Chapter 45
Alina
I’m not sure what I expected, but the constant crack of bullets in the distance makes my mind and heart race faster with each one.
They grow even louder the closer we get to the estate.
The woods are dark and still, as if even the crickets are too terrified to make a sound.
But so far, we thankfully haven’t run into anyone.
Renat mentioned that he feared friendly fire, meaning one of the Russians shooting before realizing who we are, and that hasn’t helped my nerves.
Dominik eventually holds up his palm and has us stop near a tight group of trees.
I glance over at him, feeling a little surprised that he came to a stop. “Dom?” I whisper.
His eyes sweep from left to right, his body stiff and on edge. “Not much further now. We should hurry through the next part before anyone on either side sees us.”
My heart rate spikes as shots continue to ring out.
As long as they’re firing, it means the Russians—Gavriil—are still putting up a fight.
I breathe out shakily, unable to imagine the chaos and massacre happening right now. Is Gavriil even still alive?
My chest tightens at the thought of him lying dead somewhere. All alone.
No. The Russians would’ve run or surrendered if he wasn’t still alive, still raising hell.
Gavriil is smart, strong, deadly. He’ll find a way to survive, whatever it takes.
He has to.
Because what I feel for him only burns brighter now, sharpened by all our unfinished business.
I want to hear the truth from his mouth in English, not in a set of keys, or from the way he made love to me.
I want him to say the words I know he feels.
I need to hear them. So, he has to stay alive. For me. For us. For Dominik.
“Let’s move,” Dominik says as he takes my hand. I give him a squeeze of reassurance before the five of us take off running.
The last time I ran this hard was when I was trying to get away from Dom.
This time, we run long enough for my lungs to begin to burn.
That’s when the boom of a gun sounds even closer.
“Get down!” Viktor shouts.
I stupidly look over my shoulder before Dom jerks me down to the ground and covers me with his body.
God, I wish he would stop doing that!
Viktor returns fire and then says, “Run!”
We all get back to our feet and sprint faster than before.
I can’t even spare a second to think. I just trust Dominik to lead the way to safety.
He squeezes my hand in encouragement. “Not much further. Stay with me, dikaya koshka.”
I pump my arms and legs faster to keep up with him on the uneven terrain.
We run until we spot an orange glow in the distance. The sight makes all of us come to an abrupt stop.
“Is…is that?” I ask between panting breaths while bracing my palms on my thighs.
“That’s the estate,” Dominik answers.
“They need to leave!” I exclaim. “They’re going to all burn to death!”
“It’s worse than I thought,” Dominik replies as he shakes his head.
Tension winds around my throat and pulls as I continue watching the flames dance.
“Maybe he’s already evacuated.”
“He’s not going to leave his men behind.”
I throw my hands up in frustration. “Then, we need to go find him and convince him to leave. We have to do something!”
Dominik and I stare at each other in tense silence, not speaking a word as my previous ones linger in the air.
“If we go back now, then we’ll die with him,” Dominik says, his voice tight.
My eyes burn as I take his hand in both of mine, my lips grazing his fingers. I love Dominik, but the thought of Gavriil being killed makes it impossible to breathe. I didn’t expect to care about him like this, but a lot changed since I first went into that cage.
Gavriil and I bonded in a way that I can’t sever. And I think Dominik knows that.
Is that why he doesn’t want to try to help him?
“We won’t make it to the front steps alive, Alina,” Viktor chimes in.
“Let’s get to the bunker,” Renat agrees. “Survivors may take cover there, right?”
Dominik nods.
His eyes meet mine. “I’m sorry, dikaya koshka. Let me get you someplace safe. That’s all we can do right now.”
Wind blows through my hair as he waits, as I put us all in greater danger by standing in one place for too long.
As soon as I nod, Dominik grabs my hand and then we’re off running again.
The closer we get to the estate the worse the sounds get.
Explosions. Fire crackling. Shouts and screams.
Dominik speeds up as we race up the last tree-covered hill, finally putting the estate into view.
“This is it,” he says.
I can’t look away from the sight of burning vehicles, bodies strewn across the lawn, and the destroyed gate. Fire crawls out of windows on the second floor, and there’s a gaping hole where the front door used to be.
“Holy shit,” Petrov murmurs from beside me as we stare in disbelief.
“Alina!” Dominik’s voice says, but it sounds like he’s far away. Finally, he tugs on my hand to pull me along. “We have to get inside.”
I can’t breathe, but I manage to make my feet stagger behind him. Tears well up in my eyes. How can Gavriil survive that?
Dominik tugs me behind a cluster of bushes, then he reaches down, punching in a code on a keypad that opens a hatch.
“Go,” he says. “Hurry.”
There’s a ladder that travels down into a dark tunnel. My limbs shake as I wrap my fingers around the cold metal rungs, then take them down one at a time while sniffling back my tears.
Eventually, my sneakers hit a dirt-covered floor.
Dominik hops down next to me and takes my hand, leading the way down a dark hallway. Motion sensor lights switch on as we approach them, illuminating the way. The deeper that we go, the quieter the gunfire gets.
Then I hear voices.
“Nobody survives that magnitude of a fire.”
“He’s dead like the rest of them. We’re all that’s left.”
Dominik calls out something in Russian before leading me into a large bunker where a group of men are gathered around a table covered in first aid supplies and ammo. And one woman.
Yelena.
She’s tending to injuries, barely sparing us a glance.
The men tense up, their eyes widening at our appearance, but at least they don’t point their guns at us.
The smell of burned flesh and blood assaults me, making my stomach turn.
“Dominik,” one of the men breathes out in relief. He then frowns. “The Pakhan…nobody’s heard from him.”
What? No.
“We saw the fire,” Dominik replies solemnly, as if he’s already accepted Gavriil’s fate. He inhales a jagged breath. “Is this all who’s left?”
“Yes. Well, a few more may be able to make it here…” A man trails off, as if he doesn’t really believe that.
My heart lurches. They’re giving up. They think it’s over, that Gavriil’s…
No.
No! He has to be alive.
“Men could be trapped in the house,” one of the guys tells Dominik. “We should go back for them. Right, Dominik?”
They all turn to him, waiting for him to make the decision. They need him to lead now that Gavriil’s missing.
When Dom doesn’t speak, just rubs at his temple, as if it’s impossible for him to think clearly, they continue arguing with each other.
I frown as I watch him struggle under the weight of their expectations and his concern for his brother. The burden settles on his shoulders like a physical blow.
How can they expect him to step in and takeover for Gavriil without even giving him a fucking minute to process it all?
“They’re not going to let any of us live,” Dominik eventually remarks. “Those who make it out of the fight tonight will be hunted down.”
He can’t be thinking about walking back up to the house when he just told me it was a death sentence.
“Dom—” I start to argue when Viktor steps to his side.
“So, we might as well die fighting,” Viktor agrees with him. “That’s what Gavriil would want, too.”
No. This is insane. Dominik isn’t thinking clearly.
“Wait. Just wait!” I say over the murmurs of agreement. “I know that you want to hurt them, to make them pay, but you can’t rush into a half-assed plan. You know that better than anyone, Dom.”
“Moya Koroleva is right. You should listen to her,” a familiar deep voice says from the entryway.
I spin around and my jaw drops.
It’s really him.
Gavriil limps into the bunker along with Valentin and two others. His clothes are slightly burned, and blood covers his face and hair. But he’s alive.
He’s alive.
My knees threaten to buckle as Gavriil’s blue eyes meet mine. There’s a spark in them that make my eyes sting with relief and frustration and something deeper than both of those things. I don’t think that I’ve ever been so relieved in my life.
Before I collapse under the weight of all that I’m feeling, I run over to him, throwing myself into his arms.
He hugs me tighter than he ever has before.