23. Mia
MIA
It’s sad that our time in Vegas has come to an end. I almost forgot we had a looming evil trying to find us.
After gambling and winning and losing, then winning again, Alek decided it was best if we headed home.
Home.
Not the cabin. Not to another place where Ivan can’t find us, but the lion’s den itself.
Nikolai is driving while Alek and I sit in the backseat. We’re not that far away now, and the closer we get, the sicker I become.
“Stop.” I tap Alek’s arm and gag. “Stop!”
Nikolai slams on the brakes and jerks the wheel to the side of the road. Alek unbuckles his seatbelt before the car has time to come to a full stop, opens his door, and drags me out into the cool night.
I continue to gag, Ivan’s face bunched in anger when he sees us walk through the door. My mind races with the possibilities. Will he raise his hand at me? Pull a gun? Threaten me? Will Alek allow it?
Of course he wouldn’t. Don’t think like that. He’d never allow Ivan to hurt you.
Sweat breaks out over my skin. My mouth fills with saliva and what I ate for dinner spews from me.
Alek holds my hair and rubs my back in gentle circles. Tears burn my eyes keeping what I know a secret from him. Am I sick because I’m pregnant? Or am I terrified to see Ivan again after all this time?
How am I on my way back to him after risking my life to get away?
And why do I continue to break a promise to Alek? Why am I so afraid of telling him the truth?
“I know, Mia. I know. It’s been stressful. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Why do we have to go back?” I sound like I’m crying but my throat is strangled by the force and burn of bile.
I spit onto the ground and grip the door for balance.
“We can’t be on the run forever. The sooner we show Ivan our cards, the sooner we can live our lives the way we want. There’s also the issue with your family and the contract. It’s best to fight it head on now that we are married and found that loophole. There is nothing they can do about it.”
“What if they try? What if they don’t allow it?”
“Allow?” He growls, then dies on a villainous laugh. “I don’t care what they allow, Mia. If they don’t like it, they can either meet bullets or leave.” All while he’s plotting their demise, he continues to rub circles on my back, comforting me.
I’m not the girl who becomes strong overnight. I’m not the girl who won’t be afraid of the person she was trained to be afraid from.
“I’m scared,” I admit, pressing my forehead against the window since it’s cool and my skin is hot.
“No need to be scared, Mia,” Nikolai says, lifting his gun in the air that has a long silencer attached. “I will kill him, Da? Worries will be over.”
I’m not sure why but he makes me laugh. Nikolai is so serious and that’s what makes him funny. Most people would think he is kidding, but he isn’t. He’s serious. If Alek gave him the ‘okay’ to shoot everyone who betrayed him, Nikolai wouldn’t wait another day.
He’ll kill them all and set the house on fire so he wouldn’t have to bury any bodies.
“Mia, My Love, look at me,” Alek begs, pressing his fingers against my cheek to turn my head.
I wipe my tears on my shirt and do my best to take a few deep breaths.
“I won’t allow you to live looking over your shoulder every day.
That isn’t a way to live. You deserve to breathe without stress.
You deserve peace. How much longer are you going to allow him to have that control over you?
If he wants answers, we are going to give him those answers.
The only way to fix the problem is to become the solution.
” He plucks a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping my mouth free with a caring grin.
He’s right.
We are the solution to Ivan’s madness, but it doesn’t mean we’ll survive the attempt.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell Alek now that I’m pregnant. We can’t risk our lives.
Then, it hits me.
We will always be risking our lives if we don’t take Ivan head on. Alek is right. Running serves no purpose.
He hands me an opened water bottle and I take a swig, swish it out my mouth, and spit it to the ground.
“Come on. Come take a nap until we get there. We are only two hours away.” Alek helps me into the luxury SUV again, slides in beside me, and shuts the door.
He wraps his arm around my shoulder, tugging me to his side.
I lean my head against his chest just as the car starts moving again.
I close my eyes, not wanting to see the path that might lead to our deaths.
I want to stay right here, nestled next to my husband, and dreaming of the future we deserve to have together.
It feels like I closed my eyes for one minute before Alek’s voice wakes me up.
“Lyubimaya,” he croons, lightly shaking me. “We are here.”
Dread fills me. Take me back to Las Vegas. I want to get lost in bed with Alek. I want us to walk the strip again. I want to gamble and laugh and cheer and eat. I want to do it all with him.
I want to be anywhere but here.
I rub my eyes to rid of the blurriness and stare at the mansion at the end of the paved driveway. Ivan really doesn’t know how to take care of a home. How it looks reveals how he is on the inside.
It’s only been a month and the grass is dead. The beautiful fountain that sits in the middle of the driveway’s path has weeds and vines growing around it. What was once clear water shooting through the mermaid’s shells is now thick like mud.
Even the sky is filled with doom.
“Alek.” I grip my husband’s arm, nervous when there are armed guards outside of the door.
I’ve never seen that before.
“It’s okay, My Love.” He kisses my forehead. “I want you to do me a favor, “ he states, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Close your eyes. Cover your ears. I’ll come get you in a moment, okay?”
I think I move my head in agreement. I can’t tell anymore.
Wait. Why am I staying in the car? Absolutely not. I want to be part of the solution too. I don’t want to hide, no matter how afraid I am.
I get out of the SUV and stand next to him while Nikolai takes the other side.
“I told you to stay in the car.”
“Not this time,” I reply.
The guards by the door grab a hold of their weapons, aiming them at us, but Alek and Nikolai are faster.
The silencers release a small ‘pew’ of air. One by one, the guards fall, blood spraying against the house when the bullet meets their skulls.
Bile creeps up my throat and I hold my hand against my stomach. What if I would have been shot and then Alek would have been blindsided about the news of his child?
It’s on the tip of my tongue again to tell him the truth, but he grabs my hand and tugs me up the steps to the front door.
There’s arguing on the other side. Voices are raised. There’s a shouting match happening behind closed doors, and I hear my name.
“That’s my dad,” I say in horror with a mixture of pain. “He’s been here? He’s never here, but he’s here now?” I keep my voice a low whisper, my vision blurring from the agony of being betrayed yet again. “He’s only here for his money.”
“Probably,” Nikolai says truthfully.
“I’m sorry, Mia.” Alek turns me to him, his eyes darting all over my face. “I can handle this. This is my home and my territory. You are mine. Nothing can be done about that. They can try to say they hold the cards, but they don’t. I do. And I will. Always.”
“I’m going in because I want to see the man who has stabbed me in the back my entire life,” I spit, anger and the need for revenge burning the fear that once lived inside me.
Thunder rolls above us and rain lightly drops onto my arms.
Alek straightens, staring down at me with awe in his eyes before turning to the door. He lifts his leg and kicks it in, the wood splintering from the force.
Everyone who was arguing and yelling stops. The only sounds are our steps crunching over the pieces of the door as we welcome ourselves inside. Nikolai has his gun raised but Alek has tucked his under his blazer.
“You little bitch.” Spit flies from my father’s mouth. His faced is bright cherry red, the perfect shade for rage, and he steps forward, a hand raised to hit me when Alek steps in front of me.
“I would think twice before doing that, Mr. Roswell.” Alek tugs on the lapels of his jacket.
“Finally,” Ivan stumbles out of the other room, unable to walk in a straight. “There you are. You fucking humiliated me. Us. Your father. My family’s name!” He roars, gripping a vodka bottle by its neck.
“What are you going to do as punishment, Aleksandr? A whore like her doesn’t deserve to get away with what she had done.
As a matter of fact, she is my daughter, and I’m allowed to do whatever I want with her.
” My father tries to push Alek out of the way, keeping his hand raised to bring his palm down onto my cheek.
He’s only ever done that a few times in my life like when I asked if I could go to college instead of marrying Ivan.
I’ve been abused in so many ways my entire life and it’s finally going to come to an end.
Alek catches my father’s wrist, then twists it in such a way, my father screams to the ceiling. Alek pulls his arm behind his back while Nikolai presses the gun between his eyebrows.
The men who have been loyal to Alek come from the living room, standing behind us in solidarity.
“I’m in charge!” Ivan slurs. “Me! He has sullied the family name by disappearing,” he hiccups. “All because of you.” He points his index finger at me, taking another swig of vodka.
I can’t believe there was a day where I loved him because looking at him now, nothing about him is loveable.
“Try to put your hands on my wife again and I will fucking kill you, Roswell.” Alek’s tone is level yet threatening.
“That isn’t what we agreed to.” My father’s voice shakes as he falls to his knees.
“We agreed in the contract—” Alek yanks it out of his pocket and tosses the papers on my father’s feet. “That Mia would marry a Bykov. My son broke a few clauses which allowed me to marry her.”
“I didn’t break any fucking clause!” Ivan tries to walk and stumbles into the coffee table. “Everything she did, she deserved, didn’t you!” He smirks at me, taking another large swig of vodka. “I’ll get what’s mine. I deserve it after putting up with you for most of my life.”
His hatred doesn’t hurt me anymore. It doesn’t surprise me.
Ivan throws the vodka bottle at me so fast, no one has time to react, and it hits me across my cheek. I reach for the sore spot, my fingers drenched in blood.
Alek releases his hold on my father and spins around, cupping my face to check on me. “Lyubimaya, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It only hurts.”
Alek growls, it’s low and menacing, the kind you’d hear in a dark forest and want to run. I’ve never heard this sound come from him before. “No one hurts you,” he seethes.
He leaps over the decorative coffee table, lands on his two feet in front of Ivan, and wraps a hand around his son’s throat.
“You’ve hurt her long enough, do you understand me? I think you’ve lost your way. Here.” He slams his head against the wall so hard, blood drips down Ivan’s nape.
“Don’t even think about it.” Nikolai keeps the gun aimed at my father’s head when he tries to crawl away.
“You broke the number one rule. You abused Mia.”
“You have no proof.” Ivan struggles to breathe, his face turning an odd purple shade from the grip Alek has.
“I have an entire book of proof. I read every single heinous crime you did to her. My own son, abusing women he swore to protect. I know how you hit her, left her alone, locked her in her room, how you spoke to her, how you cheated. I know everything.”
“I didn’t!” My father yells in attempt to save his own life. “I didn’t know. I didn’t—”
“Shut the fuck up.” Nikolai slams his gun down on my father’s head so hard, he collapses in an unconscious heap. Nikolai smirks at me before swinging the gun around to aim at Ivan. “Just say when, Boss.”
“You married her,” Ivan stutters. “She was supposed to be mine.”
Alek pulls his son closer, Ivan’s feet dangling off the floor.
“She was never yours. You don’t abuse what belongs to you.
” My husband tosses his son to floor and punches him over and over.
“Like now, you are not my son. I don’t know you.
You are no longer a Bykov. I’m going to drag your death out.
It won’t be immediate. It will be slow and painful.
You’ll wonder how your life will end so you know exactly what Mia went through every single fucking day with you.
” Alek spits, literally, into his son’s face and the wad lands on his cheek.
“No. N-no!” Ivan stutters. “Please. I’ll do better. I won’t hurt her anymore.”
“You can’t. She’s mine.” Alek lifts Ivan up by gripping the front of his shirt.
Ivan coughs up blood and even from where I stand, I can smell the strong aroma of vodka.
“And unlike you, I protect what is mine.”
“Papa, don’t. Don’t. You can’t kill me. I’m… I’m your son.”
“You stopped being my son long before I found out just how rotten you are. Nikolai—” Alek stands.
“Take him to the dungeon. Take Mr. Roswell too. Maybe spends days and nights in darkness will make them beg for death once they are locked in there with their own demons. And even then,” Alek bends down and smiles at Ivan, patting his son’s cheek.
“I’ll make sure you don’t die because you’ll die on my time. Those are the rules.”
Alek straights with a roll of his shoulders, his eyes falling on the men who follow him. “And anyone who disagrees should leave now. I don’t have room in my life weakness like this.”
“Papa, please. I’m your son! You can’t kill me. You don’t have the fucking heart. You’re a weak man! You don’t know how to run this business! You need me!” Ivan cries, begging like I did over the years for mercy.
“You can beg all you want, Ivan. You know the rules.”
“Fuck the rules! Promise me. Help me. Papa, please—” Ivan sobs, hooking his arms around Alek’s left leg.
“The only promises I make are to Mia.” Alek shoves Ivan off him and Nikolai steps over my father, snagging Ivan by the arm to drag him to the dungeon.
Wherever that is.
Ivan’s yells and pleas for mercy get further and further away until they vanish.
Finally.
I’m free.