Chapter Twenty-Five
Aliannah was in the Adriatic Sea on a small row boat. Ivan stood on the shore, waving her to come in. She tried. She had no oars; she had to paddle by hand.
“I…can’t…. I can’t do it….” She tried to scream at him, but her voice was a cracked whisper. Ivan was on the shore frantically waving. She stood up in the boat and jumped in. Maybe she could swim back to him. Aliannah was not gaining any distance; she was being dragged further out to sea. Ivan became a small dot in the distance.
“IVAAAAN!” She tried to scream again, but no sound came out. She looked around her; the sea was no longer blue. It was bloody red. The sea became turbulent and stormy, and big waves threatened to drown her. She struggled to stay afloat.
“IVAAAAAANNN!!” she cried out louder this time; still, no sound came out. A huge red wave came crashing down over her, pushing her under. She could not resurface, no matter how hard she tried. Darkness took over again.
The sound of car tyres screeching and getting louder brought Aliannah back to the present. She looked around but couldn’t see anyone. Men were shouting, and guns were being fired. What was going on?
The door burst open. Viktor and his three goons ran in. Viktor ran behind Aliannah and grabbed her by the hair, and held a gun to her head. The three goons stood in front of her, and more of Viktor’s men poured in.
The gunfire got louder and louder as more men entered this part of the warehouse.
“HOLD FIRE!” a voice she recognised commanded. Aliannah barely had the strength to open her eyes. Viktor’s tight hold on her hair made it more difficult. A man stepped through the crowd of men, and then she saw him.
It was Ivan.
Ivan had come. He told her in her dreams, he would come. She blinked many times to be sure he was really there. A feeling of hope began to spread across her chest.
“Come any closer, and I will blow the bitches brains out!!” Viktor roared, pushing the gun into the side of her head.
“You would have done that already if you wanted her dead, Viktor,” Ivan taunted,
“What do you want since Aliannah is still alive?”
“I want you dead!” Viktor spat
Ivan stood holding his hands out to the side. “Well, sorry for keeping you waiting, but I am here now.”
Viktor let her go and stepped around her towards Ivan. Aliannah took in the sight before her. She was vaguely aware of movement behind her. She couldn’t twist enough to see.
“You owe me a life. Your life. After what your family has done to mine, get on your fucking knees, Kozlov. Your payment is due.” Viktor pointed his gun at Ivan.
All of Viktor’s men stood cheering behind him. They did not see the men in black approach from behind. Fred, Cameron and Brady were taken out without notice among the cheering. Their blood sprayed all over Aliannah as they each had their throats slit. One by one, Viktor’s men went down. He was too focused on Ivan to notice.
Ivan looked at Aliannah and nodded.
“Oh, you want your whore back? She can join you in the grave after I kill you both. I see why she took your eye, Kozlov; she is beautiful indeed.” Viktor still hadn’t turned around.
Viktor stepped closer to Ivan.
“For a man who claims to have it all, you really have nothing.” Ivan taunted
“Look around. I have you in front of me and your whore tied up. Many would say I am the winner. Don’t you think dear?” Viktor finally turned around. His jaw dropped. His men surrounded him on the ground, all dead.
“What the fu-” He turned to face Ivan again mid-sentence.
* BANG *
It all played out like a slow-motion film. Ivan fired his gun. The bullet moving through the air hit Viktor in the centre of his forehead, shooting out the back of his skull. The blood spray misted through the air. Viktor was going down, down, down so slowly, with a shocked expression still on his face. The blood was pooling out of the back of his head on the ground, spreading out around him. He lay on his back, eyes vacant.
Ivan rushed towards Aliannah. “IGOR THE WINCH!” He roared. Igor was at the controls in seconds, lowering her to the ground. Ivan guided her down to ease her fall. She lay there slipping in and out of consciousness. She blinked. The rest of Ivan’s men began the clean-up of the blood bath. There were two men leaning over her. One took his jacket off to cover her up; the other worked to unchain her fast. She was certain she was seeing things. It had to be the delirium from everything she had been through. Her eyes were telling her that both men were Ivan.
“It’s ok, Darling, I’ve got you. Just hold on for me,” one of the Ivan’s stroked her cheek.
She blacked out.