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Chapter Twelve
Although Andrei couldn’t deny a nagging sense of remorse that lingered within him, he steadfastly refused to accept guilt for his past choices. He had done what was necessary to protect the Guzuns and to keep Vanya safe, or so he told himself. But deep down, he knew there had been other routes that wouldn’t have involved hurting her to prevent the impending war and shield the Guzun family from further violence.
“Yeah, my plan fucking royally backfired,” he muttered as he walked into the underground bunker of the house. With Janos Smirnoff gone, there was no one left to restrain Sanders’ vicious ambitions. By killing Janos, Vanya had unknowingly accelerated the execution of Sanders’ deviousness and had shattered Andrei’s intricate plans to get rid of him without a full-out war erupting.
“Stop wishing upon a star, Smirnoff. The damage is done. There’s no going back.”
With economic movements, he systematically checked the various parameters flashing on the screens against the wall of the security room. All the CCTV camera footage in and around the house as well as the yard fed into this room, including the visuals from the drones that permanently covered the area over the entire estate. Since he had brought Zafira here, he had taken all precautions to keep her alive.
“Just as I thought,” he said through clenched teeth as he detected Vanya deviating from the public road onto a footpath leading into the thick forest. “Completely disregarding every damn instruction I gave her.” Linking the drone live visuals to his smart watch and muttering incoherently, he headed outdoors, setting off at a fast pace to intercept her.
“It’s time the little chit is taught a lesson. It seems the whipping the other night wasn’t enough. I should just pick a switch from one of the trees and swat her ass until the blood flows.”
Andrei sprinted through the dense forest, his boots pounding against the muddy earth. The branches whipped past in a blur as he pushed his body to its limits. His enhanced senses were on high alert, detecting a threatening presence that should not be lurking in these woods. The estate guards were wrong. He had to be concerned. Adrenaline flooded his veins as he realized the potential danger Vanya faced.
Foolish woman!His jaw clenched tight with annoyance that she had ignored his explicit instruction not to leave the house unaccompanied. Now, she was vulnerable, exposed to whoever was stalking these woods. “Hopefully, she had enough sense to take her weapons.”
Andrei inhaled deeply, picking up the faint scent of Vanya’s perfume mingled with the earthy smells of the forest. Checking the small screen of his watch, he zeroed in on her location.
“Fuck,” His heart skipped a beat as he picked up the snap of twigs and rustle of leaves off to his left. “I hope that’s an animal and not a perpetrator.”
Desperation clawed at his heart, driving his legs faster. He had to reach her first. The thought of anything happening to Vanya made his blood run cold. This was all his fault. If he had just forced her to leave yesterday instead of allowing her to stay, she would be safely back home now.
Instead, he had let his guard down. Andrei cursed himself for his foolishness. It had nothing to do with feeling safe in the estate and all the preventive measures he had in place. No, he had been selfish. He wanted her near, needed to feel her warm hatred washing over him. Perhaps in a way to castigate himself for causing her all the pain that had pushed her over the edge. Whatever his reasons, he had been wrong. If something had to happen with her under his care, he would never forgive himself. Whether or not they were wrong for each other, she was his sole redemption in this dark and violent world. He could not—would not—lose her. With newfound focus, Andrei summoned every ounce of preternatural speed and pushed his legs harder.
“There you are, you little chit,” he growled as he detected her jogging at a leisurely pace on the footpath. Keeping to his sprint through the rough terrain, he intercepted her at the next turn.
“Blyad’! Fucking hell, Andrei! You nearly gave me a heart attack,” she snapped when he suddenly stood in front of her.
His eyes darkened as he took in her defensive stance, with the twelve-inch K-bar clutched in her hand.
“At least you remembered to bring a weapon with you,” he barked angrily.
She snorted as she sheathed the knife. “I never go anywhere without it. I thought you knew that about me.”
“What I do know about you is that you have the sense of a house mouse. You don’t listen, do you?”
“I’m not a child, Balan, and you’re not my father nor my keeper. I come and go as I please.”
“Not as long as you live in my house.” He crossed his arms. “Or are you deliberately leaving the way open to haveComarekilled?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Since I had to come and look for you, she’s alone at the house. Not good, Vanya, especially since the guards detected an uninvited guest on the hill outside the fence last night.”
“Shit. Then what are we standing around here for? Let’s go!”
Andrei stiffened as another rustle in the bush alerted him. They stood under a blanket of shadows cast by the canopy of trees surrounding them.
“Don’t move,” Andrei warned as he stepped out and glanced up at a fainéant band of clouds that hung severed about the glowing solar face, revealing its exquisite beauty amid a blue sky. With his head tilted, he listened. While he was running, he could sense a presence that shouldn’t be there. Reaching out, he drew Vanya against his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her back as she attempted to slip away.
“Stop fighting me, damn it. Just keep still and put your arms around me,” he instructed in a tolerant voice as she squirmed in his embrace.
“Don’t fucking tell me what to do, Balan!”
“We’re not alone, Vanya. Do you honestly want to alert the community about dark violence in their midst? Have more innocent people die?”
With a soft exhale, she conceded as she looked around.
