Chapter 29 #2
Pavel emerged from the shadows, his fleshy face contorting into a smile.
"Andrei! Knew you'd be on time." He spread his arms like greeting an old friend.
"Your wife's tougher than she looks. Slapped her around and she didn't even cry.
Though I wonder how long those two little bastards in her belly can hold out. "
I had to suppress the burning fury in my gut and focus everything on rescuing Lilith.
"Here's what you want." I held up the seal. "Let Lilith go, and I don't care about the rest."
"Toss it over."
I threw the seal. It traced an arc through the air. Pavel reached out to catch it.
Then a gunshot cracked. The massive sound hammered my eardrums.
Pavel screamed, clutching his shoulder and staggering back.
Blood poured through his fingers. He crashed into a crate, the seal slipping from his grasp, rolling twice across the floor before stopping in the dust. I turned—Luca stood in the doorway, arm still raised with the gun, face deathly pale, smoke wisping from the barrel.
His whole body shook violently as he collapsed to the floor.
I didn't waste the seconds he'd bought me.
I lunged, fist smashing into Pavel's face.
Bone and knuckles crunched together. His nose bent under my fist, blood spraying onto my sleeve.
As his body slid down, I grabbed his knife hand and twisted hard.
Wrist, elbow, shoulder. Three crisp snaps, each one more satisfying than the last. He let out inhuman howls, like a beast caught in a trap with its leg broken.
I grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his face into the concrete floor, knee pressing down on his spine, other hand ripping the key ring from his waist.
Dmitri and the strike team poured through the side entrance. My men seized the entire warehouse. Pavel was pinned to the ground, face against concrete, blood and garbled curses bubbling from his mouth. Pavel's remaining men were disarmed before they could react.
I strode toward Lilith. Tears rolled down her face, each one burning my hand.
I knelt, inserting the small silver key into the lock.
Click. The chain released, her hands sliding free from the iron rings.
Red marks circled her wrists, rubbed raw in several places, blood threading through them, shocking in the dim light.
I held her hand, didn't dare squeeze. Her skin was ice-cold, pulse racing frantically beneath my fingertips.
"Lilith, I'm so sorry I was late—" my voice broke as I held her.
"Andrei." She said my name, voice so hoarse I barely recognized it.
I held her, silently grateful—as long as she was alive.
A roar came from behind. I turned—Pavel had broken free from a guard, grabbed the dropped knife with his good hand, lunged at Rebecca huddled in the corner, blade pressed to her throat.
"Andrei! Let me go, or I'll kill her." Pavel's sinister threat echoed.
"Remember what Lev said when he was alive?
He asked us to look after his little sister.
Andrei, would you betray your oath for a woman?
How can someone who breaks his word be their pakhan?
You're no better than me. This position should be mine—"
Pavel's lust for power had driven him insane.
The guards hesitated, looking to me for orders.
"Andrei, save me—" Rebecca wailed.
When I didn't react, Pavel's smile grew more deranged. He leaned close to Rebecca's ear like sharing a secret, but loud enough for the whole warehouse to hear.
"See, Rebecca? Your high and mighty pakhan doesn't give a damn about your life."
Then he turned to the guards, inciting them.
"See that? Your great pakhan! Years ago, his best friend Lev took a bullet for him and begged him with his dying breath to protect his only sister.
Now Lev's sister has a knife to her throat, and your pakhan doesn't even blink!
For one woman, he'd betray a promise to his friend—you still want to risk your lives for a man like that? "
The warehouse went quiet for a moment.
I raised an eyebrow. "She deserves to die. Kill her. Save me the trouble." Rebecca had hurt Lilith. I never planned to let her live anyway.
"Andrei?" Rebecca looked stunned, staring at me as tears fell, then came the hysterical screaming. "I loved you for years—don't you care at all?"
"What does that bitch have that I don't? Why won't you love me? You're mine, you're mine!"
"I'll kill that bitch!"
She suddenly thrashed, trying to get away from Pavel, not caring that the knife sliced the skin on her neck, like she wanted to lunge at us.
Pavel froze, clearly not expecting her to turn on him.
Rebecca seized that moment of looseness, shoved his arm away, and broke free from under the knife.
The blade left a shallow cut on her neck.
Instead of retreating, she threw herself at Pavel with all her strength, nails clawing his face, then bit down hard on his knife hand.
Pavel screamed and shook her off. The knife fell from his grip, clattering against the concrete.
"Shoot," I said.
A red dot appeared instantly on Pavel's forehead. Then a gunshot, and his head exploded.
Rebecca collapsed to the floor, blood from her neck running down her collarbone. She looked up at me, lips moving like she wanted to say something. But I had no interest in her now.
I held Lilith tighter, then freed one hand. I shot Rebecca in the thigh.
Piercing screams erupted.
"Dmitri, take Rebecca back first."
Then I carried Lilith out of the warehouse. She curled into a tiny ball in my arms, hand constantly protecting her belly, that hand still trembling.
Back in the car, I set her on the seat and wrapped my coat around her. The brutal red marks still circled her wrists. I lowered my head and kissed her dusty face, my lips tasting dirt and the salt of her tears.
"Lilith,thank God you're alive." My voice shook with the relief of narrowly escaping disaster. "You're pregnant? Twins? Something this huge—why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Lilith finally broke down sobbing. "Rebecca said we had to prepare properly before telling you... Then tonight, I overheard her saying I was just a surrogate for you both, and once I had the babies, you'd get rid of me. I-I saw her naked, both your clothes on the floor..."
"I thought... I thought you lied to me. Then I realized something was wrong and had the driver turn around. I didn't expect Rebecca to follow and drag me off like a psycho..."
Lilith's choked words shattered my heart. I held her even tighter.
Lilith's hand still protected her belly, trembling constantly.
"The babies will be fine. You'll be fine." I leaned back slightly so she could see my eyes. "We'll go to the hospital first. When we get home, I won't let anyone near you again. You just need to rest, eat well, cry if you want, yell at me if you want—but don't ever talk about leaving again. Never."