22.Alin #3
“The police are here. We need to go, now!” Luca commands, finally noticing the girl clinging to me.
“Is this the girl? I can’t believe you saved her!” Luca smiles triumphantly and reaches out to the girl.
She looks at me, seeking permission. I nod immediately, and she lets go of me to hold his hand instead. I laugh at the sight of this muscular, intimidating man holding hands with a tiny, fragile girl, and we quickly run to the vehicles.
Luca seats her in the back between Pedro and Mariano, and I sit next to Luca, who takes the driver’s seat and speeds out of the port, followed by all his men.
“Stas will come for the girl. She’s a virgin and was probably already sold beforehand. That means she’s worth a fortune to them, and we need to hide her,” Mariano says, and I shudder at the thought of this little girl being sold for sex.
“He can’t get her, Luca. You have to do everything to make sure he doesn’t!” I declare and plead simultaneously. Luca looks at me, and I can see he’s thinking exactly the same thing.
I turn to the girl and put on a reassuring smile. “What’s your name?” I ask in Russian, and she answers in a fearful voice, “Violeta.”
My heart swells. “Violeta, I am Alin. This is Luca, and these are Pedro and Mariano. No one will hurt you here. You’re safe. Could you tell me how old you are?” I soothe her and ask.
She seems to calm down a bit and answers in a more confident voice, “I am ten years old.”
“Her name is Violeta, and she’s ten,” I translate for Luca.
He nods, and a mischievous smile stretches across his face.
“I don’t like the Russian language, but when you speak it, it’s fucking sexy,” he laughs and I blush a bit and chuckle at his constant need to say things like that in front of his brothers, but my heart dances with joy.
“Brother, we’re being followed,” Pedro cuts through the good mood like a knife, and I immediately look back. Five unknown cars are tailing us.
Luca steps on the gas, trying to weave through the traffic ahead to lose the cars behind us, but without success.
The cars close in on us, and Luca starts roaring in his earpiece, shouting orders to his men that are a few minutes behind us. Gunfire erupts as Luca accelerates, overtaking a few cars and making a sharp left turn.
One car manages to follow us, but Pedro and Mariano lower their weapons as another one of our cars rams into it from behind, forcing it off the road. Luca steps on the gas again, making another sharp left turn back toward the port, trying to think of a solution.
He closes the navigation app and heads to the far end of the port, navigating by memory. He gets back on his phone’s earpiece, “Good job. Follow me when the path is clear.” I take a deep breath and reach back to hold Violeta’s hand, happy that we managed to shake them off.
Relief floods through me; we made it through the night.
I managed to keep them safe, and my secret remains hidden.
I glance at Luca, and despite all the blood and violence I’ve seen today, I know I can fully trust him.
He’s really not the monster everyone thinks he is, at least not to me.
I smile as Luca glances at me with a half-smile, as if he can read my thoughts, confirming that he feels the same way.
“We got away. She’ll be fine,” I say quietly, hoping someone up there hears me and can confirm my thoughts.
We’re getting close to the port now. I can see the quiet side of the harbor in the distance, and the proximity to the sea sharpens my senses again. The sea will always be a part of me, and sadly no one here could ever know.
Suddenly, I’m thrown forward and nearly crash into the windshield, but my seatbelt pulls me back into place. I look in the side mirror and see a car behind us accelerating and ramming into us again. “Pedro, Mariano,” Luca snaps, his smile gone.
Pedro and Mariano roll down the car windows on either side and starts shooting at the car behind us. Panic rises again. After this long night, my ears are hypersensitive to the gunfire, and they hurt. I realize that if I don’t do something soon, this would be the end for Violeta and them.
I cover Violeta’s ears with my hands as tightly as I can as a the gunfire gets closer, praying I won’t have to stop them myself. I want to believe that Luca can get us out of this, as he always does. But when I look at his face, he seems lost.
I can’t reveal my secret, we’ll get through this. They know what to do; it’s not their first time. I keep reminding myself. I feel Luca’s gaze on me, filled with worry. He needs to drive and get us out of here. I can’t have him distracted worrying about me.
We’ll get through this, I convince myself again, keeping my hands on Violeta’s ears as another volley of gunfire erupts from behind.
“More cars are coming. We need to lose them,” Pedro shouts amidst the gunfire. “At least six more,” he adds.
“We don’t have an escape route. We’re outnumbered, and the others won’t get here in time,” Mariano immediately follows, pulling his hand back into the car to reload his weapon.
I look at Luca, my hands on Violeta’s ears, waiting for his response. Seconds pass, and I realize he doesn’t have a quick solution either.
The pressure only increases, and anxiety washes over me, making me realize that everything now depends solely on me.
If I do this, there’s a high chance I’ll lose Luca forever.
I’m not part of this world; they won’t accept me and the danger that comes with me.
I breathe heavily, waiting a few more seconds as I hear another burst of gunfire from Mariano, followed by Violeta’s cries as they shoot back at us.
She’s only ten years old. I have to do everything I can to save her, to save them, even if it means losing them forever. I take my hands off Violeta’s ears and shout to Luca, “Luca, stop the car!” Luca keeps driving, furrowing his brow, trying to ignore the suicide mission I’m proposing.
“Luca, look at me,” I demand. He glances at me quickly. “Stop the car, now!” I add, my tone firm and confident.
He looks back at the road and scoffs sarcastically, “After tonight, I know you’re crazy, but I didn’t realize you actually have a death wish.
” I dismiss him and ask him a third time, “Luca, I know you trust me, otherwise I wouldn’t be here with you.
Trust me this time too, please, stop the car!
” Luca looks at me, clearly conflicted about what to do.
If I were in his place, I wouldn’t stop.
He gives me a long look, closes his eyes, and then mutters, “Shit.” He stops the car abruptly in the middle of the road. The sound of screeching brakes fills the air behind us, doors open, and guns are cocked.
There’s nowhere to run. We’re surrounded. Alin, it’s all on you now , I take a deep breath and I look at Luca, his face intensely focused on the horizon, beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead as if he’s trying to transport us to another planet by sheer force.
I touch his face, turning it toward me, the only sound from the three men around me is their heavy breathing.
“Luca, there’s something you weren’t supposed to find out, and there’s a good chance that after what you see, we won’t see each other again.
But your lives are more important to me than that. ”
I break contact with Luca’s eyes, seeing his confusion. Worry starts to surface in his eyes as he tries to understand if I am about to embark on a real suicide mission.
“Alin, you’ve completely lost it. What could you possibly do against them?
You’re barely five feet tall, weigh less than my morning workout dumbbells, and you don’t even know how to use the gun you picked up tonight,” he snaps in one breath, and I can see the vein in his forehead throbbing.
I can’t tell if it’s from stress or anger, maybe both.
I start to shrink back, not wanting him to leave my life.
If I keep looking at him, I’ll lose all the courage to get out of this car.
It’s now or never , I inject motivation into my head once more.
Before stepping out, I brush my lips against his quickly.
“I wish we were from the same worlds, so I wouldn’t have to worry about losing you,” I whisper close to his ear.
A tear rolls down my face. I open the car door and quickly close it behind me before Luca can grab my hand and pull me back inside. The car is armored; they’re safe in there, I tell myself, trying to cling to the hope that they’ll stay inside the vehicle.
I walk slowly toward the Russians, all armed and ready, seeing the victorious look in Stas’s eyes.
I intend to return the same triumphant glance, but suddenly I hear the car doors open, shattering my hopes.
Luca, Pedro, and Mariano run toward me. Luca grabs my hand, pulling me behind him, aiming his gun at Stas, as do Pedro and Mariano.
“If we die today, you’re coming with us,” Luca says aloud, leaning close to my ear and whispering, “I hid Violeta under the seats. I don’t know why, but I trust you.
If you have a plan, we’re behind you.” A shiver runs down my spine at his words, but neither they nor I are prepared for my secret to be revealed.
Now, he’s standing so close, and our lives are on the line.
I take a deep breath, looking at him with tears threatening to spill from my eyes, “Please, don’t disappear on me,” I whisper back before turning back to face Stas.
When I’m done with him, he’ll regret ever being born.
No one messes with my people. Rage is now taking control of me. Never corner a wounded beast.
“If you don’t hand over the girl, you’re declaring war, starting with your deaths here today!” Stas threatens Luca, ignoring the fact that a woman stands before him, which only makes my blood boil more. That piece of shit needs to be wiped off the face of this earth.