“Fine, I’ll let you go if you tell me where Maddie is,” I tell him, switching to English.
“I just gave her to him because of what you did to Kaylee. You started this by taking her, so I told him he could do whatever was done to my sister. Just to get even.”
“Who took her?”
“Derek. She’s at his house with him.”
I grip my knife tighter. “And what exactly do you think I did to Kaylee?”
“You kidnapped her, beat her, and raped her,” he yells at me.
Something inside my brain snaps at his words. “I didn’t beat or rape your goddamn sister.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Where does Derek live?”
As soon as he says the address, I stab him in the exact spot where I shot him. His scream pierces the air, and it’s music to my fucking ears.
“You said you’d let me go,” he cries, gasping for air.
“I’m the bad guy, you stupid fuck. I lied.”
Before he can process the idea that maybe you shouldn’t trust the bad guy when he promises to not kill you, I pull the knife out and slit his throat.
“Get rid of the bodies,” I tell my men, already running for my car.
The address Scott gave isn’t far away, but the drive feels like it takes hours because all I can think about is that fucker raping and hurting the woman I love. I pull up beside his black truck and run for the front door. I don’t bother wasting the energy to kick it in. I just shoot the lock out and barge in. The place is small and only one level, making it easy to see the only place they could be is down the hall. The sound of Maddie screaming sends a cold chill down my spine. Following the sound, I push open the door to find Derek trying to rip Maddie’s jeans off while she kicks and screams. Her face is bloody and swollen, and the sight of it makes me lose what little grip on sanity I have left.
Deep inside me something breaks, and everything goes dark. I barely register the sound of Derek’s screams or the feel of my blade sinking into his flesh over and over again. There’s nothing but a dark rage that consumes every fucking part of me. I don’t know if it’s been minutes or hours, but Maddie’s voice slowly starts to penetrate the murderous frenzy I’m in.
“Volodya,” she begs. “Please stop.”
Her trembling voice is what snaps me out of the darkness and brings me back to the light. My vision comes back to me, and when I look down, the man at my feet is barely recognizable as human. I blink and shake my head before turning to look at her. Her face is swollen and bruised, and she’s bleeding from a split eyebrow and has a bloody nose, but she’s alive, and I got here before he could rape her.
“Kiska,” I whisper, pulling her into my arms and hugging her tightly. Her hands are still bound behind her back, and when I bring my knife around to cut through the zip tie, I groan at the sight of her bloody wrists. As soon as she’s free she clings to me, shaking and crying, and we hold each other, neither one of us wanting to let the other go. I kiss her face and cup the back of her head, convincing myself that she’s really here and safe. She lets out a sob and brings her mouth to mine, kissing me as tears fall down her cheeks, dampening both our faces. I lose myself in her, letting her comfort me as only she can.
After several minutes, she sucks in a quick breath when she feels the blood dripping down my arm and whispers, “You’re bleeding.” Her fingers gently lift the sleeve of my shirt so she can see where the bullet grazed my skin. “Oh my god, you need a doctor.”
“I’m fine, but we need to go to the hospital. You need stitches and,” I stop because I can’t bring myself to actually say it out loud.
She sees the pain in my eyes and cups my face. “What happened? Are your brothers okay?”
I shake my head no and whisper, “Valeri was shot. I don’t know if he’s going to make it.”
She pulls me closer and kisses me gently, looking at me with pure fiery determination in her beautiful eyes. “He’s strong, Volodya. He’s going to be okay. I know he is.”
Her words and just her very presence give me strength. I nod my head and when she steps away to button her pants back up, I feel the anger threaten to rise up again. Putting my knife away, I ask, “Did he rape you?” because I have to hear it from her. I have to hear it out loud.
She grabs my hand, keeping her eyes on mine and avoiding the body at our feet. “No, Volodya. I promise he didn’t. You got here in time.” She gives me a small smile. “I knew you’d find me.”
“I’m sorry,kiska.” My throat tightens around the words as guilt washes over me, settling on my shoulders and making me feel like I’m carrying around an extra hundred pounds.
“We’ll talk about this later, but you have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault.” She grabs my hand and pulls me toward the door. We step over Derek, leaving the bloody body on the floor. Before I drive us away, I check my phone and see a text from Vasily.
He’s in surgery. Not sure yet how bad it is.
I respond that we’re on our way and then send a text for one of the guys to come and get rid of Derek, or what’s left of him. Several bodies will be dropped in the ocean tonight, and I don’t feel any guilt about a single one of them. Maddie keeps her hand on my thigh the entire drive, giving me comforting squeezes and telling me over and over again that Valeri’s going to be fine, that he’s strong and he’s going to make it.
