by Bella King
“I’m Viktor Kazakov,” he says, a cocky grin spreading on his face.
“I know your fucking name. Give me answers!” I wave my knife at him again. “You’re not a politician. How did you convince my father to let you marry me?”
“Now really isn’t the time for that,” Viktor says, his smile fading. “I need to get you out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you talk,” I say, planting my feet firmly into the floor, intending to stab the bastard if he tries to pick me up and drag me out of here.
I’m pissed off, and I don’t get pissed off easily. My blood is a thousand degrees, and my ears are bright pink. I’m trembling, half because I’m scared shitless, and the other half because I’m just so fucking made at Viktor. I feel as though he has betrayed me.
“It’s too much to explain now,” Viktor says, his voice pleading for me to give in, but he’s out of luck. I’m not letting him win this one.
“I’ll die here, and you’ll have some serious explaining to do to my father. He’ll have your head,” I threaten.
“Your father would never find me. I would vanish back to Russia without a trace,” he says proudly.
“Aha, so you are Russian. I knew you were,” I say, taking the small victory. Baby steps toward the truth are better than nothing at all.
Viktor rolls his eyes. “That much should be obvious.”
“But you told me otherwise, and you even have a US passport. So, you’re a criminal as well as an imposter.”
“Big deal,” Viktor replies with a shrug. “All politicians are. There’s not a single one that didn’t lie their way into office. I just took a less conventional route to get there.”
“But you’re not there yet,” I say, shaking my head and wrinkling my nose at him. “You still have to marry me first.”
“And I will if we make it out of this alive,” Viktor says.
“Don’t bet on marriage after this,” I say, lowering the knife. “But I want you to take me to safety.”
“Marriage is your safety, Cora. By now, my enemies know that we’re together. The only place you’ll be safe is with me,” Viktor explains.
“You’re such a liar. I’d be safer at the estate.”
“The Lauder Estate is crawling with rats,” Viktor says loudly, waving his rifle in the air. “They will kill you in an instant if you return. I’m sorry I had to drag you into this mess, but you’re ultimately safer with me.”
I don’t know whether to believe him, but at this point, I’m facing almost certain death if I try to get out of his house alone. I need Viktor, at least for now. Once we’re safe, I’ll decide what to do about him.
“Let’s go,” Viktor says, waving his hand and stepping toward the opposite door to which he came from.
I follow him, still clutching the knife in my hand so tightly that my flesh might split down the knuckle as we slip through the door into another hallway.
“Get back,” Viktor shouts just as I walk through the doorway, slinging his rifle off his shoulder and cracking a shot down the hall.
It’s at this moment that I get my first glimpse at the enemy. A tall man in a suit fires back down the hall before returning to his hiding spot behind a large china cabinet. He looks Italian and far too well dressed to be a normal criminal. The only indication that he’s not a white-collar worker is the bulletproof vest strapped to his torso and the silver revolver in his hand.
I crouch about a foot behind Viktor as he riddles the china cabinet with bullet holes, trying to get a hit on the man. “Die, motherfucker,” Viktor growls as he empties the entire magazine into the cabinet, sending splinters of expensive dark wood flying in all directions.
A body falls from behind the cabinet as the smoke rises from the end of Viktor’s rifle. A bulletproof vest isn’t enough to protect someone from Viktor’s wrath.
Viktor drops the magazine to the floor and pulls another out of the pocket of his slacks. That explains his run back to the bedroom, at least. I’m glad that we still have ammunition left to load into the guts of our attackers, but I’m still a bit peeved at him for leaving me alone like that. I could have been killed when the bullets cracked through the kitchen window.
“Take the gun,” Viktor says, pointing to the revolver that lays loosely in the dead man’s hand.
My stomach drops as I realize I’ll have to get near the dead man to do that. “Can you hand it to me?” I ask, unwilling to touch a corpse.
Viktor rolls his eyes and stomps over to the man, snatching the pistol out of his hand and thrusting it out to me by the stubby barrel. “Don’t kill anyone unless you’re sure they’re Malaugurio,” he says, rolling his R.
“What’s that?” I ask, taking the gun from his hand. It’s still warm from the man he just killed.
“Italian mafia. Malaugurio means Bad Omen. I might owe them money,” he replies casually.
“You owe the mafia money?” I ask in surprise. This is a lot heavier than I first thought.
“I am the mafia, darling,” he replies, showing his teeth with a crooked smile. “We just don’t get along well with the Italians gangs, aside from Valivonia. They’re settled up in Chicago right now. Maybe we should pay them a visit.”
“Are you nuts? I’m not going to marry into the mafia,” I exclaim, dumbfounded that he’s telling me all of this right before the marriage.
“We’ll see about that,” Viktor mutters, turning down the hall and marching onward.
I scoot past the Malaugurio man on the floor, sending a prayer that he’s forgiven for whatever evil he has done. I believe that even mafia men can be forgiven. I hope that Viktor is when the time comes. As much as I hate what he has dragged me into, I can’t say that I don’t have feelings for him. In all the fakeness, the romance between us is still very real.
Chapter Twenty-One
Viktor
Cora is never going to marry me after this. Curse the Malaugurio. May they rot in the hottest hell imaginable. This is not the time to collect unpaid debts, and this certainly isn’t the proper way to do it. I was going to pay them back like I said… eventually.
Cora’s father is the whole reason I had to borrow money from those bastards in the first place. Five million, I can do, but eleven is too steep, even for a wealthy man like myself. I have other costs to cover, such as paying my guards, keeping operations moving in Russia while I’m overseas, and having a house built for Cora and me to live in. It’s not cheap being a mafia boss.
My frustration with this bullshit is starting to get to me. I emptied out an entire clip into the china cabinet that the suited thug was hiding behind instead of biding my time and saving bullets by luring him out for a single shot to the head. Being liberal with my ammunition may render Cora and me helpless if more of the men come too quickly. I only have one more magazine in my pocket to spare.
Cora is behind me, toting a silver single-action revolver that I doubt she knows how to use properly. The nice thing about single-action revolvers is that they’re stupidly simple to use. All she needs to do is aim and pull the trigger, unlike a double-action where she would have to cock it back first. It’s not the shooting part that I’m concerned about, though. It’s the aiming part.
“Keep that thing pointed up or to the side until you see someone,” I say over my shoulder, making sure she doesn’t put a bullet in my spine by accident.
“I’m not stupid,” he replies, bitterness saturating her tongue.
I know she’s angry with me, and I can’t rightfully blame her, but I did what I needed to do. Maybe I did it improperly, but I would never get to hold office in the United States if I didn’t bribe Jonathan Lauder.
Love always manages to escape me, one way or another. Either it’s by betrayal or by the dangers of the mafia lifestyle, but I can’t seem to avoid it. Even with Cora, who I can’t stop developing feelings for, I suspect that this might be what tears the fabric of our budding relationship apart. I wanted better for us, but instead, I got karma for my a
ctions.
I might now have time to wallow in regret if I don’t make it out of this place alive. I have no idea where Dimitri is, and I can still hear bullets flying through windows in an attempt to pick me off before I can even leave the house.
I lead Cora toward the sauna, a place where I doubt the Malaugurio will have invaded yet. There’s nothing they would perceive as valuable there, and that’s exactly why I chose it for my escape route. There’s a tunnel that goes under the house and leads out into a water pipeline that ultimately empties into the wastewater treatment plant five miles south of here.
It would be a long way to get to the plant, especially with all the waste flowing between our legs, but thankfully, we can escape through a drainage grate on the side of the road. From there, I should be able to call us a ride and figure out where we’re going to go from there.
“I thought we were leaving,” Cora says as I push open the door to the sauna changing room.
“We are,” I answer, failing to give her much more of an explanation. Right now, it’s better for me to get us out than to waste time explaining everything to her. She like to ask questions.
“Oh my god, Viktor,” Cora shouts from behind me as I make quick strides toward the sauna door.
I turn my head to witness Cora pulling the trigger of her revolver at Dimitri, who rolls out of the way before she can kill him. Thank god Cora can’t aim, or she would have killed my right-hand man.
“Jesus, Cora. That’s Dimitri. Put the fucking gun down,” I shout at her.
Dimitri looks like he may have shit himself, and Cora lowers her gun, looking guilty. “I didn’t know. He just came out of nowhere.”
Dimitri laughs nervously as he puts distance between himself and Cora. “I was here waiting for you two to come. I couldn’t make it out to the car. This place is crawling with fucking Malaugurio.”
“Like ants to sugar,” I say, shaking my head. “We need to leave before they swarm the building. I killed one of them in the hallway, which will undoubtedly make them angry.”
“You’re kicking the wasps’ nest with that move,” Dimitri replies.
“He would have killed me and Cora both. They want my head, not just the money I owe them.”
“You really got yourself into trouble with the Malaugurio this time. I thought you were going to pay them back right after,” he says.
“Six million dollars is hard to come by, my friend, but I was going to in due time. They’re just impatient,” I reply, opening the sauna door. “Come, both of you.”
Cora slinks past me, keeping her distance from Dimitri after almost killing him. Her face is bright pink, and that’s just from yesterday’s sunburn. I can tell that she’s embarrassed by her actions. I’ll let this one slide.
“It’s like an oven in here,” Dimitri says, wiping the sleeve of his suit jacket over his forehead.
“The heat should keep the bugs out,” I mutter, looking along the wooden bench for the plank of wood that doubles as I door switch. I hid it well, and even though I’m the one who placed it, I’m having trouble finding it.
“Hurry,” Cora urges.
“Quiet,” I snap, running my hand along the bench. Finally, I feel a slight give to one of the planks. I wrap my fingers around it and yank it upward with enough force to break it if it was secured down properly.
Instead of breaking, the plank comes up smoothly, triggering a release of the entire bench, allowing me to pull it out of place to reveal the hatch that leads to the water drainage system. I motion for Cora to go first. “Jump in the hole and make room for Dimitri once you’re in. It’s a tight fit for the first few meters.”
Cora hesitates by the hole, but I won’t allow her to hold us up. With a light push, I managed to make her stumble in, falling into the darkness below.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cora
I fall into the darkness feet first, unsure of how far down I’ll go before my feet hit solid ground. I might have been angry with Viktor for being rough with me if he hadn’t saved my life. At the same time, he’s the one who put me in a life-threatening position, so I guess it’s even.
My feet hit the cold cement, and my knees buckle. I fall forward, catching myself with my hands and stumbling up before Dimitri jumps in after me. He lands perfectly on his feet beside me, a toothy grin on his marred face.
“Look out below,” Viktor calls into the darkness before jumping down with us. He lands close to Dimitri with a heavy thud, kicking up dust from the cold floor. “Let’s go. They’ll find the exit soon, and we don’t want to get caught in a shootout in the pipeline. There’s no cover.”
I’d rather be back in the building if that’s the case, but I have no idea how many people are attacking the house. I only saw one, but there were enough people shooting through the windows to make me believe the house could be completely surrounded. Viktor certainly seems to think so.
“We’ll have to carjack someone when we get outside,” Dimitri says to Viktor as we start jogging through the pitch-black tunnel.
I can’t see the men in front of me, but I follow their voices so that I can run as close to them as possible without stepping on their heels. Normally, I would be afraid to run in a dark tunnel underground, but my survival instincts have overtaken my fear of the dark. I’d rather be here than be shot.
“I can’t run around assaulting people in broad daylight,” Viktor says, shaking his head. “I’ll call and have a car delivered.”
“You won’t have a signal until we get out onto the road,” Dimitri reminds him.
“We’ll just have to wait then,” Viktor replies, growing irritated.
“The Malaugurio will catch us on the road. We must take a civilian vehicle,” Dimitri insists.
“Jesus Christ, Dimitri. I already told you. I can’t prance around breaking laws like I used to. I’m starting a new life here with Cora,” Viktor scolds as we move toward the sound of running water.
“Maybe you should break the law,” I finally chime in from behind them. “You’ve failed whatever foolish mission you were on that involved marrying me.”
“Cora,” Viktor says, sounding exasperated, “Let’s talk about this later, shall we?”
“It won’t change the fact that you lied to me. I knew you were lying,” I retort.
“That didn’t stop you from riding my cock last night.”
“Guys!” Dimitri injects. “You can save your lovers' quarrels for later. We need to focus on getting to the main waterway. I think we’re close.”
I begin to see a light close by, probably from some maintenance lines in the connected pipeline. It’s bright enough to where I can see Viktor’s large silhouette slowing down in front of me. I’ve never hated and loved a man so much at the same time in my life. He drives me crazy.
“We can exit further down the pipe. There are plenty of drainage points of the main road down from the house,” Dimitri says.
“You’re going to get us killed by waiting up there,” Dimitri says.
“Well, we can’t wait down here, so what’s it going to be? At least on the road, we won’t be visible when the Malaugurio find the pipeline,” Viktor replies.
“I hate following laws. This better be worth it,” Dimitri mutters.
Viktor ignores him, hopping down from the exit of the small pipe into the much larger sewage line. There are maintenance walkways on the side that keep us away from the raw sewage that’s moving slowly down the pipe.
He holds his hand out to me, helping me down from the pipe. At first, I don’t want to take it, but I also don’t want to slip and tumble over the short railing into the sewage. I allow Viktor to clasp his strong hand around mine and steady me as I jump down.
“Thank you,” I say curtly as I dust my oversized robe off. I’d much rather be wearing proper clothes while running from the Italian mafia, but I wasn’t given a chance to get dressed before I was unceremoniously yanked out of bed this morning.
Viktor is still in just a pair o
f slacks, while Dimitri is fully dressed in a suit. I consider asking him for his jacket, but after nearly killing him, I figure it’s best to leave him alone. It’s not his fault that we’re wandering through the sewer in fear of our lives. Viktor is the one who put us all in this situation, but he doesn’t even have a shirt to steal.
Viktor confidently strides down the walkway, waving at Dimitri and me to join him. I have no clue where we’re going to end up, but anywhere is better than here. I’ll be happy when we get to the surface. It smells horrid down here.
“Up there,” Victor says after a few minutes of fast walking. He’s pointing to a black metal ladder bolted to a straight portion of the curved wall in the pipeline.
I stop beside the ladder with Dimitri, and Viktor grabs my waist before I can protest. He lifts me to the ladder, and I quickly grab hold of the cold metal rungs, using my upper body strength to pull myself up until I can get a proper footing.
I feel dirty climbing up a ladder in the sewage line, but I figure it never actually makes contact with any of the liquid floating down the middle of the tunnel. It’s the cold, damp metal that gives the feeling of something dirty, but I do my best to ignore it as I scramble up to freedom.
I break through into the bottom of a drainage duct on the side of the road, able to squeeze my body through the opening without too much trouble. I’m sure Viktor and Dimitri will struggle with it more, but I suspect they’ll both be able to get through without breaking any ribs in the process. It would be poor planning on Viktor’s part to get stuck in his own escape route.
A car whizzes by as I roll onto the road. I spring to my feet and jump onto the curb, not wanting to get squashed by the next car that comes along. Thankfully, it’s not a busy road, and Viktor and Dimitri manage to squeeze through to the road without becoming pink and tan pancakes.
“Call a car in,” Dimitri demands the second he breaks through to the surface.
“I liked you better when you talked less,” Viktor replies, pulling a small flip-phone out of the front pocket of his pants and punching in a number at lightning speed.