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“So can you! That’s all you’ve ever done!” My pleas are broken, but I will never give up.
For a moment, when he presses his lips to my head, I believe he’s changed his mind. When he holds me tightly one last time, I am certain this is just a bad dream, and I will wake up. But I never do. “Take her.”
“Saint!” My grip on him tightens, but I’m no match for the strong hands that seize my waist, prying me off him.
“Get off me!” I kick and scream, but Alek lifts me, clutching me tight to his chest. “You bastard! I hate you! Let me go!”
Alek simply ignores me. “Thank you.” His gratitude has me fighting harder.
“I’m not doing this for you,” Saint spits. “Look after her.”
“Your death will not be in vain. I will honor you.”
“NO!” I thrash about wildly, about to use every self-defense move I know, but Alek won’t let me go as he tosses me over his shoulder. He tears through the room, taking one last look at the three friends who betrayed him.
“Your greed killed us all,” he says, his voice filled with regret.
“You’re bluffing,” Borya declares, raising his gun and aiming at Alek. “I will end them.”
“Maybe I am? But if you shoot them, then you’ll never know.” I see him retrieve a remote from his pants pocket, one which has a switch to make all of this goBOOM.
“Alek, please. I will never forgive you if you do this!” I squirm, desperate to break free. My heart threatens to burst from my chest as I look for an out, for anything to save Saint.
“In another lifetime, I will get my vengeance,” Saint promises Alek, not wanting him to mistake his leniency for weakness.
“And I will accept it because I am deserving of everything you give. Goodbye,dear friend.”
“Goodbye, Aleksei.”
The blood whooshes through my ears as adrenaline courses through me. This can’t be it. It doesn’t end this way. But it does…and I will always remember the parting words my love said to me before he saved my life.
“I…love you,a????. I always have. Thank you for bringing light into the darkness. I will be with you. Always.”
The room explodes into pandemonium as Alek kicks open the door with me flailing around wildly, desperate to save the man who loves me, who is about to sacrifice everything to set me free. But it’s too late. Astra is frenzied as she fires the first shot which goes straight through Saint’s chest.
“No!” A scream strips my throat raw as I watch him stagger back a few feet before blood begins to trickle from his wound. “Please, God, NO!”
I am possessed as I fight with all my might, breaking free from Alek’s hold. I scamper toward Saint, but Alek quickly grips my wrist, tugging me back toward him. When I fight him, kicking and biting, he slaps me—hard. Stunned, I stagger backward, which allows him to pick me up once again.
“Go!” Saint shouts, before stumbling, and I watch through eyes which aren’t mine as he plummets to the floor. He meets my gaze with a smile, a smile finally swathed in freedom. And suddenly, in the blink of an eye, this hell on earth is crumbling to the ground with a BOOM!
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men…
The noise is thunderous, and the force of the blast propels Alek forward. But his feet never waver as he continues running, intent on staying true to his word.
The hallway fills with smoke as the walls collapse around us. The unknowing guests run from the house, bloodied and dumbfounded by what is happening. Some have limbs missing, others are lying dead in twisted heaps. So much carnage, so much death just to save me.
By the time we get to the trapdoor in the kitchen, and Alek unlocks it, I am hysterical, unsure if this is a dream. He descends the stairs, ducking and weaving so he doesn’t hit my head. The echoing screams are the only sound I hear as we make our way through the damp hidden passage.
After a while, there is a hushed silence, and I know that’s because I’ve passed out. Pieces float in and out of consciousness. I focus on Alek’s harsh breath as he carries me through the tunnel. I don’t want to close my eyes. I want to remember everything. All of it. I need to remember him.
“Come, quickly.” I recognize the voice, but shock has taken over, and I barely know my own name.
“How can I trust you?”
“Saint has given me instructions.”
His name tears me in two, and a guttural howl rips from my chest. I am sobbing, but I’m robbed of air. Nothing but a winded cough splutters from me.
