dead. I stare numbly at his body in the headlights of the car. Blood as black as night under the lights spreads out underneath him, staining his favorite tracksuit.
My arm goes around my abdomen automatically. He won’t hurt you, my dear. Your father made sure of that.
That’s when I see Anton’s face as he walks back to the car. The look on his face is unreadable as he walks out of the light of the headlights and gets in on the passenger’s side.
Mikki’s coming back to the car and in these seconds that we’re alone, I want to say something to him. Apologize? Beg him to look at me? I don’t know. He’s probably furious with me…
Mikki gets in the car and pulls out his phone as he puts the car in drive.
With deft skill, he dials a number while we pull away from the massacre.
After a few seconds he says, “Yeah, Iggy. We need you to open the store. The boss needs your help. Yes, now.” He pauses, listening to whatever Iggy says. “Fine. We’re on the way.”
I look over at Anton, who’s looking out the window. I did say that I wanted to raise this child alone… Maybe that’s exactly what I’ll get in the end.
Why does that suddenly feel wrong?