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Slowly, Seth, Patrick, and I crept through the trees until we came to the right side of the house. There was a large patio with an entertainment area and a grill along the opposite side. In the middle, there was a fire pit that had a fire going, and sitting in front of it, laughing and talking in Russian, was Ivar.
“Ringleader sighted,” Patrick said into the earpiece. “Side patio, door to inside. About four targets in addition.
Ivar let out a laugh and so did one other with him. I recognized that laugh. It was Daniel’s laugh when he smoked too much pot.
Seth had just enough time to say “Don’t!” before I rushed forward, gun drawn. I burst through the edge of the trees, unsure if I wanted to aim the gun at Ivar or at Daniel. I chose the bigger man and cocked my gun.
Shouts erupted as the Russians stood with weapons of their own pointed at us, and the rest of our men broke through the tree line and pointed weapons at them. Seth hung back, unarmed. I knew he had come mostly for moral support but also—in case something happened to me—he would need to take over the search and rescue of Natalia.
The shouting continued and more people were joining the standoff, so I made my voice louder to be heard over everyone.
“WHERE THE FUCK IS MY WIFE?!”
The shouting quieted, everyone’s attention on me. Ivar stood smiling, his arms spread wide as if inviting me either to give him a hug or to shoot him. Daniel stayed seated, probably too afraid to move.
“She is safe, though no longer your wife. She is mine,zasranets. You did not fulfill your agreement with me, so I take my consolation. Her.”
“Go find your own woman, giant spawn. I’m sure there are plenty for you in Russia.”
“Why do that when I can just take yours? She is tied to my bed as we speak. I could take her in front of you if you like, to prove she is no longer yours,” he taunted, and I really, really wanted to squeeze the trigger.
“You will release her. She is not a part of this. This is allhisfault,” I said, motioning to my brother who still hadn’t said anything. “Why are you partying with him when he’s the one who screwed you over?”
“He is on my side now,” Ivar explained. “He gave me something I wanted—your wife. When he showed me her picture, I knew I could not go back to Russia without her. She is meant to be mine.”
“Picture?” I thought back to the night when he and Patrick had woken us up in our bedroom. I hadn’t thought much of it then, but he did have a phone in his hand and had taken her picture. My eyes blazed, and I trained my gun on my brother. “You set this all up? You gave her to him? The woman I love? My wife? How the fuck could you? What was he going to give you in return that was so goddamned important?”
My brother at least had the wisdom to look embarrassed.
“Well, at first it was guns because I had a few buyers, but then it was coke. Do you know how good Russian coke is? You can hardly get it as clean as he has it, man.”
“You sold my wife to him for drugs,” I repeated, summing it up. Daniel nodded.Fucking seriously?
“My wife now,” Ivar said and raised a gun pointing it straight at my head. “Especially when she’s a widow.”
A gunshot exploded in the night, hushing everything around us.
I had a moment of shock before I realized there was a red and gray mess where Ivar’s left eye had been. Then, I watched him fall face-forward into the fire pit. Behind him stood my wife holding a pistol, arms covered in blood, and wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt, a gun belt, and a look of pure determination on her face.
Chapter 26
Natalia
Ifellforward,mylegs giving out, my body and mind spent. I had heard everything that had been said. I had been crouched in my spot in the kitchen listening through the open doors. Everyone had been so focused on what was happening on the patio that I had been able to slip out, unnoticed. I had had every intention of sneaking around them and escaping, and everything that happened could have been avoided. But when Ivar raised the gun, I knew he would kill Jimmy. I couldn’t let it happen. So I raised the gun, pointed it at the back of Ivar’s head, and pulled the trigger.
Now Ivar was in the fire pit roasting, pieces of his head on the patio floor.
A battle raged around us. Italians versus Russians who were pissed that their leader was dead, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was done, exhausted in more ways than one. I sank to my knees on the edge of the patio, letting the gun roll out of my hand.
I felt Jimmy's arms fold around me, and I started crying. I clung to him, holding him as close to me as possible, afraid to let him go. I had almost lost him. What if I had shot a second later? What if I hadn't gotten down here in time? What if I had decided to go out the front door instead of the patio?
It might have been Jimmy's brains on the patio instead of Ivar’s.
Jimmy was crooning to me, telling me everything would be okay, that I was safe. I wanted to believe he was telling me the truth, but a battle still waged around us. There was hand-to-hand combat as well as gun fights, shots ringing out in the darkness. I saw Seth punch someone in the temple as they went after my father-in-law with a knife. The guy dropped to the ground, and Marco kicked him repeatedly in the side. Patrick was there too, a gunshot wound to the arm it looked like. His sleeve was covered in blood, but he didn't look too concerned.
"I'm so sorry, baby," Jimmy said, his voice disclosing how close to tears he truly was. "I'm so sorry. I never thought Daniel would do something like that."
"It's alright, Jimmy," I told him, looking up into his perfect face. His eyes were liquid, and his heart pounded against my shoulder. "I love you."
