Chapter Thirteen: Rurik
The air was cool on my skin when we piled into the truck, heading back out into the night, watching the cabin behind us disappear in the distance. We were joined by a band of other vehicles that were being driven by the men that had chosen to be loyal to me, to fight with me, to make sure that the Andreyev Family paid for what they’ve done. I could feel that we were getting closer to the end of this, that it was only a matter of time before I could finally see them suffer for everything they put us through, and I hope that there will be a chance to save some of the men I’d met, those that were once good to me. I thought about Anton, about how we’d been planning our escape for a very long time before he was swayed to trust Mr. Andreyev than to believe that there was better out there for him, that he didn’t have to subject himself to what Mr. Andreyev was leading him to believe. He had to understand that he was better than that, and I wondered if Larissa had managed to change his mind, give him something to fight for again, or if he’d be willing to let her go for the sake of making Mr. Andreyev happy.
We had our very own army now, and storming one of the warehouses in operation was a risky mission, but it was the only way that I truly believed I’d get to see Anton again. He was the only one that would help get Larissa back, so Marianna would have everything she needed to decide whether she still wanted to see this through to the end, or if she wanted to part ways with me because she had the chance to get out. I wouldn’t have been angry at her if she decided that she wanted to return to her normal life, to forget that this life existed, so she could move away, and live out the rest of her days however she saw fit. Though, I wanted nothing more than for her to stand by me, for us to do this together, but I wasn’t going to stand in her way. I couldn't beg for her to stay when she barely even began the rest of her life, and I truly already felt like I’d lived a thousand lifetimes already with all that I’ve seen.
I’d seen a considerable change in her from the woman I met in the candle shop, who was trying to do everything she could to get to her friend, even though they would’ve killed her on sight. I saw just how strong she’d become, how able she was to deal with everything that had been thrown her way, and I didn’t want her to waste that. She was the best thing that ever happened to me, showing me that there was more to life than solely chasing my freedom, because none of that mattered if I didn’t have someone to share that with. Being with her made me realize just how much I missed how comforted I felt when I was with my family. I was starting to feel that maybe it would’ve been a good idea to reach out to them soon, to confess all that I’d done, so they could see that even though I made mistakes in my past, I’d done what I had to do in order to right my wrongs.
It wasn’t much, and I still had a long way to go before this was all over, but I was starting to see that I too was becoming my own man. For such a long time I was operating solely as a shadow of Mr. Andreyev, carrying out each and every one of his dark wishes without asking any questions, without trying to find a way out only for him to turn around and kill me. I needed him to trust me so I could’ve found my way out, and it was that loyalty that I built that led me straight to Marianna, and it was hard to imagine that I had full intention of killing her if it hadn’t been for Vanya. After hearing her story, I realized that she did nothing wrong to deserve what was given to her, and I saw her as an opportunity to fight my way out of the Andreyevs grasp once and for all, but now I’d begun to truly care about her. Now, I feared that she was going to get hurt in all of this, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to cope if anything happened to her.
I was more than willing to do whatever it took to get this done, but I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Marianna. She deserved to live out the rest of her life, to enjoy the things in life that didn’t come easy to her, and I wanted to make sure she had everything she wanted. She’d been nothing but kind to me, accepting my help even though she must’ve been rather skeptical of me in the beginning, and I truly didn’t deserve that. We were going into battle together, and there was no telling if any of us were going to walk away alive, but I was ready for anything. I glanced over at her through the rearview mirror, seeing the determination in her eyes, and there wasn’t a single glimpse of fear behind them. It was like she’d learned to shut out the worst of fears to be present, to do what she had to do in order to keep pushing, and I admired that.
I never thought that we were going to get this close, that I would’ve found myself caring about her in a way I’d never cared about anyone before. My feelings for her were growing by the day, and I wanted her to have the answers to the questions that had been on her mind for a long time, getting a front row seat to everything that she wanted to learn about me as well as my time with the Andreyev Family. I promised myself that once we got out of this, I would tell her whatever she wanted to know, no matter how difficult it may have been for me. I wanted to share that side of me with her, so that she would have no doubt in her mind that she could trust me.
We arrived at the warehouse, pulling up down the street so we wouldn’t alert any of the guards that were making their rounds outside of the property before we were ready to fight back. We got out of the car, and I turned to Marianna, so we could have a moment alone, while Kir made his way over to the band of men that had agreed to help, to let them know what we were about to do.
“Listen, Marianna. I need you to know that we’re not sure what we’re going to be facing in there, but I need you to do something for me.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“If things get ugly, if they manage to get the upper hand and things don’t seem to be working out in our favor, I want you to run. I am not letting you get hurt in the middle of all of this, okay? I know that you want to save your friend and we will do everything we can to get her back, but you have to understand that you have your whole life ahead of you, and I don’t want you to do something stupid that might jeopardize that just because one of us may go down,” I explained, and she shook her head.
“You promised that we were going to do this together, and that’s exactly what I intend on doing. I’m not going to run away from this anymore, no matter how things turn out. I’m here for you, and I’m going to watch your back the same way you’ve been watching mine from the time we first met. I care about you, Rurik, and I can’t just leave you. You’ve done so much to help me, and I’m going to stand by you through this. So, let’s do this together, okay?” she asked, and I couldn’t believe how strong she truly was. It was genuinely amazing to see, and I couldn’t help myself. I lifted her chin, bringing her in close so I could kiss her. I felt my lips press into hers, while she kissed me back hard. It was a reminder that we were looking out for each other, that I wasn’t going to leave anyone behind, but I cared about her far too much to see her get hurt, so if the situation called for it, I was going to make sure that she got out. I didn’t want her to get too close to any of this, but I knew that if I asked her to hang back, she’d only find a way to get back inside, to do what she could for our sake, so I had to protect her with all I had. I had to make sure that no one laid a finger on her. I owed her that much.
“Let’s do this.”
We got our guns out, ready to shoot at the guards that had no idea what we were about to do, and I braced myself for the incoming fire that was going to rain high in the air, each bullet aimed to take us out. I glanced back to see Kir in the back of the truck, giving him a bit of height so he could get a few shots into the men that were on the roof before they could head down to alert the others. My men stormed the premises, rushing straight in through the front door, shooting down each and every person who got in their way. I fought off who I could, cocking my gun back, and firing off shots into the chest of each hulking guard whose job was to report back to the Andreyevs. I had to make sure that we didn’t allow anyone to let the word slip of what was happening here before we had the chance to destroy things for ourselves.
I wasn’t sure what was going through my mind when I decided to join them, storming straight through the front door, while I looked over my shoulder to see that Marianna was following behind me. I told her to stay close, because there was no telling how many of them would be waiting on the inside for us. The guards we’d killed laid in puddles of their own blood on the concrete outside, and things started to quiet down far too quickly. I was caught off guard trying to figure out why there had been absolutely no one left in the warehouse, no one transporting or bringing in any of the stock that was supposed to be moved. I’d been to this very warehouse many times before, and I knew what their patterns were like, so this simply didn’t make any sense. I looked around, watching Kir and Marianna join me as we stared at the nearly empty warehouse, with barely any stock to be seen.
“I hope you have an explanation for why they would be guarding a warehouse that has absolutely nothing inside of it,” said Kir, and I looked back at him to see that he was just as confused as I was. I was so sure that they were going to be moving things tonight, and we even managed to take out the people who were scoping us out, who would’ve managed to contact the Andreyevs before we had the chance to finish what we started and get out of there. I couldn’t understand where we went wrong.
“This doesn’t make any sense. They’re always moving things in and out of this facility. There were guards outside, ready for a fight, knowing that there could’ve been a threat present. I don’t understand,” I said, holding the bridge of my nose in frustration as I ran my fingers through my sweaty hair, but before I had the chance to call the operation a dead end, I heard footsteps begin to approach. I turned to my back to see a face I didn’t think I’d be seeing soon, especially since we had just failed to make our point, because where there were men killed in between the war between mafia families, there would always be more waiting to take their place. I knew it wasn’t going to make much of a dent in Mr. Andreyev’s operations to purely take out his men, and that’s why I wanted to take things a step further, but it seemed that he was one step ahead of me all along.
“I see that you’ve gotten quite comfortable being away from the job, Rurik. I thought that you were one of the good ones, one that was going to continue making me proud, but I see now that I’ve been sadly mistaken,” said Mr. Andreyev, and the look on his face made my blood boil, made my skin heat up, and I just wanted to take him out right then. I wasn’t sure what it was that was stopping me, but I just couldn’t raise the barrel of my gun up towards his body, as though I knew he had the upper hand on this one, and if I took the shot, it wouldn’t be long before this place would be swarming with more of his men, waiting to kill us all. I wasn’t about to let that happen, not after everything I did to fight for Marianna, to fight for our freedom. I couldn’t let him win, not like this, but I was afraid he was going to do whatever it was going to take to prove his point, and I knew that was going to cause us all a great deal of suffering.
“It was a long time coming, Luka. I no longer have to use formalities when I address you, but you have to understand that I needed a break from the terrible things you had me do every day, when you’ve been nothing but a coward, unable to take a life with your own bare hands,” I said, provoking him out of pure anger, and I knew that I was taking things too far.
“You have no idea what I got up to when I wasn’t sending you off on little contract jobs, Volkov. I can do a lot with my own bare hands, and if it’s torture you’re looking for, I can gladly assist,” he said, and I looked back to see the double doors swing open to reveal far too many men that I could count, all waiting to do whatever Mr. Andreyev wanted, and I knew right then that it was nearly over for us if we couldn’t find a way out of this mess.
“You’re not going to get away with this, Luka. I will make sure that you suffer,” I warned, but I knew that I no longer had much to back that up with. He had the upper hand now, he had all of the power at his disposal, and if there was one thing I learned while being kept under his grasp, is that there were times where you simply just had to do all that you could to survive. Otherwise, you’d be as good as dead, and I wasn’t going to let that happen. There was something in his expression that told me that his plans must’ve changed, because he didn’t seem so adamant on killing any of us, and that’s when I realized he’d been watching us all along.
“You know I sent Rurik here after you so that he could kill you, and I wouldn’t have to deal with a little mindless woman looking for her biological family, but I’ve seen the way that you handle yourself amongst these criminals, and I have to say that I’ve never been more proud. I never thought that I would want to see you again. We gave you up because there was no room for children in our lives, but my wife was adamant on at least giving birth to you. I let it happen, and for a while I thought that allowing her to go ahead with the pregnancy was the biggest mistake of my life, but that was until I saw what you were truly capable of. Rurik has served his time under me, and if you’d be willing to make a deal, I can see to it that no harm comes his way,” said Luka, addressing his daughter, while she thought about it carefully before she answered.
“Marianna, no. Don’t listen to him, don’t let him do this!”
“Relax, Rurik. The girl can answer for herself,” said Luka, and I snarled at him, while two of his goons held me down, kicking my weapon away, leaving me defenseless. I didn’t want to let her go, because I knew that this was all some kind of sick ploy to kill her, or worse, let her live up to the Andreyev Family name. I couldn’t bear to see her be a part of any of that, and I needed to make sure that she understood just how terrible things could get if she went down this path, but I didn’t have enough time to change her mind, because she’d already decided from the moment Luka ensured my safety.
“Do I have your word that you’re going to let Rurik and Kir walk free if I come with you willingly?” she asked.
“No! Marianna, you can’t do this. You have no idea what he’s going to do to you. Please, Marianna,” I begged, but I knew that it was no use. She’d made up her mind, and there was nothing I could do to stop her now.
“You have my word,” was the last thing I heard before I felt a sharp pain hit the back of my head, and everything faded to black.
I feltthe pain return the moment my eyes fluttered open, and I could’ve sworn I heard the sound of running water in the distance, looking up to see the beaming sun overhead. I finally managed to come to, sitting up as I felt the grass beneath my fingers, realizing that I’d been dumped out in the middle of nowhere, with a few gashes rubbing up against the fabric of my dress shirt, reminding me of what happened. I looked around calling out for anyone to hear me, because I had no idea where I was. It was then that my mind went back to that moment in the warehouse when Marianna was giving herself over to the Andreyev Family to save me, and my heart sank into my stomach at the thought of whether or not they’d killed her.
I tried to get to my feet but I was stumbling all over myself, balancing on the trees before me, making my way through the forest for what felt like ages until I found the road again. I stood on the side of the road waving at oncoming cars hoping that someone would stop for me. Cars whizzed past me and I couldn’t blame them, because I didn’t think I would’ve stopped either. I sighed, trying to piece together the last bits of memories I had, wondering if I still had any time left to save Marianna, and I was kicking myself for letting her get away, for letting her give herself over to the Andreyevs knowing that she was going to face immense torture. I remembered what Mr. Andreyev had said to her, that he did change his plans after seeing how capable she was, and that was when I knew she was going to get wrapped up in something that she’d never be able to stay from if I didn’t do everything in my power to help her.
“Will somebody stop?” I screamed, running my fingers through my hair, thinking that all hope was lost, that there was no way I was going to get back into the city, but that’s when my eyes were blinded by the headlights that were approaching me, and I did the only thing I could think of to make them stop. I stood right in the middle of the road, forcing them to slow down, and the car itself stopped right at the edge of my legs, just as it was about to run me over. The person lowered their window, and I got a good look at her face. She was absolutely terrified, so worried that I was going to hurt her, but I had no intention of doing that, I just needed to get out of here.
“I’m sorry, I’m in a lot of trouble right now, and I’m going to need you to drop me at the nearest bar or gas station. This is a life and death situation, and I have no intention of hurting you, unless you don’t do as I say,” I told her, even though I knew I would’ve never hurt her, but I had to do whatever it took to get back to civilization so I could find a way to get to Marianna before it was too late.
“O-okay. Get in, I guess,” she said, and I could see just how terrified she was as she unlocked her passenger seat door. She drove in complete silence, gripping the steering wheel tightly as though she was waiting for the moment where I decided that she’d gone far enough, so that I could hurt her, but that wasn’t what I was planning to do. I needed her to take me somewhere where I could snag someone’s phone and someone’s keys without alerting them, because I still needed to keep a low profile. If I alerted anyone to my whereabouts, I knew that I would be a goner before I had the chance to see Marianna again.She got Luka to spare me once, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to send his goons after me if I become a problem. I need to get to her. I need to find out what they’re planning before they take her down a path where she’s going to end up just like Anton. Luka is one of the most manipulative men I’ve ever met, and it’s only a matter of time before he sways her to believe that he’s grown to care about her, but it’s all just his way of roping another person in to do whatever he asks.
I know that there’s still so much about Marianna that she hasn’t quite figured out yet, and I can only hope that he doesn’t try to play the parent card, apologizing, toying with her heartstrings to get her where he needs her so she could end up like the rest of us.Marianna was smart, she knew what kind of a man Luka was, and what he was capable of, but I needed to make sure that he didn’t hurt her, that she was safe until I had the chance to rescue her myself. I needed to find Kir, because she asked for his life to be spared too, and it would be quite like Luka to have us both dropped at opposite ends of the thick forest, unable to get back to society before he had the chance to enact the rest of his plan.I’m not going to let you get away with this, Luka. I’m going to rip your heart out myself, make sure that you pay for what you put me through, what you’ve done to your biological daughter, and I’m going to let you watch your entire empire crumble before you just as you take your last breath. Nothing would bring me greater joy.
