3. Chapter Three #2
Mikhail looks between me and my sisters and hesitates.
“Let’s face it, Mikhail, you can’t save Sasha and her family at the same time. It’s one or the other.”
“You have to save my sisters,” I tell him. “You have to.”
“But if I don’t save you right now, you’ll be stuck with Nico forever. Your sisters have time before they’ll be married off. I’m saving you, Sasha. Let’s go.”
“Sasha!” Ana calls out. Knowing I’m leaving my baby sister behind is soul crushing. She may be sixteen now but she’ll always be the baby of the family.
I want to run to her, comfort her, protect her. “Denis will hurt them if I go.”
“You don’t have a choice. It’s either marry Nico or come with me right now.”
I hate to choose. My eyes fall on Nico, who’s glaring at Mikhail. I could sacrifice myself to save my sisters but… can I actually save them in the long run?
If I go with Mikhail, maybe I can help get them back.
But that’s what Natalya said and she was never able to save us.
Before I can make my choice, Nico whips out his gun and starts firing in Mikhail’s direction. Mikhail runs out of the church, tugging me along.
He pushes me into a car nearby the entrance and dives in himself. Gunshots start sounding out inside the church. Nico’s men and Mikhail’s men.
“My sisters are in there! My mom.”
“Denis will make sure they make it out. He won’t want to lose them. And I told my men to never point any of their guns in your family’s direction. They’ll be safe but I need to get you out now.”
We drive away from the church right as Nico bursts outside. I can see him in my rearview mirror, the pure anger on his face, before we round a corner and I lose sight of him.
But something tells me I’m not free of him yet.
Mikahil drives us to an apartment building that I have never seen before.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Nico knows where I live. I couldn’t risk taking you there. Natalya is inside, waiting to see you.”
I’m silent as Mikhail leads me inside to the apartment on the second floor.
I step inside to a nice apartment – luxurious but small.
It’s probably priced insanely high for it’s size but that’s New York for you.
I spent some time doing research into apartments before Denis entered my life.
Back when I thought I had choices in life.
I always imagined getting my own apartment. Living my own life for myself.
Natalya is in the living room, waiting for me. The second our eyes meet, she runs across the room and pulls me into a hug. “You’re finally safe. Don’t worry. Nico will never get to you here.”
“How can you be so sure?” I pull back. “What if he followed?”
“That’s always a possibility,” Mikhail says. “But we’ll remain here for the night and keep an eye on you. Just to make sure he doesn’t try anything.”
“You couldn’t save the rest of my family,” I snap at him. “You should have saved my sisters.”
“He got you out,” Natalya says. “Don’t be angry with him for that. Now that you’re safe, we can focus on getting Mom and Irina and Ana out.”
“I should have married Nico,” I mutter. Now that I’m here and my adrenaline is wearing off, I’m starting to wonder if I made the right decision.
“How can you say that?” Natalya asks, looking like I just slapped her.
“Now I’m worried Denis is going to force Irina to marry him.”
“She’s only seventeen.”
“But she’ll be eighteen in a month. He can wait it out. I don’t trust Nico. I saw him kill people without even blinking. You know our sister. You know how she’s the sweetest out of us. She can’t be married to that monster.”
“But you can?” Natalya scoffs. “Just because you’re not as sweet as Irina doesn’t mean you should be forced to marry Nico. You don’t deserve that anymore than any of our sisters do.”
“I just feel like I should have done something more.”
“Sasha.” She grabs my arms, making me look her right in the eye. “Do you think I didn’t feel this way when I married Mikhail? Do you think I didn’t tear myself up with worry at night, thinking about you three and Mom?”
“I don’t know,” I grumble. “I don’t know what you were thinking. You left us and married a man none of us had ever met. I thought maybe you were done with us for a while.”
“But I’m not. I kept fighting and look, I’ve finally got you back. It took a year, yes. But it happened.”
“So it’s just going to take another year to get Irina?” I pull away from her. “And another year to get Ana? They don’t have years. They are drowning in that home. Denis will slowly destroy them.”
All the color leaves Natalya’s face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, he beats them. Not often but on occasion. He hits them to keep me in line because he knows it’s the only way. Now I’m terrified he’s going to let loose all of his anger onto them.”
“But Mom -,”
“Mom can’t do anything. She’s just as much of a prisoner as we are. God, Natalya. How can you be so obtuse sometimes?”
“Stop,” Mikhail says in a tone that says there will be no discussion over it. “Your sister has spent her days worrying over you and your family. She risked her life to save you on multiple occasions. You will show her some respect.”
“Mikhail-,” Natalya says.
“No. This has to be said.” He bores his intense eyes right into mine. It’s a wonder Natalya can even look at her own husband. He’s a force to be reckoned with. “We just saved your life. Show a little gratitude.”
“You’re not my father,” I snap back. That has always been my problem: my big mouth. It led to groundings growing up more times than I can count.
“No. But I am the man who just saved your life and I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for Natalya.
Do you think I care for you and your other sisters?
I don’t. I only care because Natalya cares.
I’m doing this for her. So be grateful you’re here.
” He walks over to Natalya, who sets her hands on his chest, getting him to calm down.
The two of them share a silent conversation with each other. I’m struck by it. I’ve never seen my older sister act like this before. Never seen her have this sort of connection with someone.
I wonder if that’s what marriage is like. Would I have had that if I remained with Nico?
There’s love in Natalya’s eyes for her husband. He returns the same passionate look. I avert my own gaze, feeling like I’m intruding.
Natalya turns back to me. “Sasha, I get that you’re upset. You have a multitude of emotions inside of you. But let’s not fight. We can work together to get our sisters back. In time. But it will happen.”
I want to believe my sister but she let me down when she left to be with Mikhail. It always felt like she had abandoned us in our time of need.
But she’s here now , I remind myself. And the love she had in her eyes for Mikhail is also directed at me. She loves me and even though I don’t always like my sister, I know I love her too.
With a deep sigh, I slump onto the couch. “Ok. I just… I just feel so bad leaving them with Denis. What if they got hurt in the shootout? Will we ever know?”
“I’ll find out,” Mikhail says as Natalya sits down beside me. He goes into the kitchen and calls someone.
“Look at this,” I say, nodding at my wedding dress. “I feel ridiculous.”
“I think you look beautiful.”
“Mom picked out the dress.” My fingers fiddle with the fabric. A part of me wants to tear this dress a part and another part of me wants to preserve it at all costs.
“It looks great on you so it makes sense she picked it out. She always has such a good sense of style.”
“She really does.” We share a smile for a short moment before I frown again. “I hope she’ll be ok. She has to be so strong for our family but I know she’s breaking. Denis is slowly tearing her down.”
“We’ll get her out too. I promise you.” She places her hand over mine. “I know we haven’t always gotten along. But I am always here for you. Always.”
When I look into her eyes, I believe her. There’s too much sincerity there for me not to believe her.
For a second, I believe that everything will be all right. It has to be.
And then the front door bursts open and Nico steps on through.
I gasp as Natalya grabs my hand and pulls me to the floor as he raises his gun.
Mikhail lifts his own gun but Nico fires at him, barely missing as Mikhail ducks behind the table. Mikhail tries shooting again but Nico dives to the side.
Right at the same time, both men run at each other, colliding in the middle of the room. They throw punches and kicks and hits. They even try biting each other. It’s a bloody, disgusting mess.
Until Nico manages to kick Mikhail’s leg and send Mikhail to the ground, getting on top of him. Nico begins to rain down punches onto Mikhail’s face.
“Stop it!” Natalya cries, running forward and pulling at Nico’s arm. He just shakes her off and resumes hitting Mikhail. “Stop it! You’re killing him. You’re killing him!” The sobs that wrack her body will haunt me forever.
I see the utter pain on Natalya’s face and know that she can’t lose her husband. She loves him too much.
I have to do something.
I run to Nico. “Stop. I’ll go with you.”
He pauses his assault on Mikhail’s face. Mikhail only groans, looking barely conscious. “You’ll go with me?”
“I will. If you let him live. I’ll go with you willingly. I won’t put up a fight. We are married now anyway. But let him live. Don’t bother him or my sister again. I’ll go with you. That’s my deal. If you want me so much, you’ll take it.”
Nico looks between me and Mikhail before he nods and stands up. His knuckles are dripping blood. “Then let’s go.”
“No.” Natalya grabs my arm. “Sasha, you can’t.”
“Look at your husband. He’s almost dead. I can’t take away your happiness. And besides, Mikhail is still the best chance we have at saving our other sisters. If leaving with Nico saves him, then… I’ll do it. For you.”
“You don’t even like me.”
“You’re right. I don’t always like you. But you’re my sister so I love you. And I’ll do this for you.”
Natalya sobs harder as she pulls me into a hug but Nico steps forward and pulls her away from me. “No, no, no! Please.”
Nico ignores her cries as he picks me up, bridal style, and carries me out of the apartment. The last thing I see is Mikhail on the floor, his face covered in blood, Natalya kneeling next to him, sobbing her heart out.
I make a secret vow deep within my heart: that I will hate Nico forever for this.
He sets me into his car and drives away, taking me somewhere I don’t even know.
“How did you find us?” I ask.
“Followed you from the church. I had a guy who can hack CCTV footage. He figured out which building you went into and then hacked Mikahil’s business accounts to see which properties he owned. The apartment was on the list.”
“All of this within less than an hour?”
“I’m a powerful man, Sasha. That’s one thing you should know about me. You’ll never be able to run.”
A deep weight settles in my stomach, making it impossible for me to move. “I hate you,” I whisper.
“You made a deal to go with me so you better act the good wife. I don’t want you sulking the entire time.”
“The entire time?”
He flashes me a dark grin. “We have our honeymoon to get to.”