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When no shot came, I peeked over a shoulder, finding a large, broad, and intimidating man filling the doorway, a gun in his hand. A motorcycle helmet blocked his face, and I shuddered. I wouldn’t even see the face of the man who planned to kill me.
“We need to get out of here. Now,” he said, gesturing for us to come forward.
It was a trick. It had to be, so I didn’t move. Somewhere in the back of my memory, though, I swore I recognized the voice. Something about it had me ready to stand and trust the man, but he’d come here to kill us. I’d heard the shots.
“Now,Ciara,” he shouted. “Or we’re all going to fucking die.”
My name on his lips brought the memory closer, and I looked him over, gasping in recognition as he lifted the helmet’s visor, revealing familiar, swamp-green eyes. They were hard as they swiveled around the room, keeping an eye on his back as he reached for us. Viktor. I could only gape as he rushed into the bathroom and grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me upright. I stumbled out of the tub, pulling Sean along with me as I looked up at the Russian mob boss, I’d left nine years ago.
I instinctively pulled Sean behind me, trying to hide him from sight as Viktor turned back toward the bathroom door, tugging me behind him.
“What—why—” I paused, trying to find my words as he continued pulling me forward.
He whipped around. “I’ll explain all this shit later, but for now, I need you to stay behind me. Can you do that?”
I only nodded, and Sean held tightly to my clothes. “How are you here?” I finally managed.
He shook his head as if to say that he’ll explain everything later. He pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed it to his ear, peeking around the corner from the bedroom. He recited my address not his phone with an urgency that had me remaining quiet, and when he tucked the phone back into his pocket, he took a deep breath. The distant sound of sirens came swiftly, and Viktor cursed, turning around and scanning the room.
“Fire escape. There are going to be more coming, and if the police get you, you’re as good as dead,” he said, pointing to the window that opened into the fire escape.
“I’m not involved in any of that shit anymore,” I told him. “The police are the best option for what happened.”
Viktor stopped and grabbed both of my arms, giving me a small shake. I held my breath as he got in my face, only his eyes uncovered from the dark helmet. “There’s a hit on your name, and I don’t know how many inside men are at the police station. Are you willing to bet your life that there are none?” I shook my head quickly. “Exactly. Go. I’ll watch your six.”
I realized that I had no choice but to trust him—to listen to him and do exactly as he asked. I hadn’t spoken to him in nearly a decade, but from what I remembered, Viktor was an honorable man. I turned and grabbed Sean’s face, looking into his eyes. “Get on my back,” I told him, crouching. “Hold on as tight as you can, okay?”
He nodded, looking around the room. I forced his eyes on me, not wanting him to look at the bodies any longer than he had to.
“Eyes closed or on me. Understood?”
He nodded again before wrapping his arms around my neck and jumping onto my back. He did as I asked and held on, and I stormed through the fire escape, rushing down the flights and listening for Viktor. He didn’t immediately follow, and I nearly tripped over my own feet as I heard a gun fire four times before someone came out onto the fire escape and the window closed behind him.
I couldn’t think about the guns right now. I had to keep my eyes forward and trust that we’d get out of here, even if I wanted to curl in a ball and hide from them. I hated guns, which was another reason I’d left mob life altogether. It hadn’t been the primary reason, but it had certainly been on the pros and cons list.
“Viktor,” I shouted, needing to know for sure if it was him.
“I’m right behind you,” he replied. He wasn’t, but I knew he could get to us quickly. I panted my breaths as I went down, careful to keep a tight hold of Sean.
“Mom,” he said in my ear. “Can we trust him? He killed people.”
“I know, sweetie,” I replied through my panting breaths. “But he only did it to keep us safe. We can trust him.”
When we reached the bottom, I found Viktor behind us, ushering us forward. I moved slowly, trying to keep the weight of my eight-year-old on my back. Viktor looked back, and he paused, coming to our side. “Give me the boy.”
I knew I shouldn’t have let him hold my son—not when we’d only had a fling nine years ago, and I hadn’t spoken to him since. I shouldn’t have let him close to Sean—not when my son bore an uncanny resemblance to him that should have given away the secret I’d kept from everyone. But dots filled my vision from the speed we went, and the weight of Sean made it more difficult.
Viktor easily swung him onto his back and continued his quick pace down the street and away from where the police swarmed the building. He guided us toward a black SUV, then sat Sean in the backseat, following us inside.
My mind reeled too thoroughly to speak as one of Viktor’s men drove us away from our home. Viktor spoke in low tones to him, and if I wanted to, I could have listened to what he said, but I couldn’t focus on anything but Sean, sitting in his seat and shaking from the night’s adrenaline. If Viktor hadn’t been here…
I couldn’t even think about what would have happened to us.
As we approached the mansion that I’d gone to several times in the past, I allowed Viktor to lead us inside. I went about tucking Sean into a twin-sized bed and telling him a comforting story until he fell asleep. I even managed to make it to the couch in the adjacent sitting room before I began shaking from all that had just happened. The strength I’d allowed myself to have for Sean peeled away, and the fear finally consumed me.
I had no idea how much time had passed before Viktor came into the sitting room and looked me over with an intense gaze. “Did anyone hurt you?” he asked with a deep, menacing tone.
I only shook my head, but he came forward, grabbing my hand and examining my skin more closely. He brushed my hair from my neck, examining every inch of me for injury before finally focusing on my face. He didn’t release my hand, though. He held it between us, offering something like a lifeline from all of this madness.
