“It’s over, can’t you see you’ve lost?” I shout.
“I never lose!” he says. In slow motion, his finger squeezes against the trigger, and in slow motion, I see the bullet leave the chamber. It spins toward me in a slow spiral.
I don’t know if I’m screaming.
I close my eyes, waiting for the bullet to hit me. I hear a muffled thud, but don’t feel the impact.
I take a shaky breath and open my eyes.
Lying directly in front of me on the road is Marlen.
This time, I do scream.
Bolting toward him, I grab his jacket and use all my strength to roll him over onto his back.
Blood gushes from his side, and I lean over, pressing my hands against the wound to try and stop the bleeding. He groans in pain, his face knotted into a grimace.
Looking up, I search for help. Desperate. Terrified.
The boss man is dead, and Jaroslav and Diomid are running toward me.
Jaroslav kneels down next to Marlen and pulls his shirt up to see how bad it is. Behind him, other cars are arriving. My other brothers and the Abashins.
“You’re going to be ok, man,” Jaroslav says, standing up and offering Marlen a hand.
“No, he can’t move, he’s bleeding,” I yelp.
“It’s ok, Stef. I’m ok. I had the wind knocked out of me,” Marlen groans as he takes Jaroslav’s hand and lets him pull him to his feet.
“More than wind… you’rebleeding!” I say again, rushing to his side to slip my arm around his waist.
He chuckles dryly and leans against me, not for support, but more to be close to me. His arm is locked tightly around my waist.
“You need an ambulance, Marlen,” I insist.
“No, I just need a few stitches. The bullet grazed me.”
“The bullet meant for me. You saved my life,” I reply.
My eyes drift to my brother, who is watching us closely.
Jaroslav pulls his mouth tight, then holds his hand out toward me. “Come on, Stefania. We’re going home,” he says, my other brothers standing right behind him.
I shake my head. “No, I’m staying with Marlen,” I tell him calmly.
“We’ll make sure he gets help. There’s no need for you to stay,” Jaroslav growls.
“I’m not only staying to help him, J,” I say.
His eyes narrow.
Behind him, Zakhar scoffs. “What the fuck? You’re free, Stefania. You’re not his prisoner anymore.”
“I haven’t been his prisoner for a long time. I wanted to explain it to you at the meeting, but you didn’t give me a chance,” I sigh.
My brothers look at each other, confused. Evengil steps forward. “Are you saying you’re in love with him? You’re staying by choice because you love him?”
I sigh softly. This isn’t exactly how I wanted Marlen to first find out that I love him. I pictured something romantic and sweet. Not the ending of a massive shootout in which we both almost died.
