When a different man strides into the room followed by several well-armed soldiers.
I stare at him. He stops and looks back.
Until a twisted smile splits his face.
“Well, looks like I found you after all, Allesandra. It’s good to finally meet you.” He scratches at a rough beard covering some brutal scars. He’s a big, bearish man. “My name’s Medved. The pleasure’s all mine, I’m sure.”
ALLIE
Iscoop Rosie into my arms as Medved scans the room with a predatory gaze. It reminds me so much of Mass and the way he watches people, except there’s no sharp gleam behind Medved’s gaze. There’s only cold, terrible scrutiny.
“I take it I was too late.” He approaches the foot of the bed and lightly tugs the sheet, revealing Elias’s slack face. “Ah, my old friend. Dead at last.”
“Leave him alone. You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”
Medved only shakes his head. “I just wish I had been here in his final moments to see him through to the other side. Perhaps to shepherd him myself.” He grins at me, a twisted delight twinkling in his eyes for just a moment. “But here we are instead. What an interesting little coincidence, don’t you think?”
“You don’t need us anymore. Elias is dead.”
“Thank God for that.” Medved waves to Rosie. She cringes away. “Hello, little darling, remember me? Papa Medved? Yes, she remembers, look at how afraid she is. Lovely girl.”
“Fuck you,” I snarl, turning Rosie away from him. “Just go away.”
“Ah, well, it doesn’t work like that.” He turns to the men behind him. “Fyodor, take the old Dragon’s hand, and make sure to keep any jewelry he’s wearing intact.”
A massive soldier slings his rifle onto his back and draws a long, thick knife from his belt. “Yes, Pakhan.”
“What?! No, you can’t!” I jump in the soldier’s way, but he doesn’t even hesitate. He slams a fist into my face, knocking me over. I curl into a ball to protect Rosie from any other blows that might rain down on me, but the soldier simply goes right to his task.
I barely manage to keep from throwing up as he brutally hacks Elias’s left hand off.
“Ugly old thing,” Medved muses once it’s done. Blood drips from the severed wrist and stains the white sheets in thick clots. “But necessary.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I need proof that the old man is dead. I could take his head if you prefer, but that would make such a mess, and my men are already tired as it is.”
“You’re sick.”
“No.” Medved’s smile fades. “This system is sick. This world is sick. I’m the only sane one left. When I’m Dragon, I’ll devote myself to ripping it all to shreds. I’ll burn it all and build something new in its place.”
I shake my head defiantly. “He won’t let you.”
“Who? Elias? Or no, you mean your husband.” Medved laughs as he tucks his hand into a pack slung over his shoulder. “Massimo isn’t going to survive the day, and if he does, I’ll have you. That’s the beauty of this little reunion. You’re the perfect shield against your husband’s aggression.” He sighs happily and rolls his neck. “I couldn’t have scripted it better.” He approaches slowly, holding out his arms. “Give the girl to me now.”
“Never. Get away.” I stumble to my feet and back away, holding Rosie tight to my chest. “Leave her alone.”
“But she misses her Papa Medved. Don’t you, darling?”
Rosie wails in response, burying her face in my chest. “You’re scaring her. Get the fuck away!”
He laughs, enjoying himself, and lunges for me.
I leap backward and bang into the wall. As he comes, hands outstretched, I grab a blood pressure cuff from a nearby table and whip him in the face with it. That doesn’t do much, but it pisses him off enough that he stumbles as I twist to the side. He hits the wall, cursing in Russian, and I grab a metal bedpan. I slap it into his head once, denting the side, and I’m about to do it again when an arm wraps around my neck from behind.
The bicep squeezes. I gag, choking, Rosie screaming and twisting in my arms. The soldier holding me smells like sweat and perfume. Medved approaches, blood matting his hair, his grin wide with pure insanity. “Now I’ll shut the little bitch up,” he says.
There’s a vicious crack so loud it makes my ears ring. The arm around my throat suddenly slackens and the soldier falls, dragging me down with him. I hit the floor, Rosie tumbling frommy arms in a heap, screaming the whole time, as more cracks fill the space.
