AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Laying on my back I fire two shots at the men who turn to look in shock at the commotion of the breaking glass.
I stand and turn my attention to Alexander Golubev. He is standing away from the front door, his men all turned towards the battle, focused on defending him from that direction.
He stares at me in horror as he turns to face me.
He has Jennifer pressed against the front of his body. His arm is wrapped around her throat. Her hands are tied and her mouth is gagged. Her eyes are wild with fear.
I look straight at her. “Are you alright, little rabbit?” My deep voice is low and dark.
She nods slightly.
“Little rabbit? Isn’t that cute,” Golubev spits.
In his hand is a large butcher’s knife. The pearl-colored handle looks ornate, too elegant for his clumpy fingers.
He pressed the knife against the side of her stomach.
My insides churn, my blood boils, but I do not move to show the turmoil inside me. All he sees is my calm yet deadly expression.
“She bit one of my men. Can you believe that? Your little rabbit bites.” He chokes on his own laughter.
I think back to the day I found her in the container. How I tried to lift her in my arms to carry her to safety, and how she bit me. A smile curls across my lips. “She bit your man, did she? That does sound like my little rabbit.”
The day I found her she was so broken. So torn apart by what Golubev had done to her. She was fragile and weak. A fraction of what she is today. Today I see her standing in front of me and despite looking terrified, she is not shaking. Her eyes are fierce. Fierce in a way that tells me she is in control, not frantic.
Golubev made a mistake though.
He reminded me of the day I found her when he mentioned the bite.
He reminded me of that instant love I had for her, and he reminded me of what he did to her.
All of those thoughts add to the already intense hatred I have for him.
“Men!” he shouts. No one responds. They are all pressed against the front of the house, trying to hold off the attack my brothers are launching.
“Men. What the fuck?” He glances behind himself to see no one has his back.
“Seems that they are a little preoccupied,” I say, stepping closer.
He grins, pressing the tip of the blade into Jennifer’s skin. She winces and a trickle of blood seeps through her top.
“I don’t need them,” Golubev says. “I have this little rabbit.”
"If you let her go, I will walk away,” I tell him. “You will never see me again. But if another drop of blood leaves her body, I will hang you from the ceiling and pull your skin off slowly, bit by bit. I will even use your own knife.”
“If you think you’re at an advantage here, think again. I’m the one who is going to be peeling skin away. The skin of her round belly. I wonder what I will find inside?”
I grit my teeth, calculating. He is a large man and even though he is using Jennifer as a shield, there are parts of his body exposed. Yet, nothing that would do enough damage to take him down without leaving the risk that he’ll react and harm Jennifer and my baby. He is moving too much, ducking behind her when he speaks, for me to risk a headshot.
I look around the room, trying to find a solution to this stalemate.
I see Golubev looking around as well and when his eyes fall on his gun on the table nearby, my heart sinks. He starts moving towards it. I can’t shoot him, but he sure as fuck will shoot at me, and then everything will be over.
Suddenly, he is moving faster and reaching out. Jennifer is being dragged along in front of him. I see him lifting his gun and I dive. I hear Jennifer shouting muffled sounds against the gag.
I duck, rolling my body so that I land on my side. Gunshots stream close to my ear, skimming over my jacket and ripping the fabric.
I crouch behind the bar.
