Opening the door, I notice that Nik isn’t outside, but Ivan is. “Hi, Ivan, where’s Nik?” I ask as I step out and close the door. If Nik isn’t around, he usually sends me a text to let me know.
“He had something he had to do. You want to go see your mother?” he asks as he calls the lift.
“No, not now. I have my final exam to take. Therefore, I need to go to university, and I’m already running a little late, so we need to hurry.” I look into my bag to make sure I have my ID.
“Not a good idea to go out,” Ivan says with a scowl as we step into the lift.
“It will be fine, and I need to take this exam. There is no way out of it.” I know he’s not too keen on accompanying me out of the building, but there is no other way. If he doesn’t want to go, I will go by myself.
“Boss is not going to like this,” he grumbles as he opens the car door for me.
Stepping in, I strap on the seatbelt and sit back. Looking at my phone, I notice that the exam is starting in thirty minutes. We need to hurry or I’m going to miss it. “Please hurry, Ivan,” I plead as I text a message to Lara, letting her know that after the exam, I will see her at Sweet Addictions.
He grumbles something in Russian but speeds towards the university. We’re nearly there when I see him look in the rear-view mirror and swear. “What’s wrong?” I ask, looking behind us.
“There’s a car following us with three of Salazar’s men,” he grumbles as he suddenly does a U turn and accelerates down a side street. Looking back, I see that the car is still following and catching up. “Fuck,” he roars. “Call boss. Put it on speaker.” He turns sharply.
My hands are shaking as I dial Alexey’s number. The phone rings twice before he picks up. “Jade?” he asks with concern in his voice, as I’ve never phoned him before, but before I can say anything, Ivan is talking to him in Russian. Suddenly, the car following us rear ends us, making me scream in fright.
“Motherfuckers,” I hear Alexey roar, and then he talks in Russian to Ivan. I see Ivan pale, but he simply answers yes to whatever Alexey said to him. “Jade?”
“Yes.” I know my voice is shaky, but nothing like this has ever happened to me before.
“Malysh, Ivan is making his way to the club. I’m already on my way to you. I also have my men on their way towards you to cut them off,” he states.
“O . . . Okay,” I stutter, but then I scream when they shoot at us. “Alexey, they’re shooting!” I scream as I look back and see one of the guys aiming again. “Alexey!” The guy shoots again, and then the car is swerving. Ivan swears, saying something in Russian. I hear Alexey say something, his voice urgent, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. They must have shot the tyre because I see Ivan trying to straighten the car, but he doesn’t manage it before we are crashing into a truck parked on the side of the road.
The crash must have knocked me out, because when I come to, there is smoke everywhere. Looking at Ivan, I see that he’s slumped in his seat, blood running from a cut on his forehead. I hear voices, but my thoughts are scattered, and I can’t tell where the voices are coming from. Then the door on my side opens, and a man I’ve never seen is unbuckling my seatbelt and pulling me out.
I’m about to thank him and ask him to go back for Ivan when I see another man behind him with a gun drawn. Wait, are these the guys who were following us? My mind is swirling again as I feel such raw pain, and with all the movement, I can feel myself start to lose consciousness. I fight the darkness, but it’s stronger than me. When I come to again, I’m lying on the ground and there is shooting around me. Turning my head, I open my eyes, but the light is blinding. I see a man next to me on his haunches behind a car as he shoots.
There is another man next to him, but this one is sitting with his back to the car as he holds his bleeding shoulder. Looking to my other side, I see a store window and the reflexion of men on the other side of the car shooting. Only when my vision starts to clear do I notice that I recognize some of them, and then I see Vlad, but his back is to the glass as he holds Alexey back by his shoulders. Concentrating, I see Alexey’s face, and my heart twists at the rage there.
“Jade?” I hear him roar, but my voice seems to be stuck in my throat. I hear the guy who’s on his haunches say something in what seems like Spanish, and then the one with the bleeding arm looks at me and realizes that I’m awake.
“The puta’s awake,” he grunts as he kicks his foot and hits me on the thigh, making me whimper in pain. The guy on his haunches turns and then sits me up as he pulls me before him. The movement makes me want to empty my stomach, but I fight to keep it in.
“Stop shooting or I kill her now,” the guy screams. A few minutes later, there is complete silence. He starts to rise, pulling me with him. As soon as we’re standing, I can see Alexey with Vlad standing next to him, but I notice that he still has his hand on Alexey’s shoulder. The Injured guy also stands and moves slightly behind us.
“We’re going to get in the car, and you’re not going to follow us or she dies,” the guy behind me says as he pushes a gun to my temple. The arm around my waist is so tight that I find it difficult to get a breath in.
“Let her go or you will die a painful death,” Alexey says in such a guttural voice that I feel the hairs on my arms stand. Before us is the Bratva Boss, no mercy, no forgiveness. His eyes are burning his rage, his hate of the men behind me.
The guy behind me laughs. “You think I will just let—” But then there is a flash as Vlad lifts his gun and shoots. Blood splatters over my face and body as the guy slightly behind us gurgles and then falls. I feel the arm around my waist loosen, and the gun that was against my forehead disappears. I can’t catch a breath. I know I’m going into shock, but I’ve never seen anyone die. Now I’m covered in someone else’s blood. I start to fall, but before I can touch the ground, I’m being lifted into someone’s arms.
Opening my eyes, I see Nik has the guy who had the gun to my forehead on the floor with his arms behind him and his knee on his neck. “Breathe, lyubov moya,” Alexey murmurs against my ear, his arms tight around me. I lift my head and look at him; there are lines of pain next to his eyes as he looks down at me with such anguish that it makes my eyes finally overflow, and then there are tears running down my cheeks. “I’m sorry, lyubov moya, so sorry.” He buries his head against my hair.
My mind wanders again as if not belonging to me. I wanted to get away from violence, but it looks like violence came for me. I can feel my body start to shake, and Alexey is urgently whispering in my ear, but I don’t hear anything. I know that if I don’t slow down my breathing, I’m going to pass out. I have had panic attacks before, but I thought now that I was away from my father, they would end.
My mind keeps replaying the accident and then the men’s faces as they pulled me out of the car. There’s a jumble in my head as I try to grab on to one thought, but it leaves and something else floats into my mind. I know there is something I’m trying to block out, but what? My head is spinning, and I know I’m being dragged into darkness again. Just as it’s taking me, I feel an excruciating pain in my shoulder, and then it comes to me, making me whimper. Before I give in to the darkness, my last thought is that I’ve been shot.
ALEXEY 11
It has been a week since we burned three of Salazar’s prostitution houses to the ground. I find it strange there has been no comeback, but we’re alert, and I have extra men at my clubs every day. The Elementals have also taken over the transportation of my armament; therefore, I can concentrate on what to do.
“We’ve checked everyone. There is nothing,” Vlad reports as he punches his fist into his hand.
“There has to be. were there any suspicions?” I ask with a frown. Vlad and I have been keeping the information to only the people who really need to know and hoping that none of them are the leak. There’s a knock at the door, and then Nik and Andrei walk in. We’re attacking the other three prostitution houses today, and I asked that they check that ev
erything is set before I give the go ahead.
“All good, Boss. There was some movement, but nothing suspicious,” Andrei reports.
“We can go as soon as you give the go ahead. The men are all in place,” Nik states as he stands behind Vlad.
“Has there been any sign of Salazar?” We haven’t been able to locate Salazar since the trouble began. The fucker must be hiding somewhere.
“No, I’ve got men scoping out his mansion, and others at the hotel, but there has been no sign,” Vlad says angrily.
“We need to find out where he is and flush him out. Nik, the guy you interrogated yesterday, was there any info?” I ask. Jade doesn’t go out much, staying close to her mother and studying. When she does, one of the men has always found Nik, as he’s usually in the building, so it hasn’t been a problem letting him continue with the interrogations that he’s so good at.
“No, a lot of talk on the Keres and how Salazar is sure they will be their victory, but nothing interesting,” Nik reports. I don’t like not knowing where my enemies are. I know my jaw is set as I feel my teeth grinding. I don’t like waiting for them to attack. We need to end this, and the only way is to cut the snake’s head.
“Vlad, when is your next fight?” Vlad is a good fighter; it’s in his blood. He’s never been beaten, but now with this over our heads, I don’t think I like the idea of him being so exposed.
“Next Friday,” he grunts as he rotates his shoulders, trying to loosen the muscles there.
“We might need to postpone the fight,” I state, and see his fists whiten.
“Fuck, Alexey, I’m not going to run from these fuckers,” he roars in Russian as he stands from his chair. His muscles strain under his shirt, his sleeves that are rolled up at the elbows tightening. We both discarded our jackets a while back as we went through the prostitution house plans.
“I’m not going to consider having you exposed for them to get a shot at you,” I state as I stand and face him. Before he can reply, my phone rings. Looking down, I see Jade’s name flash. I lift my hand to stall him. My stomach tightens; Jade has never phoned me before.
“Jade?” I answer, but instead of Jade, I hear Ivan on the line. I pull the phone back and place the call on speaker. “Repeat, Ivan.” I can hear he’s in the car, and he better have a very good reason to be in a car with Jade when everyone knows we’re at war.
“I’m on the way to the university with your woman, Boss, but there is a car following us with three Castilian. They’re coming up fast,” he states, and then swears. I hear Jade scream as I hear a crunch. My hands fist in rage that those fuckers are scaring her.
“Motherfuckers,” I roar. My fury has no bounds as I grab my keys and the phone and make my way out of the office towards the car, the others already hurrying before me.
“We’re on our way to intercept you. Vlad’s already tracking you, and we will be with you in a few minutes. Start making your way towards the club. Ivan, I don’t know why the fuck you took my woman out when you knew we’re at war, but you better make sure she gets to me without a scratch,” I roar as Vlad accelerates and we are speeding out of the club. “You understand me?”
“Da,” he answers.
“Jade?” I call, wanting to hear her voice and make sure she’s fine.
“Yes.” Her voice is shaky in fright, and I can hear her harsh breathing. I wish I was with her now; the thought of her being in danger and frightened is making me lose my shit. I will kill every son of a bitch who thinks they can hurt her. I am usually very calm when under threat, but knowing that Jade is scared has made me lose my calmness.
“Malysh, Ivan is making his way to the club. I’m already on my way to you, and I also have my men on their way towards you to cut them off.” I try to keep my voice calm and free of worry to appease her.
“O . . . Okay,” she stutters, but then she screams, and I swear my heart skips a beat. I hear what sounds like a shot. I punch the passenger door with my fury. I feel so useless, and that is not a feeling I do well.
“Alexey, they’re shooting!” she screams as I hear another shot. “Alexey!”
“Hurry up,” I roar at Vlad as I hear Ivan swear.
“They shot the tyre. I can’t control the car,” Ivan yells.
“Stop the fucking car. We’re a few minutes away,” I shout, but then I hear a loud crunch. “Jade . . . Jade, answer me.” There is only silence. My heart is racing; I rub my face and then pull at my hair in anxiousness. I hear a noise and am about to call for Jade again when I hear a man speak in Spanish. I punch the door again as my rage courses through my body. Looking over at Vlad, I see his jaw is also set, and his hands are fisted on the steering wheel as we race towards Jade.
We come around a corner, and I see the Mustang smoking, as the front of the car has crashed into the back corner of a truck. There are two cars with my men surrounding a dark-blue SUV, and shots are flying. I pull out my gun, ready to walk in there and shoot these motherfuckers who thought it was okay to scare Jade. Vlad stops the car, and I rush out. I’m halfway to the two men hiding behind the SUV when Vlad crashes into me and pushes me back against a stationery car.
“Think, Alexey. If you go in there, you’re going to get shot”—his hands are holding me back—“and that’s not going to help Jade.”
“LET. GO,” I order. His eyes are staring deep into mine, and I can see the uncertainty, but he knows that I won’t do anything crazy. He moves next to me and places his hand on my shoulder in support. I look at the SUV and see that the driver has been shot and is slumping dead in the car. I need to remember to give a raise to whoever shot him. I don’t see Jade, but I guess that she must be behind the car with the two assholes shooting at us.
“Jade,” I roar. I need to know she’s okay, but there is no answer. My heart squeezes in pain at the thought that she might be hurt. I see from the corner of my eye Nik sneaking behind the two. Good. Soon, they will be apprehended.
“Stop shooting or I’ll kill her,” one of the guys screams. I lift my hand, and all my men cease fire. A few minutes later, there is absolute silence. I see one of them stand, and all I want is to put a bullet in his head, but then I see Jade as he places her before him and gets up. The other guy moves to stand covered behind the two, but I can see that he is injured. When my eyes return to Jade, my breath catches when I notice the blood down her purple top. I can see her eyes are misted in pain and her head is slumped as if she’s unaware of what’s happening.
“We’re going to get in the car, and you’re not going to follow us or she dies,” the guy holding Jade says as he pushes a gun into her temple. Seeing my woman being handled like that by that son of a bitch is driving me insane, and I don’t know if I will be able to hold myself back much longer.
“Let her go, or you will die a painful death,” I promise. There is no mercy for these men, and when I find Salazar, he will die by my hand a very slow and painful death. I see that Nik is nearly upon them. When he looks at us, waiting for the go ahead, I nod.
“You think I will just let—” the guy starts to say, but then Vlad is shooting the one behind Jade, and Nik attacks her assailant, pull his arm that is holding the gun down and away from her, and then she is free and I’m running towards her as she falls to the ground. I manage to get to her before she hits the ground and pull her tight against me. My breathing finally calms, my heart still racing in anguish when I see how pale she is.
“Breathe, lyubov moya.” Breathe, my love I repeat in my head. How did she become my world, my centre, the balance in my life? She lifts her head and looks deep into my eyes. Tears running down her cheeks break my heart. Vlad opens the back door to the car and then runs around to take us out of here. I know that Nik will bring the perpetrator back, and I will deal with him later, but for now, the only thing that matters is for us to get Jade to a doctor. “I’m sorry, lyubov moya, so sorry.”
I feel anguish fill my being as Jade goes limp in my arms. “Hurry,” I plead with Vlad. Her complex
ion is so pale and her breathing shallow. I’ve got pressure on her shoulder where the bullet penetrated, but there is so much blood that I don’t think it’s helping. I bury my face in her hair, taking in her essence. “Stay with me, lyubov moya. I need you,” I whisper softly, holding her close.
Vlad screeches to a halt in the basement of our building and runs around to open the door for me. “Is everything prepared?” I ask as I hurry into the lift. We have a room prepared for all these types of emergencies, with every type of medical machine imaginable.
“Yes, and the doctor is already here.” When I step out of the lift, I see the doctor waiting for me with Betty next to her. I place Jade carefully on the bed but find it difficult to let her go. What if I don’t see her beautiful eyes looking up at me again?
“Alexey, I need to look at her, please,” the doctor says gently from next to me. I nod and step back but feel as if a part of me is being ripped apart. The doctor takes her pulse, and then she’s cutting her top away and examining the wound.
“She needs a transfusion,” I hear the doctor tell Betty. “Do you know what blood type she is?” Betty looks over at me with raised eyebrows, and for a moment, I freeze.
“O negative,” I mutter.
Betty turns and rummages in a cooler box that the doctor must have brought with her. She starts to prepare the transfusion, when the doctor throws down her equipment. “She’s crashing,” she yells. My heart feels like it stops at those words. I rush forward, but Vlad places his hands around my waist and starts to pull me back.
“Alexey,” he whispers, “let the doctor help her.”
“Jade,” I roar. She needs to hear my voice. She needs to know that she can’t leave me.
Vlad pushes me against the wall, sticking his face close before me. “Alexey, you need to calm, brat. You’re not helping her like this.” I know he’s right. I must contain my anguish and my rage until Jade is fine. I throw my head back and close my eyes as I lean against the wall, my heart beating in rhythm with each compression the doctor does.
TORMENTED: Bratva Fury (book 1) Page 8