9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Natalya
“ Y ou thought you could steal all my nieces, did you, Mikhail?” Denis asks. His lips turn into a sneer like he’s trying to hold back as much contempt as he can and is failing miserably at it.
“Denis.” Mikhail steps in front of me. “How did you find us here?”
“Followed your man.” He nods at Jackson.
“I didn’t realize you had planted a mole in my guards but when my man here, Christian, found all the girls missing, it wasn’t hard to figure out.
He spotted Jackson taking them away from the house.
He followed and called me. I came right over.
Just in time too to stop you.” He nods at the three men behind him.
“Shoot Mikhail. Make sure the women survive.”
“No,” I say, jumping in front of Mikhail before anyone can start shooting.
“Natalya,” he hisses. “Get behind me.”
“They’re going to kill you,” I hiss back. “Uncle, don’t do this.”
“You’re one to talk. You gave me this.” He points to his shoulder. From the way his arm is hanging, I can tell he’s in pain. “You shot me. I should shoot you just for that alone.”
“No. You want me back. You want to use me to gain power. You can’t do that if I’m dead.”
“You’re used goods. No man will want you now.”
“I’m still a virgin,” I blurt out, making everyone stare at me in shock. “I’m not used goods. You can still marry me to another man. Don’t kill me. Don’t hurt my sisters.”
“Yeah,” Sasha says, stepping forward. “We’ll return with you, Uncle Denis. No one needs to get shot.”
I want to object and scream at my sisters to run but not when there’s this many men with guns pointed at them. Denis wants to use my sisters to his advantage but that doesn’t mean he won’t try to shoot them in the process if they don’t fall in line. It’s something I can’t risk.
Denis considers Sasha’s offer. “You’ll return? Willingly?”
“Yes. Irina, Ana. Come on. Let’s go.” All three of them start to walk in Denis’s direction until he holds up his hand, silently telling them to stop.
“Natalya comes with.”
“No,” Mikhail growls, grabbing my waist. “She’s my wife. You don’t have any claim to her anymore.”
“My men will shoot you,” Denis says dismissively. “You’re outnumbered here, Mikhail. You can’t win.”
“Why can’t you join forces?” I ask. “Why do you have to fight? You can work together. You’re both Bratva members. Join forces and gain even more power.”
“Because I don’t trust him,” Denis spits out, glaring at Mikhail. “He stole you right out from under me.”
“You never had a claim to me,” I say. “You’re not my father.”
His face turns into a sneer. “No. I’m better than your father.”
“Our father never needed to lock my sisters up to keep them in line. You do. You’re not better.”
“Natalya, careful,” Mikhail murmurs to me. “Let me handle this.”
“I know you want to,” I say to him. “But if I move, you will be shot, and you’re my only chance, Mikhail. Let me do this. Please.”
He meets my eyes for a long moment before he nods. “All right.”
I turn back to Denis. “You’re not getting my sisters.”
“Then I’ll shoot you if you get in my way,” he growls. “I have three of them. I don’t need you too.”
“We’ll go,” Sasha says quickly. “We’ll go with you, Uncle Denis. Just spare Natalya’s life. Leave her be. Let her leave with her husband.”
He barks a laugh. “I am not letting Mikhail leave here alive. That much I’m certain. He thought he could steal Natalya away. He thought he could take all of you away. I will not allow it.”
“I’m not letting you kill me, Denis,” Mikhail says, taking out his gun. Jackson has his own gun trained on Denis but my uncle still has three men to Mikhail’s one. We really are outnumbered. “And I’m not letting you kill Natalya or take her back with you. She’s mine.”
“Don’t hurt my sisters,” I beg. “Please. I’ll go with you if it means not hurting my sisters.”
“Natalya, I said no,” Mikhail snaps at me but I ignore him and keep my eyes train on Denis.
“Like I said. I’m still a virgin. You can marry me to someone else. Just spare my sisters. Please.”
Denis shakes his head. “Fuck it. Sasha, Irina, Anastasia. Get outside. Now.”
“No,” I gasp.
My sisters give me a sad look before they follow one of Denis’s guards out of the building. I was so close to getting my sisters back and now they’ve slipped through my fingers.
Two of Denis’s guards remain, which still puts us at a disadvantage.
“Now you,” Denis says to me. “Come to me slowly, Natalya.”
“I will shoot you,” Mikhail warns. “You are not taking my wife.”
Denis keeps his eyes trained on me. “I will kill your husband if you don’t leave with me but if you do, I’ll spare his life.”
It’s total bullshit. I know he’ll shoot Mikhail the second I move. I couldn’t save my sisters but I have to try with my husband. He’s the only chance I have of getting my sisters back.
I turn to Mikhail. “I’ll walk forward.”
“No.”
“Mikhail, listen to me. Please.” I keep my voice as low as I can so Denis and his men can’t hear. “I’ll walk forward and then I’ll charge at Denis and then you shoot. You kill his men and then we make a run for it.”
“I am not putting you in danger like that.”
“I don’t think we have a choice here, do we?”
I can tell Mikhail is struggling to let me lead in this moment. It’s unnatural for both of us but I know it is what’s right.
And after a moment, I can tell Mikhail realizes that too.
“Ok,” he murmurs. “Be careful. I don’t want to lose you.”
It makes me wonder if he doesn’t want to lose me because he cares for me or because he’s possessive of me? I don’t have time to contemplate it before I start walking towards Denis with my hands raised.
“I’ll go with you,” I tell him, moving slowly. “Don’t shoot me. Please.”
Denis nods at his men. “You heard her. Keep your guns trained on Mikhail though.”
They move their guns away from me and towards my husband. That’s when I take the moment to strike.
I rush at Denis, making him flinch back. It distracts his two men and Mikhail and Jackson use that to their advantage. Mikhail kills one of the guards while Jackson kills the other.
Denis quickly realizes he’s outnumbered and makes a run for it. Mikhail fires at him but Denis turns the corner before he can get shot.
“He needs to die,” Mikhail says. “I’m going after him. I’ll save your sisters.”
All I can do is stand there while Jackson protects me as Mikhail runs after Denis. For a moment, I feel powerful and now, all I feel is hopeless.
Mikhail
I sprint out of the building and come to a stop when I see Denis dive into his car.
In the backseat, I can just make out Sasha’s face before the door shuts.
I shoot at the tires of the car but Denis’s guard is already driving away.
I keep shooting at the car anyway, in the hopes I might be able to stop it.
But I don’t.
And the more I shoot, the more I draw attention to myself. This is New York. People are used to strange things but even they get scared when you fire off a gun.
I hurry back inside the building.
“Well?” Natalya asks, hope on her face. I hate that I have to crush it for her.
“No,” I say. “I’m sorry. They were already driving away by the time I got out there.
I couldn’t stop it. I caught the license plate number but there’s a chance Denis will ditch the car.
Besides, we know where he’s going. He’s going to take them back to your house and up the guards, making it impossible to get them out. I’m sorry, Natalya.”
Tears spill down her face as she shakes her head. “No. You didn’t try hard enough.”
“I’m not a superhero, baby. I can’t run down a moving car. I’m sorry.”
“You promised me you’d save them.”
“And I tried.”
“So try again!” she shouts, her voice echoing through the empty lobby.
“I know you’re upset right now, so I’ll forgive you for talking to me like this.”
“Fuck that,” she snaps. “You don’t get to tell me how to feel right now. I was this close to getting my sisters back and now I’ll never see them again.”
“We’ll discuss that language more when we get home. We need to leave before Denis sends any more men after us.” I try to grab her arm but she twists out of my grip.
“No. You promised me you’d save them and you failed.”
I sigh. “I will try to get them back but it will require another plan. I am sorry. These things always go wrong in my world. Plans never go exactly how you planned.”
“My sisters are not just a plan. They’re people and my uncle will hurt them if we don’t save them. He will marry them off to monsters.”
“I will keep trying but there is nothing I can do right now. And you have to stop talking to me this way. I will not allow it.”
“Fuck that,” she snaps again. “I don’t care.”
I grab her and spank her ass in one quick motion.
She gasps. “Stop. You are upset. I know. But being this upset will only hurt yourself even more. Now, we have to go.” I throw her over my shoulder and walk us out the back.
Jackson tries to follow but I shake my head at him.
“You failed today, Jackson. You were supposed to make sure you weren’t followed. ” I shoot him right in the head.
Natalya screams as Jackson’s body flops onto the ground. I set Natalya in the car then pick up Jackson and stuff him into my trunk. I’ll have to get it cleaned. Fuck. Just another thing I need to worry about.
Natalya flinches from me when I get into the car.
“Are you scared of me?” I ask.
“You just shot him.”
“Because he failed at his job. That’s the kind of man I am, Natalya. A ruthless one. Now put your seat belt on. We’re going home.”
With shaky fingers, she does as I instruct.
We drive home in silence. I can feel Natalya sneaking glances at me out of the corner of my eye but I don’t look. She needs time to process what happened. I need time myself.
When we return home, I tell her to go to our room. “Wait for me there.”
“What are you going to do?”