Something drips on my face.
I blink my eyes open and they fill with a red mist.
Blood.
Blood…
And more blood…
No, no, please.
A pool of it surrounds me while I lie on the ground and the stench of death fills my nostrils. I look up and a scream bubbles in my throat at the sight of bodies hanging from the sky.
“Sasha…” a haunted voice calls.
“Sachenka…”
“Malyshka…”
My mom.
Oh, God.
“Mama? Where are you?” I shout as loud as possible. I try to get up, but it’s like I’m strapped to the ground with invisible wires. I thrash and kick, but my limbs don’t move.
“Malyshka…” she calls again, her tone growing more haunted. “Malyshka.”
“Mama!!” I scream until my voice turns hoarse. “I’m here, Mama! I’m down here!”
“Sachenka…”
“Papa?” I choke on my tears. “Is that you, Papa?”
A shadow falls over me and I sob as his face perches over me and then my mother’s follows. “Malyshka.”
“Mama! Papa!” I try to reach a hand out, but I can’t move.
Mama drops to her haunches beside me and strokes my cheek. “You’ve grown so much, Malyshka.”
“Yeah, I have…” I choke, unable to articulate words or all the emotions I want to blurt out.
“I’m so proud of how well you’ve survived.”
“Mama…”
“Find your brother, Sachenka,” my father says faintly, almost as if he’s speaking from underground. “You need Anton and he needs you.”
“But I have no clue where he is. It’s like he completely disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Find Anton!” he orders in a harsh tone and I flinch.
Mama smiles with tears in her eyes, but they soon turn to blood. A slit appears in Papa’s neck and then his head falls to the side, grotesquely dislocated from his body. My mother’s eyes shoot out a fountain of blood and then they both explode into a foam of red mist.
“Nooo!” I screech as I’m jerked down to the pool of blood.
My eyes shoot open and all the red disappears. I don’t relax, though. I still can’t move. At least, not like I usually can.
If it were any other time, I’d be able to jump to my feet and inspect the situation, but right now, I can barely turn my head to the side or lift my arm.
I’m lying on my stomach, and the fractured concrete beneath me freezes my limbs despite my layers of clothes.
Gray stone walls surround me, and the smell of urine reeks from the corners.
On the other side of the room sits an old rusty bed that’s covered with a yellow sheet that could also be the source of the pungent smell.
There’s a metal door with thick bars. If I can get to it, I should be able to pick the lock with my knife. Only, I don’t feel its holster strapped to my calf, which means I was searched for weapons before I was thrown into this fucking hole.
But even if I had my knife, I’m unable to move, let alone pick a lock.
The only explanation for this loss of strength is that I was also injected with something.
As my unfocused eyes move around the room, I’m shocked to find a woman lying next to me. Although her face is covered by her blonde mane of hair, I can tell by the familiar dress that it’s Rai. Damn it. This means both of us were kidnapped by our attackers—the Albanians.
A sense of terror grips hold of me and I find it hard to breathe properly. Did they possibly reach Kirill after they hit me?
I internally shake my head. There’s no way in hell he let them get him. It’s Kirill, after all, so he must’ve gotten out of it alive. No, not only alive, but also unscathed. They couldn’t have killed him.
He has to be safe.
Using all the strength I can muster, I push myself off the floor but soon sag into a sitting position against the wall.
Something burns in my arm and when I look down, I see a tear along the sleeves of my jacket and shirt. I must’ve been grazed by a bullet. But that’s not what has me panicking.
It’s that I only have access to ten percent of my energy, and most of that is being used to breathe and try not to swallow my tongue that feels too big for my mouth.
I tap my pockets and, as expected, don’t find my phone.
My chin trembles and I think I’ll turn into a crybaby again, as is usually the case whenever Kirill is involved.
What if he was shot during the attack today, and this time, I’m not there to help him?
It was only days ago that I promised to be by his side and protect him with my life, but I’m here, alive, and he’s not.
I stare at the door. I need to get out of here, but how will I do that when I can barely move?
Besides, why did they kidnap me? It makes sense for them to take Rai since she can be used to threaten the Pakhan, but what about me?
Did they do this to threaten Kirill with me?
That theory doesn’t make sense for two reasons. One, Kirill is known to have no weaknesses—except his alleged homosexuality that Rai is threatening him with. Two, he is not close with anyone in his family—except Karina—but they don’t know that.
It’s not possible that they’d use me to threaten him when I’m just a guard. Unless they had someone watching and reporting his daily life to whoever is the leader of these guys?
That doesn’t make sense.
But still, that’s the theory I want to believe. I loathe the prospect of being used to twist Kirill’s arm, but if they kidnapped me to threaten him, then that means he’s alive and I should stop thinking about the worst-case scenario.
A moan of pain comes from Rai before she struggles to get up like I did earlier. Her hair that’s usually very well put together has several strands escaping on the sides. Her makeup is highly recommended, though, because it’s mostly stayed in place except for some smudges of black beneath her eyes.
“It’s useless,” I say in a quiet voice.
Rai startles before she looks up, weariness covering her expression.
“They injected us with something,” I continue. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s robbing me of energy.”
She attempts to stand up, only to fall back again with a resounding thud.
“Better save your energy, Miss.” I speak in my polite ‘male’ voice.
“Shit,” she heaves.
“Shit, indeed.”
She glimpses at me in that inquisitive way in which she watches everyone and everything. She’s known to be heartless, and while I don’t really like her due to the threat she poses to Kirill, I respect her no-bullshit personality.
She motions at my arm. “Did you lose a lot of blood?”
I look down to see what she’s talking about. In my overthinking about Kirill’s state, I actually forgot I was wounded. “No. This should be fine.”
“How did you end up here, too?”
“They took me in place of Boss.”
“Kirill?”
My lips start to tremble at the renewed thought of him getting hurt, but I clamp them shut. “Yes.”
“Why would they want to take Kirill?”
“I’m not sure. I just knew I had to protect him.”
She pauses, looking at me peculiarly for a second before a bright gleam covers her eyes. “We need to come up with a plan to escape.”
I nod. “Our best option is if one of us causes a diversion and the other escapes.”
“I will do it.”
“No. You’re the Pakhan’s grandniece. I’m disposable, so I’ll do it.”
“Even though you’re Kirill’s guard, you’re not disposable. None of our men are, even if you hate me.”
That catches me completely by surprise and I have to swallow a few times before I speak. “I don’t hate you.”
“Your boss does.”
“That’s because you’re threatening him, Miss.”
“Only to protect myself. I won’t cause any of you harm if you don’t cause me harm.”
“Does that mean you’re not…” I clear my throat. “You know, against his preferences?”
“Why would I be? They’re his preferences and no one’s opinion matters. As I said, I will only use his sexuality against him if he threatens me. I would rather not, but that’s the only thing I’ve got on him, considering how closed off he is. If you tell me something else…I can ditch it.”
“Nice try, Miss.” My lips twitch in a smile. This woman really deserves to be on the board and within the inner circle.
“Doesn’t hurt to try.” She mirrors my smile. “Let’s escape first, then we’ll talk.”
I attempt to come up with a way she can create a diversion. The pins keeping her French twist in place can help me in picking the lock—
The door is thrown open, hitting the wall with a bang. Rai and I both go still. As an unspoken agreement, we don’t attempt to escape. We need to preserve our energy for when we have a real chance.
Five muscular men with angular features waltz inside as if this is their show and this god-awful room is their stage. They’re wearing black leather jackets and pants, as if they’re part of an MC club.
A bald guy with a scar that slashes down his head to his eyelid—definitely their leader—heads in Rai’s direction with a sleazy look in his eyes.
“We should start with this one. You’ll scream for your uncle and husband, won’t you, kitten?” He has a thick accent that’s more East European than Russian.
Two of his men pounce on Rai, each grabbing her by an arm. She thrashes and kicks, but due to whatever drug they injected us with, she does little to no damage. They laugh at her, speaking among themselves in Albanian.
I jerk in her direction, kicking one in the shin but the other two men push me to my knees and one of them applies pressure on my injury. Pain explodes through my arm and I sink my teeth in my lower lip to stop the sound that’s attempting to escape.
“Get her on her knees,” the leader orders. “I want those lips around my cock.”
Shit.
The man pushes Rai into position, and one of them even adjusts his crotch like a pig.
The leader waltzes toward her while unbuttoning his pants, then he pulls out his short, thick dick and jams it against her pursed lips.
Rai glares up at him as if he’s nothing more than the dirt beneath her shoes.
His eyes bulge red and he motions at the men holding me. One of them drives his fist into my stomach and it feels like he’s rearranged my guts. A groan escapes me as I drop to the floor. Then the two assholes push me upright and the other one digs his fingers into my injury.
I grunt as it pulses with intense pain.
“For every second you don’t suck me off like a good whore, that girly faggot will be punched.” The leader speaks with sickening arrogance. “How long until he dies, I wonder?”
The men punch me again and again. Blood explodes from my mouth and I feel like vomiting my guts out.
A feeling of frustration whirls through me like a storm. Just why the fuck did I have to lose my energy now? I’m virtually useless.
“Wait a second.” One of the men crouches in front of me and slaps his palm to my chest.
No, no…
Otherworldly energy grabs hold of me and I use everything I have to buck and try to kick them away.
While his friend holds me in place, the one in front of me pulls down my pants and boxers.
Please no…
I catch a glimpse of Rai forcing herself to look at me. Pain lingers in her eyes, but she wants to offer me any form of consolation, even if she’s also on the verge of being assaulted herself.
I go crazy in my attempts to stop them from undressing me. I kick and thrash. I try to bite, too, but it’s impossible to cause any form of injury when I barely have any strength.
Before I know it, I’m half naked in front of their greedy eyes.
“Fucking shit. Jackpot, Boss.” The man who undressed me grins. “It’s a woman.”
I make eye contact with Rai, who can see the evidence of my actual gender, then lower my head, a tear escaping my eye.
I’ve screwed up everything. Me. Kirill. The whole of the Morozov carefully built influence.
“Have fun with her while I have fun with this one.” The leader smiles and turns his attention to Rai.
The two guards push me down on the floor. One stands by my head and hold my hands and the other parts my legs.
Fuck them. No one but Kirill will touch me. No fucking one.
I stare at Rai, only to find her searching my gaze.
Now.
She opens her mouth, but once he stuffs his dick inside, she bites down so hard, the leader howls as blood explodes on her face.
The guard kicks her, so she releases the boss as I try to fight the one who’s hovering over me and pushing his rotten dick against my mouth.
A sense of panic floods my throat as reality sinks in. I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t stop this assault.
Rai kicks the one who’s on top of me and snatches his gun. I hit the other one, then pull him down in a headlock and steal his gun as I break his neck with my arm.
Fuck you, asshole.
A rush of energy surges through me as Rai and I shoot whoever we can. She gets the leader in the dick—I should’ve done that with the other bastard.
I pull up my pants and zip them up. Once I’m decent, we cover each other on the way out.
Once we’re out of the room, which appears to be in a huge basement, we head down a long hallway, looking back at any intersections in case one of them followed us.
Rai wipes the blood off her face with the back of her hand and steals a look at me. “Is your name Aleksander? Do you prefer I call you that?”
“It’s Aleksandra.” I lower my eyes.
“Thank you for helping me.”
“Anytime.”
We run as fast as we can down the hall. The drug is definitely starting to wear off, and the adrenaline helps, but we’re nowhere near our full strength. In fact, it takes a lot of effort for me to stay focused while still running.
I have to shake my head now and again whenever the floor gets blurry.
A noise comes from upstairs and we hide on either side of a hallway that intersects the main one.
We shoot at the soldiers following us, and despite my dizzy state, I manage to kill two. However, I find myself in the same predicament as prior to my kidnapping—I’m running out of bullets. Rai wouldn’t be any better.
And we need to get the hell out of here before they catch us again, because this time, with the damage we inflicted on their leader, they’ll kill us, no questions asked.
Boom!
We freeze when what sounds like a bomb explodes near the stairs leading to the basement. Then a hail of gunfire follows.
The guys who were behind us disappear, and soon after, we hear Russian words and orders.
Oh, God.
I mirror Rai’s smile when she looks at me. We have backup. Or she does because she’s the Pakhan’s grandniece.
Still covering each other, we slip out from behind the wall and head toward the commotion.
A lot of our, Damien’s, and Kyle’s men are shooting the whole place down. Even Damien has a machine gun with the ammunition slung across his body as if this is some sort of toy war.
But that’s not what gets my attention.
It’s Kirill.
He’s on the front line, wearing a vest and leading Viktor, Yuri, Maksim and the guys I’ve grown to consider my family.
Kirill looks regal in his suit, despite the fact that it’s a bit disheveled and droplets of blood smear his forehead.
He’s here for me.
The fight leaves my shoulders and I want to fall to the ground and cry. No, I want to hug him and cry.
I run to him, ignoring everyone and everything in my path.
“Kirill,” I call, but my voice is drowned out by the chaos.
He hears me, though, because his attention flies in my direction immediately. He sprints toward me, killing a man on the way. Blood splatters on his glasses and face, but he doesn’t even blink as he continues jogging until he nearly runs into me.
“You okay?” he breathes the words out as if they’re a prayer, and I want to close my eyes and listen to his voice all day.
I nod and lift a hand to touch his cheek, then I remember we’re not alone and let it fall to my side. “You’re alive.”
“No one will be able to kill me. Or you. Hear me? No fucking one.”
I swallow my tears.
I want to cry. I want to say how happy I am that he’s here, but if I say that right now, I can’t guarantee that I won’t break down in sobs.
So I remain silent and concentrate on the battle.
Soon after, the Albanians are wiped out in droves, mostly by our men and Damien, who went completely rogue.
I only managed to shoot two before I was out of ammunition, so Kirill shielded me from the bullets. He physically pushed me behind him as if he were the bodyguard and I was under his protection.
As I took cover, I could only watch his back as the muscles contracted with each shot he fired.
“Stay beside me,” he orders as he tells the others to clean up.
“That was over too soon,” Damien complains. “They couldn’t put up more of a fight or something?”
I try to help with the cleaning, but a glare from Kirill keeps me rooted in place. I look at Rai and she smiles.
I walk to her as her husband, Kyle, hugs her to his side. “Thank you.”
“Likewise, Aleksander.”
Warmth fills me at the way she respected my apparent gender. I was terrified she’d certainly use this information—that Kirill hired a female guard who’s pretending to be male—to threaten him with, but she proved me wrong.
In more ways than one.
Maybe Rai isn’t as bad as I initially thought.
“You can call me Sasha, Miss.” I offer her a bow of respect. When I lift my head, my eyes clash with Kirill’s icy ones. He’s wiping the blood off his glasses and glaring at us.
I jog to his side, or as much jogging as I can do under the circumstances. The last thing I want to do is spur some sort of war between Kirill and Rai because of me.
When I stop beside him, he gives Rai an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture, then slips his glasses up his nose.
“You don’t have to do that—”
“Shut the fuck up and walk.” He nudges me in front of him not so gently and I stumble but then regain my composure.
What’s wrong with him now? I would almost swear he’s mad at me, but why would he be?
I didn’t do anything to warrant this…or did I?
