A funny taste lingers at the back of my throat as I slowly open my eyes.
My surroundings gradually come into focus. I’m lying on a dark floor that appears like old, abandoned asphalt. A rotten smell like a public toilet in a forgotten gas station nearly causes me to gag.
I sit up and the world starts spinning like it did this morning. The gray stone walls have some industrialized red numbers on them, but they’re faded, washed away by the merciless hands of time. The few cracks invading the solid surface and a metal bed in the corner are the only things in sight. Its white sheets are yellowish and appear to not have been washed in an eternity.
How did I end up here? After the bag was thrown over my head, I don’t remember anything. Back then, the only thought I had was that I was dying and I couldn’t just die.
The sense of relief at being alive doesn’t hit me as strongly as it should. I might not be dead now, but that could change. Besides, it’s worse if they take me alive. They could use me to try to force Granduncle’s hand on something. It took so much for me to get to where I am, so there’s no way in hell I’ll be the brotherhood’s weakness.
I try to stand up, but I fall back on my ass immediately.
“It’s useless.” The quiet voice coming from beside me startles me. I didn’t know I wasn’t alone.
Aleksander sits by my side, his legs outstretched in front of him and his arms limp by either of his sides. There’s a cut in the shoulder of his jacket and his soft features appear strained, numb, even.
“They injected us with something,” he continues, still staring at the wall across from us. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s robbing me of energy.”
Now that I focus on my body, it feels hot and kind of numb, like I can’t control my limbs. I try to stand up again, but I fall back faster than the first time.
“Better save your energy, miss.”
“Shit,” I pant.
“Shit, indeed.”
I stare at him sideways. His lips are dry and cracked, which could mean he’s dehydrated. I motion at his jacket where there’s a red hole. Stains of blood cover his cheeks, too, giving him the look of a wounded warrior. “Did you lose a lot of blood?”
He stares at his injury as if he forgot it’s there. “No. This should be fine.”
“How did you end up here too?”
“They took me in place of Boss.”
“Kirill?”
“Yes.”
“Why would they want to take Kirill?”
“I’m not sure. I just knew I had to protect him.”
The amount of blind loyalty Aleksander has for Kirill is insane. He’d literally die for him. As would Katia and Ruslan for me, I guess. I hope they didn’t get caught in the gun war.
“We need to come up with a plan to escape,” I tell him.
“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.”
“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…” He clears his 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.” He smiles a little. It’s the first time I’ve seen Aleksander smile, and I hate to be like the other guards who compare him to a girl, but he really looks like one right now.
“Doesn’t hurt to try.” I smile back. “Let’s escape first, then we’ll talk.”
The door bangs open and both of us stiffen against the wall. We don’t try to scramble away because that’s not only useless considering whatever they injected in our systems, but it also would drain our energy sooner rather than later.
Five men walk inside, all tall and broad with mean features. The bald one, who appears to be their leader, approaches me with a gleam in his light eyes.
He has a scar that cuts across his bald head and ends right above his eyelid. When he speaks, it’s in a thick Eastern European accent. “We should start with this one. You’ll scream for your uncle and husband, won’t you, kitten?”
Two men charge toward me, each trying to grab me by the arm. I kick and push at them, but not only am I outnumbered, my body also doesn’t feel like mine. My movements are slow, and every time I punch them, they laugh and speak in their language, which I don’t understand.
Aleksander tries to help me, but the other two hold him down on his knees and press down on the wound in his shoulder. He bites his lower lip to not release any sound of pain.
“Get her on her knees,” the bald one orders. “I want those lips around my cock.”
The guards get me in position, lust shining through their eyes. The sick assholes must’ve been promised a share after their leader is done.
The bald one gets his short, fat dick out and places it at my mouth. I don’t open, glaring up at him. I’m going to fight tooth and nail before I let them touch me. I’m a Sokolov, and we don’t go down without a fight.
He motions at the other guard, and they punch Aleksander across the stomach. He groans, falling to the ground, but they hold him upright, one of them grabbing him by his injured shoulder.
“For every second you don’t suck me off like a good whore, that girly faggot will be punched. How long until he dies, I wonder?”
The guards hit him again and blood explodes from his mouth.
“Wait a second.” One of the men holding Aleksander crouches in front of him and feels at his chest. Aleksander tries to shoo them away, groaning and bucking until his face turns red.
The guard unbuckles Aleksander’s pants and boxers. I don’t want to watch the assault, but if I close my eyes, how am I a leader? Aleksander is one of our men, and if I let him go through this alone, it’s no different than betraying my role.
Gritting my teeth, I force myself to stare at his face, to tell him it’ll be fine even if I, myself, am not so sure of that. Aleksander isn’t focused on me, though. He’s lost his cool head and is blindly trying to ward them off, which only gets him hurt more.
I’m about to call his name, but pause when his pants and boxers are pulled down to his knees. Instead of the penis I expected to see, there are…female genitals.
“Fucking shit. Jackpot, boss.” The guard grins. “It’s a woman.”
My incredulous gaze meets Aleksander’s, who lowers his eyes, a tear sliding down his cheek—or more accurately, her cheek.
She’s a woman. Aleksander has a been a woman all along.
I should’ve suspected it since the beginning considering her features, but she’s such an excellent guard, stronger than many of her male counterparts, that no one dared to question her gender, even when they joked about her looks.
“Have fun with her while I have fun with this one.” The bald guy runs his meaty fingers along my cheek.
The two other men flip Aleksander on her back, and something inside me snaps.
I grit my teeth, but I don’t open my mouth, not until I make sure Aleksander meets my gaze.
Now, I tell her.
Then I swallow the clog in my throat and open my mouth. Ever since that day I first gave Kyle a blowjob, I swore to never do it to any other man after him. Ever since that moment, I felt like every part of me belonged to him and him alone.
Now that I’m in the midst of this situation, I can only think of him and how much I wish he were here, because if he were, no one would ever touch me.
But since he’s not, I need to get this done myself.
As soon as the bald guy’s dick is inside my mouth, I bite down on it as hard as I can. A metallic taste explodes on my tongue. The guard by my side kicks me in the stomach so I release his boss.
I grunt as I push away from him. The bald man wails and I back up, using their distraction with their leader to reach Aleksander.
They’re too busy to notice me, one imprisoning her down and the other trying to shove his dick inside her. I use all my energy to kick the one holding her down and steal his gun.
Aleksander kicks the other one, then holds him in a headlock. As he screams, she steals his gun, then breaks his neck, the sickening crack echoing in the air.
I shoot one of the bald man’s minions in the leg, turn to the leader, and shoot him in the dick. Then one more time in the forehead, for good measure. We run out of there, back-to-back in case the others follow.
Aleksander holds her pants up with one hand and buttons them.
Wait, it’s not Aleksander, though.
“Is your name Aleksander?” I ask. “Do you prefer I call you that?”
“It’s Aleksandra,” she whispers, not meeting my gaze. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Any time.”
We sprint toward the nearest exit even though it feels like I’m about to collapse. My breathing is harsh and irregular, and the slightest movement feels like climbing a mountain. Both of us are panting by the time we hear distorted voices. They’re after us, and by the sound of the thudding footsteps, it seems as if the number doubled from when they first barged inside.
Aleksandra and I exchange a look and then we each hide behind a wall, across from one another. If we have to fight to the death, so be it.
We fire at the ones following us, then move positions so they don’t catch us. Our bullets are running out, though. At this rate, they will catch us again and it’ll be worse than the first time.
Bang!
Aleksandra and I freeze at the sound of the explosion. That was some sort of bomb. Sure enough, soon after, a multitude of gunshots follow.
No one is shooting at us anymore or following us, but the sound doesn’t cease.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Then, we hear Russian voices. Aleksandra and I stare at each other and smile.
They came for us.
We carefully slide out of our hiding spot and follow the sound of the guns. Sure enough, Kirill and his men are at the front, eliminating anyone in their path. Damien is there, too, shooting out bullets like they’re candy, an ammunition belt slung casually over his shoulder.
My heart leaps out of my throat when I catch a glimpse of Kyle pushing a guard to the ground. He usually prefers sniping positions that are far away from any conflict. This is the first time he’s willingly gone into a battlefield.
He has three of the Albanians kneeling in front of him when his gaze meets mine.
They’re still as hypnotizing as ever, but they’re dark and enraged as if he’s been thrust into a different state of being. One where his main purpose is to kill and maim.
He places a gun at the back of the first guard’s head. “Did he touch you?”
I nod. He’s one of the two who held me down.
Kyle doesn’t blink as he pulls the trigger. The body falls to the ground as he moves to the next. “Did this fucker put his hands on you? Did he touch what’s mine, Rai?”
The guard is about to piss his pants, lips trembling and pale. It’s the first time I’ve seen his face, so I shake my head.
Kyle shoots him anyway. “He participated.”
And then he goes on to finish the third one without even asking me. Their bodies lie lifeless at his feet, but he still watches them as if he’s contemplating a way to bring them back to life just so he can kill them all over again.
It’s one of the rare times Kyle lets me see this side of him up close and personal—the merciless killer. The one who will finish a life as if it’s a fly’s. And he did it for me. For some reason, it’s like he learned everything up to this point so he could kill for me.
I should feel bad or be struck by some sort of remorse for being the reason behind so many people’s deaths, but I don’t. They’re sick motherfuckers and they made many other women’s lives hell. If Kyle hadn’t come in time, Aleksandra and I would’ve met the same fate.
And then, I wouldn’t have seen my husband’s face again.
I don’t allow myself to think as I run toward Kyle and jump on him. My body crashes into his, arms wrapped around his neck and legs caging his waist.
He staggers back a little at the force of the impact but loops both his arms around me, including the one with the gun. He inhales me in and I do the same, allowing myself to let my guard down, just for a second.
When in his embrace, I’m protected and safe. I probably shouldn’t feel this way around someone I don’t fully trust, but I can’t ward off this strange feeling of belonging.
“Are you okay?” he whispers slowly.
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’m glad you came, Kyle. I’m so glad.” I don’t know how it would’ve ended if he weren’t around.
I try to get to my feet, but he doesn’t release me, at least not until Ruslan and Katia rush toward us. I squeeze his bicep so he sets me down, but he does that reluctantly and keeps an arm around my waist.
Katia watches me with moisture in her eyes. “Miss…we’re so sorry we weren’t there.”
“What are you sorry about? I’m the one who sent you off.”
“But—”
“I’m fine, Katy. It takes much more than this to hurt me.”
“But you look pale,” Ruslan says.
Kyle places two fingers under my chin and lifts it up so I’m staring at him. “You do.”
“It’s nothing.” I smile, forcing Kyle to release me so I can assess the situation around us.
The Albanians are completely wiped out, at least the ones here. And judging by Damien’s expression, he’s not very amused that it ended so soon.
Kirill is barking orders at his guards, probably to clean up, since we don’t want the authorities at our backs. Aleksandra stands to the side, and when she attempts to help, Kirill dismisses her.
Her eyes meet mine, and I smile at her. She approaches me and clears her throat, adopting her ‘male’ voice. “Thank you.”
“Likewise, Aleksander.” I take the hint to call her by the name she goes by in public. If she doesn’t want people to know, I won’t tell.
“You can call me Sasha, miss.” She bows and heads to Kirill, who has been watching us the entire time while wiping blood off his glasses.
As soon as Aleksandra—Sasha—joins him, he gives me an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture. He then pushes Sasha to walk in front of him on their way out.
The asshole doesn’t deserve a diligent worker like her. I didn’t like her guts and her loathsome loyalty to Kirill when she was a man, but now that I’ve found out she’s a woman, I’m sure dire circumstances pushed her to hide her gender. Maybe I can steal her away.
“What are you thinking about?” Kyle turns me around to face him and I stumble. The room starts spinning and my vision blurs.
Kyle clutches me by the small of my back and his hand digs into my arm to keep me upright. “What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“You should see a doctor.”
“There’s no need. I think it’s because of whatever they gave us.” I stroke his collar, lowering my tone. “How about you take me home?”
“I’m taking you to a doctor, Rai,” he says in his non-negotiable tone.
I shake my head as I let him carry me toward the car.
A doctor is the last thing on my mind right now. All I want is Kyle for myself.
