Chapter Seventeen: Rurik
Icouldn’t describe the feeling of pulling up to my brother’s house, as he parked the car in his driveway, while I glanced out at the home he’d been living in for the past few years. It didn’t even occur to me how close he truly was, while I had been going through some of the darkest parts of my life, but now had become the worst of it all. I’d never felt pain and loss the way I had right now, and I was still trying to process the fact that it was quite possible, I was never going to be the same again. I couldn’t rest knowing that Luka was getting away with this, that the longer we waited to enact our revenge, the stronger and more prepared he would get. That thought alone angered me, and I was very sure that we wouldn’t be waiting around any longer. Viktor understood the severity of the situation, and I could only imagine what he was planning, because we would have to make our move tonight. If we waited any longer, it would be quite possible that Luka had killed his daughter, and that I would never get the chance to tell her how I really feel.
She had no idea how distraught I was, and I knew that when she gave herself over to Luka, there had to be a part of her that was hoping I’d be able to move on, that I would be able to separate myself from everything that had happened and truly gave into my freedom. Though, she underestimated just how much I cared about her, and it was in these moments without her that I realized I’d been falling in love. No other woman had ever made me feel the way she did, and it was breaking me apart realizing that there was even a sliver of a chance I would never get to see her again. She’d brought so much light to my life, and she had been the reason that I had the courage I did to stand up for myself in the first place, and I couldn’t let that go to waste.
Viktor opened up his front door, leading me inside to see a band of men waiting for him, all awaiting their order, and I was surprised to see just how many he had at his disposal after the single phone call he made in the car on the way here. It was then, through the crowd of men that were ready to fight for us, that I saw a few of my brothers, faces I barely recognized because they’d taken off such a long time ago. There they were, Nicholai, Aleksandr, Dominik, the few that Viktor could get to come in time, and I had absolutely no idea.
“We heard you got yourself into quite a bit of trouble, little brother,” said Nicholai, and I reached in to embrace them all, realizing the fact that I’d been without my family for such a long time, so long that I’d forgotten how it felt to be in their company, to have them fighting alongside me, all so I could save the woman I was falling for.
“It’s more than just a little trouble, I’m afraid. I don’t know how to thank you all for even being here,” I said, struggling to find the words to express how truly grateful I was.
“You can tell us when we go get your girl back. I have to say, I never pegged you as one that would’ve been ashamed to come to your family when you needed help, but we’ve all been through moments in our lives where we’ve let our egos get the best of us. I’m sorry that you felt like you couldn’t come to us, but we’re here now, and we’re going to do everything we can to help,” said Aleksandr, and I nodded, thanking them all again for even showing up.
I’d heard stories of them turning to Viktor in a time of crisis, when they were going through the worst parts of their lives, and it seemed that he was truly the one keeping the entire family together. He’d always been a voice of reason amongst us all, and together with them, I felt more powerful than ever. I no longer had to make excuses for my behavior, trying to put my best foot forward so that they would accept me. I should’ve known a very long time ago that simply didn’t matter to them. Father always taught us to look out for each other, and if I had a second chance to do it all over again, I knew I would’ve gone to them first. I felt guilty for the way I treated them, for the fact that I never reached out those few times when I had the chance, but now I had absolutely no choice. I had to admit that I needed help getting Marianna back, and I needed to save her from Luka, and all of the terrible things he was going to have her do.
I wanted to get to her before her very own father would have her take a knife to another innocent human being just for the sake of his pleasure, because that would be the one thing that destroyed her. She’d been so strong the whole way through, I didn’t want to see her crumble, I didn’t want to see what she would be like if she shut off her emotions to get the job done, because then there would be virtually no hope for us. I wanted her to hold onto the best parts of herself, and remember that there was always a way out.
“When is this going down?” asked Dominik.
“Tonight. I can’t wait any longer. He’s going to kill her if we don’t do something about it,” I said, making the decision for them, and they all agreed.
“Let’s go over a few things, and make sure that when we get there, we don’t let anyone stand in our way. Is that clear?” asked Viktor, addressing his men and his brothers alike.
I’m coming, Marianna. I’m going to make sure that your father pays for what he’s done to you, and I’m going to make sure that you don’t have to live with this pain following you around any longer. It’s time you get to look towards a brighter future, one where you get to decide who you want to be.
I feltthe adrenaline rush through me as I piled into the car with my brothers. We all had our weapons drawn, ready to put up a fight, but we were sure that we would have to play this one differently, because if we just stormed the gates, Luka would have a chance to make his escape. He couldn’t see us coming, he couldn’t know that we were on our way to save Marianna, and to finally put an end to his tumultuous reign. He needed to be dethroned, he needed his power stripped away from him before he would meet his end, because that was the very thing that would make him more terrified than anything else. It wasn’t enough to kill him. He needed to watch everything he loved burn down around him, because it was only then that he would understand how he made countless other men feel, while he destroyed everything they’d come to love.You had a long run, Luka but I’m afraid that your time is finally up. You’re no match for us now, and I can’t wait to drive that very knife you had me use on so many of your enemies straight into your chest, so that you can feel what it’s like being cut open and torn to shreds from the inside out. That’s what you like, and that’s exactly what I’m going to give you.
We arrived near the Andreyev Mansion, stealthily exiting our vehicles while Viktor instructed his men to wait for the signal, because that the first sound of a gunshot they were to fight their way through relentlessly, no matter how much bloodshed ensued. I felt so powerful standing next to them all, having them help me fight for the woman I was falling for, but also to rebuild my life. It was this very moment that I realized how much I’d been missing out on, how much of my life I had sacrificed just to put up the front that I was better off than I really was, and I’d paid my consequences. Now, it was time for me to move on with Marianna by my side, and I wasn’t going to stop until I had that. After everything I’d been through, I wasn’t afraid to acknowledge that I deserved my happy ending, and that was exactly what I planned on getting.
We snuck around the back of the mansion, glancing up at the towering brick walls, getting ready to make the climb. My hands got caught in the vines that were wrapped right around the property, but I untangled myself, continuing on, until my feet landed firmly on the ground on the opposite side of the wall. We had to be quiet, because the minute that we alerted a single person to our presence, it was going to be all downhill from there. We weren’t close enough to get in without Luka’s guards swarming the entire property, and I needed to see exactly what was going on before we could move in. Viktor and Aleksandr started to get out the climbing ropes they brought, choosing a window that was hidden perfectly behind a tree, knowing that they had to get up fast before anyone saw them get up to the balcony.
I stayed low, deciding that it was best I kept watch on the ground, because I knew where all the secret entrances were, and how long it would take me to get to any point of the mansion if I needed to. I tiptoed around the side of the building, hiding behind the tall shrubbery, until I felt a presence begin to approach me. I hid expertly in the bushes until he had his back turned, and then I wrapped my arm around his throat, choking him out, and dragging him into the bushes with me. I kept moving, because I knew there was absolutely no time to waste. There was a part of me that worried that Marianna was already in trouble, that she had already been through so much because exactly two days had passed since we were both at the warehouse together. It didn’t dawn on me until I was fighting my way out, back to civilization in the middle of nowhere, but I’d been unconscious for a long time.
I was surprised that I even managed to come to, on my own, as was Viktor when I told him. I worried that I was far too late, that Luka already had her do something that she was going to regret for the rest of her life, and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if that happened. It was truly a double-edged sword because if she fought back, if she stood up for herself, there was the likelihood that Luka would’ve killed her on the spot, unable to deal with the problem any other way. My heart was beating out of my chest, and it was the only thing I could hear as the blood rushed to my head. I was scared of what I was about to walk into, and I wasn’t sure that I would be able to cope with whatever I found either way. I’d been through a lot, but I’d never had the person I cared about the most taken away from me, especially because I still struggled to understand those feelings myself. It was time now, and there was absolutely no turning back.
