Chapter Eleven
Anastasia tried not to be nervous, but that was next to impossible. She felt like the guards were staring at her a little more closely. They were certainly talking to her more, questioning about it being a miserable day. They never talked to her and were never friendly.
Jack had said he would be watching, and now as she stepped through and got changed into a uniform, she had to wonder if they could trust Jack. If the Gambino family could get to her family and clearly offer them something no one else ever could, they could get to anyone.
She was so nervous. Every little noise and snap made her feel like she was being watched, and she couldn’t even get lost in her work.
By lunchtime, she felt like she was going to throw up.
The guards were there, rounding up the staff, and Anastasia followed them, but as they got to the door, she asked if she could use the bathroom.
The guard looked like he wanted to refuse, but she quickly bowed her head and said it was women’s troubles, and she even made reference to a leak.
Yeah, this was perfect, embarrassing a man about a woman’s menstrual cycle.
This is what she had seen on television a thousand times, and much to her surprise, it actually worked.
The guard let her go to the bathroom, and he had such a disgusted look on his face, he didn’t even follow her.
His Italian accent was thick, but he told her to come straight out, or he would hunt her down.
Anastasia went in the direction of the bathroom, but the moment she heard the door close, she also felt how still the house was. She was right, the guards went on their dinner break as well. Holy shit. This might actually work.
She kept hold of her lunch, because she was going to give it to Nikolai when she found him.
Dmitriy was worried about the food he wasn’t getting, and she didn’t want him to be upset.
Also, talking about her menstrual cycle, and even though this was not the ideal time to think about it, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was pregnant.
She and Dmitriy were not wearing any protection.
This was not the time nor the place, and she might not even make it to be able to worry about what was going to happen to her, if anything was going to happen. This was all crazy.
She found the access to the basement, and she didn’t like how easy this was going. It made her doubt Jack a little more.
Dmitriy would be coming in soon. His plan of attack was to come full force. He had loaded up his weapons, and they needed to trust that Jack was about to take out the cameras. He was only going to do that once she had gotten to Nikolai.
She found the basement, and there was no guard, no bolt, nothing. Pulling on the door, she was a little taken aback by how easy this was. This was not good.
With each step she took, and the plan seemed to be going without a hitch, she knew it was going to get worse. She would rather things go to shit right now, than later on.
She quickly rushed down the steps, and there was a small beam of light coming from the ceiling.
“Mr. Gnesin?” she asked.
She attempted to whisper the word. “Nikolai.”
And then, Nikolai Gnesin was at the bars of the cage.
“Who are you?” he asked.
The anger in his eyes was clear to see, along with the growth of his beard. He looked a little gaunt, as he had lost a considerable amount of weight. Nikolai Gnesin had been full of muscle, and had a little belly as he did like his food. At least, that is what she remembered, but that was gone.
“Dmitriy is going to try and get you out,” she said.
She didn’t know if she should tell him her name. What if it angered him?
“So, Dmitriy finally figured it out.” He smiled. “And they didn’t kill him.” There was a smile on his face.
She saw he had fading bruises. The clothes he wore looked dirty. He had nothing on his feet, and there was a chain around his ankle that tied him to the bed. Anastasia looked toward the cage, and of course it was held with a key.
“The guard keeps the key on him at all times,” Gnesin said. “You’re committing a fool’s errand.”
“No, this is not foolish.”
“They killed all my men,” Gnesin said. “No one knows I’ve been gone. Even Dmitriy didn’t realize I was gone.”
She looked at the bars of the cage, and then toward Gnesin. “But he did figure it out, and trust me on this, he is coming for you. Did you order the ... death of my parents?”
Gnesin looked at her. “I should have known you were the Babkin girl.”
“Why should you have known?”
“Do you think I don’t keep an eye on everyone?” he asked. “The way Dmitriy looked at you.” He sighed. “Yeah, I should have known he wouldn’t kill you.”
“Does that mean you didn’t send him, or did?”
Gnesin looked at her, but he wasn’t angry, nor sad. “I didn’t send Dmitriy, but I would have. Your parents got greedy, Anastasia. They wanted more reward, more power, which is why I’m in my cage. They set me up.”
“How?”
“By making me react to a false warning. I sent my soldiers to them.” Gnesin shook his head.
“As I came here, this is where they were waiting. We didn’t stand a chance.
They had already gotten in, killed my staff and the soldiers I left here.
It didn’t take them long to remove the men that were protecting me.
They disarmed me, threw me in this cage, and have been feeding me like a favored dog. ”
“Surely you have a backup?” Anastasia asked. “You’re Nikolai Gnesin. The feared leader of the Gnesin Bratva, who always seems to have a backup.”
“Without proof of life, there is nothing we can do.”
She gripped the handlebars and growled in frustration. “Dmitriy is coming,” she said. “He’s coming to get you, and there is no way we’re going to let the Gambinos take you, or continue killing people.”
“Your parents betrayed me,” Nikolai said.
“In case you didn’t notice, I’m not my parents, and I’m not going to sit back and let this happen to you. The guards that have the key ... how many come down here?” she asked.
“There’s only ever one.”
She looked into his cage. “Is your bed made of wood or metal, because either way, you’re getting out of here, whether you like it or not.”
Nikolai looked at her, and then smirked. “I can see why he likes you.”
She didn’t have time for guessing games right now, she needed to get Nikolai out of there.
She couldn’t believe her parents would do that, yet at the same time, of course they would.
It was one of their many arguments. They had always wanted more wealth, more power, more status.
Her brothers always had to be the best they could be.
Her father had wanted to marry her off to one of the most powerful men in the Bratva.
It was all a mess, but it didn’t matter. She was not her family, and it was time to right the wrongs they had done.
****
“Jack, talk to me.”
“The guards are on break. Holy shit, this actually fucking worked,” Jack said.
Dmitriy took a deep breath. “The cameras?”
“Already taken care of. They cannot see you, but I can see you. It’s your shot to get to the house. I’d suggest you take the back door.”
Dmitriy was already inside Gnesin’s grounds, and he looked left and right, then began to proceed forward.
“You know, I like your girl. I can see what you see in her,” Jack said.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“I’m just saying, you know, she has some fire in her.”
“How is she doing?”
“She’s there, man. She’s talking with Gnesin.”
“Can you hear them?” he asked.
“Nah, it doesn’t have sound. Either Gnesin is a cheap ass, or the Gambinos are.”
“Nikolai was never cheap,” Dmitriy said.
“Then the Gambinos are. I mean, why would Gnesin put cameras in the basement?”
Dmitriy smiled. “He liked to always be able to keep an eye on absolutely everything. That includes in his own home.”
Jack sighed. “Man, he looks ... ill.”
Dmitriy didn’t like this.
“Holy shit.”
He tensed up, gun poised in his hand, ready to take out any enemy. “What is it, Jack? You can’t just say shit like that down the phone, and think I can sit back and take it.”
“One of the guards are heading back. Shit, fuck. Shit. Wait, what the fuck.”
Dmitriy started to move faster. There was not enough time in the world to train Anastasia to do combat. He felt that fear traveling down his spine, and he fucking hated this, so he ran as fast and as hard as he could to get closer to her.
“That’s clever. Oh, I like this. This is so good.”
He didn’t like that he didn’t know what the fuck was going on. Anything could be happening right now.
“Damn it, Jack. What the fuck is going on?”
“I think Anastasia is going to attempt to attack the guard. I don’t think I like this.”
There was silence and Dmitriy wondered why the fuck Gnesin had a lot of ground to cover. This was driving him crazy. He needed to be there to protect Anastasia.
“Jack, what’s going on?”
“Two guards are heading back. This is not good, Dmitriy. Anastasia is hiding in the dark corner, and Gnesin has gone to sit on the bed.”
There was more silence.
“Only one guard is making his way down, but ... shit, he’s left the door open. Anything they attempt is going to be dangerous.”
Dmitriy started to run. They were running out of time, as he saw one of the guards move back into position, and he didn’t hesitate. Firing his gun, the shot got the neck of the solider, and he fell to the ground.
Dmitriy moved in closer, as another guard came. He shot again, catching the guy in the head. He didn’t have a silencer and he knew it was only a matter of time before the guards figured out they were being fired upon.
One shot after another, he got clear of the house, just as soldiers were mounting up, and he was shoved back. His gun was taken from him, but Dmitriy didn’t need a gun. Within his grip, he had two knives, and he slashed toward his opponents.
Jack was yelling in his ear, but he couldn’t hear. His only focus was to get to the basement, and he was so fucking close to it. Chaos ran around him as Jack continued to yell, but he wasn’t listening anymore.
As he made his way to the basement, he saw that Anastasia was fighting one of the men. Another was on the ground, and Nikolai was using the key to unlock the cage.
Dmitriy went to the guard currently with his hands wrapped around her neck, and he thrust the blade of his knife, taking the man by surprise. Anastasia gasped, falling against him.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
She just held onto him tightly, and he was not going to let her go.
He kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got you.”
“As touching as all this is, we’re running out of time.” Nikolai stepped over the solider on the floor and grabbed the guns.
Dmitriy did the same and handed it straight to Anastasia. “The safety is off. You got this?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Good. I don’t know what is going to happen up there.”
“It’s simple,” Jack said, suddenly making sense. “I got the fucking calvary here.”
Dmitriy frowned and turned to look at Nikolai. “You think I didn’t have a plan in place? The only problem was, they needed proof of life, and I needed you to go to the right person to initiate it. We’re going to make it out of here alive. That, I guarantee.”
He grabbed Anastasia’s hand, and he was not going to let her go. He had vowed he would protect her, always.
Keeping a grip on her hand, they made their way up and out of the basement. Dmitriy didn’t know what they were going to find, but seeing Gnesin Bratva soldiers was a huge sigh of relief.