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“Vlad is mine,” Anya announces to the car. No one in here disagrees, truthfully all we want is for them both to be dead. “Ivan, he needs to be kept alive.” That has me, Vin and King staring at her and Bish eyeing her in the rearview mirror.
“Why the fuck would you want him alive?” I snarl. Vincent cocks his head to the side and studies her for a second before he speaks.
“You don’t want him alive foryou, you want him alive for another reason and someone else.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement.
“Yes,” she whispers.
“For who?” King demands. She slowly lifts her gaze to me as she answers King.
“Rook.” Sharp intakes of air can be heard throughout the car. “You didn’t see what I saw. He needs to be the one to do it or your brother will not come back to you. He has already lost himself, you can see it in his eyes, Gage. He will need to be the one to do it but he cannot do that tonight, he is still too frightened of Ivan.” Before any of us can answer, Bishop jams on the breaks and leaps from the car, Vin and King follow. I jump out and hold up a hand to Anya who glares at me. “I’m coming!” I grit my teeth and help her from the car, the stubborn set of her jaw and the promise of pain in her gaze told me she would just follow even if I said no. Two gunshots ring out and on instinct I push Anya behind me. Cries of pain can be heard coming from the front of the SUV that carried her father and uncle.
“Move again and I’ll blow out your kneecap!” Bishop’s tone is ice cold and filled with hatred. We pass the car the twins were in and I peek inside to see Rook sitting in the passenger seat with his head down. I grip Anya’s hand and pull her behind me as we reach my brothers and Vin. Vlad is on the ground clutching his knee, a man who I assume was their driver lays on his back with a hole in the middle of his head. Ivan is on his knees with his hands in the air, Knight stands behind him with a fistful of his hair in his grip and a knife to his throat.
“You are going to pay for this–” Vlad clamps his mouth closed when Anya pulls free of my grip and moves into his sight. He stares at her with disgust. How a man can father a child and hate them is something I will never understand. “You betrayed your own family, you ungrateful bitch! I should have killed you when I had the chance.” Bishop lifts his gun ready to end Vlad but Anya reaches out and places her hand on his arm, stopping him. They share a look for a few seconds before Bish hands her his gun. She takes a step forward and winces but tries her best to hide her pain. I notice that she is pale and unsteady on her feet. She needs to see a fucking doctor!
“All my life, all I ever wanted was for you to be proud of me, to love me, look at me the way you looked at Alek. I was nothing but an object for you to use whenever you felt like it. I make one mistake and I’d have to fight for my life.” Hearing her say this out loud has my heart breaking for her. Anya Volkov is one strong fucking woman and I’m proud to say she ismywoman.
Anya
I used to fear my father but now as I stand here and stare down at the pathetic excuse for a man, I feel stupid. He is nothing more than a glorified thug. He hid behind his men and made his wealth on the pain of others.
“You will die here tonight on this dark deserted road, alone and unloved. But, before you die I want you to know something. First, your men are now loyal to me andIam the Pakhan to the Volkov Bratva and will lead them in a new direction that doesn’t involve using women or stealing children from their beds so I can line my pockets.” Satisfaction rolls through me as his face morphs into a shocked look. “Second, I have known where Katarina is this whole time.” I can feel Knight’s gaze on me but I don’t stop. “Dante and I helped her and Dimitri flee Russia to get away from you.” His upper lip pulls back in a snarl. “Katarina is pregnant, she is happy and in love.” His eyes widen as I smirk and turn to look at Knight who stares at Vlad with a smile so wide it almost looks unreal. “Third, your precious Alek is dead.” Both Vlad and Ivan start mouthing off but I push on. “It was the greatest sight I have ever seen to watch as Gage bashed his skull in and pushed his thumbs through that bastards eye sockets.”
Vlad mouths off again. “You will never rule, my men will never follow a whore much less one that is spreading her legs like a drive through for a fucking Americansuka.”
“He may be a lot of things but abitchisn’t one of them. Lastly, I want you to die knowing that you never broke me. Your brother may have raped me and brutalized my body, but he never broke me, you robbed me of my right to bear children and still, I stand here unbroken. I hope you burn in hell for all of eternity.” I don’t wait for him to respond, I lift the gun and pull the trigger. I shoot him in the head once, twice in the chest and twice in the dick for good measure before I turn to Ivan. His eyes widen, gone is the sure of himself cocky look that he always wears. His eyes are wide and his face pale, the prick is shaking like a leaf. I move toward him but sway slightly, within a second Gage is beside me holding me upright.
“You need to see a doctor,” he says low enough for only me to hear. I smile up at him and nod.
“I will, I just need to do this.” He nods stiffly as I turn back to Ivan. “You thought you were untouchable because of who your brother is–sorry,was. I’m here to tell you that you are not. You will not meet a swift end like Vlad, your death will be drawn out. You won’t see it coming, or know when it is coming until it is too late. You will suffer for the things you have done, for the lives you have ruined. It disgusts me that I share blood with you. I want you to hear me loud and clear. I am the last living Volkov and that name will die with me, not you, not your brother and certainly not your good for nothing son.” His eyes blaze anger, he tries to move which causes Knight to dig the blade into his throat cutting it slightly. “I hope Rook destroys you—mind body and soul.” His brows furrow in confusion, making me release a humorless laugh. “Oh, dear uncle, I am not going to kill you, after all you are not mine to kill.” I don’t wait for his reply as I turn and walk away. A sense of relief washes over me, feeling like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders now that two of the three are dead. Ivan will die soon enough, but knowing his death will be dragged out gives me great satisfaction.
* * *
With no destination in sight and not wanting to drive around all night, I told Gage to take us to Vlad’s house–my house. Bishop and Knight chose to stay back and deal with Ivan,keeping him out of sightas they put it. I didn’t care to learn what that meant. Rook, King, Gage, Vin and I all ride silently together. Gage and I sit in the middle seats with Rook. He hasn’t uttered a single word, he won’t look anyone in the eye or even return a hug. He is safe now and out of danger but for some reason he seems more withdrawn now than when I last saw him with Ivan.
I’ve been feeling dizzy for the last twenty minutes and know it’s because I am still losing blood. I managed to contact Krill with a phone we found in the console. He and Vor promised to meet me at the house with a doctor. Gage wraps his arm around my shoulders and draws me into his side. I rest my head against him and sigh.
“What’s your next move, killer?” he asks quietly. I ponder for a few moments and for the first time in years I don’t have a plan.
“I don’t know exactly. I guess clean up the mess Vlad made and try to rebuild from there,” I answer honestly.
“So, you’re gonna stay in Russia?” The hurt in his tone guts me, I don’t want to hurt him but the truth is, I have no idea what we even are to each other. Do I care about him? Yes. Do I love him? I didn’t think I did until tonight. People say you learn to love over time and it doesn’t happen instantly, but for me I don’t need time. From the moment I saw his picture and watched him from afar for weeks, I grew fascinated by him. Then I met him, spent time with him and something inside me changed. Gage gave me hope. For so many years I had none and was resigned to the fact I would die by my father’s order.
“Gage…” I cut myself off when we pull into the driveway and I spot Krill and a few others leaning against a sleek black car. Gage pulls away from me and it hurts but I get it, we need to talk but now isn’t the time for that.
* * *
After the doctor stitches me up and dresses my wound, he left me some amazing pain pills that I have to take daily. I managed to shower and change into some of my own clothes I left here. I flinch in pain as I slip under the covers of my bed. I’m just about to turn the lights out when a knock sounds at the door. I call out to whoever it is to come in and I’m shocked when I see it’s Andreas.
“Can I come in?” I pull myself into a sitting position and grit my teeth through the pain. Once seated, I motion for him to enter. He stands at the foot of my bed with his hands in his pockets, a weird look on his face. Tension and awkwardness are thick in the air. Not so long ago we were enemies and now… now I have no idea what we are. “If you had of asked me twelve hours ago if I could ever see myself inside Vladimir’s Volkov’s house, I would have laughed in your face.” We both laugh and it helps to break some of the awkwardness.
“What are you doing here, Andreas?” He pushes his mouth to the side and shoots me a look of gratitude.
“You saved my life, Anya.”
“No–”
“Don’t be coy, you did and you and I both know it. You could have killed me but you didn’t, why?” Well that feels like a loaded question!
