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Following his gaze, I see the red that stains his hands. I see the damage and I know the truth.
He loves me. My flaws and sins, my twisted self, Yan loves me for who I am.
Cupping his face, I whisper, “I know.”
“Mina,” he says harshly, “stay with me. Stay with me, damn you.”
Already, the sirens are fading. But I do stay with him. I stay with him even when the light bleeds out.
35
Yan
“Mina,” I shout as the life runs out of her eyes right in front of me.
No! Not this. Anything else.
I’ll let her go a thousand times over before I let her die.
Panic like I’ve never known seizes my mind. My emotions wreak havoc in my heart. Fear, anger, remorse, guilt, and more fear assault me. It’s more than I can handle. I’m on the brink of falling apart, but I’ve got to keep it together.
Fuck! I need to think.
I’ve got to get Mina to a hospital. But where? With a gunshot wound, there will be questions. The government won’t stick its neck out for her. The clusterfuck of violence that took place in this suite is already pushing it too far.
Shoving my feelings aside, I act fast. I prioritize actions as a plan forms in my mind.
I search for Ilya. My brother stands next to me, stunned to silence. His gaze is fixed on the blood seeping from Mina’s side through my gloved fingers.
My voice is harsh, commanding. “Ilya.”
His eyes snap to mine.
“Pillow,” I say, holding out a hand.
He grabs a pillow from the bed and shoves it into my hand.
I press the pillow to Mina’s wound. “Call our government connection.” Making quick work of removing my belt, I fasten it around Mina’s waist to keep the pillow in place. It should help to stop or at least slow down the bleeding. “Tell him we need a cleanup.”
Lifting Mina into my arms, I rush to the door and almost bump into the manager who enters as I’m about to exit.
“What the hell is going on?” he yells. “One of the maids heard gunshots. What in the name of…” He trails off as he takes in the destruction and corpses. His face goes white.
“We’ve been set up,” I say, shoving him aside.
He glances at Mina’s still form. “You can’t leave,” he says in a shaky voice. “You have to stay here and deal with this.”
Coming out of the bedroom, Ilya says, “A team from the government is on the way.” He slips his phone into his pocket. His tone is clipped, his manner rushed. “They’ll make it look like part of the drug war happening all around the country at the moment.”
“But—” The manager gags as he looks at one of the bodies. “My hotel.”
“Keep the floor locked down until our connection gets here,” I call from over my shoulder, running for the fire escape. We can’t risk taking the elevator. No one must see us leave the building.
Ilya runs ahead to get the door. I dial Anton on the satphone via voice command as I make my way down the stairs as fast as I can without risking a fall.
“I’m on my way,” Anton says over the drone of an engine. He’s in the plane.
“How long?” I ask.
“Twenty minutes.”
“Do you have enough fuel to take us to Budapest?”
He doesn’t ask what happened or why Budapest. He knows the questions can come later. “I’ll refuel at the hangar.”
“We’ll meet you there.”
Ilya opens the service door and scans the alley. The exit is only used for deliveries and putting out trash. No one is about. We’re in a blind spot where the city cameras don’t reach. The getaway car is parked next to the trashcans. Ilya fishes the key from my pocket and unlocks the doors. We’ve left Mina’s bag with the phone and our weapons behind, but our connection will get rid of those before letting the feds in on the murder scene. We’re out of ammo anyway. The time to collect the rifles would’ve only slowed us down.
I shift into the backseat, carefully keeping an unconscious Mina in my lap. I pull the safety belt around both of us and secure the clasp. It’s going to be a fast drive.
Ilya takes the wheel. He’s a competent driver. I trust him to get us there safely. He sticks to the speed limit until we’re out of the busy city center and then pushes down on the accelerator. The airfield is a forty-minute drive away, but we make it in just over twenty.
Anton waits outside the hangar. He takes one look at Mina before running ahead of us to the plane. He pats the wing. “She’s ready.”
We scramble inside, me in the back with Mina in my arms and Ilya in the front next to Anton. Questions burn in my mind. What happened? Who the fuck betrayed us? Ripping off my gloves, I check Mina’s pulse. It’s faint, but it’s there.
