I don’t remember getting out of the car. I can’t feel the rain drenching me within seconds. I can’t see anything apart from my lychik, my Aurora, standing, clutching that brick wall, trembling and fighting.
“Lychik!”
Those terrified green eyes snap to mine, and I roar as my fist crashes into the fucker’s face closest to her with sickening crunch that makes my soul sing as his head snaps back, and he falls onto the drenched, muddy street filled with melted snow mush.
It seems most of the street lost power due to the storm but with the lights flashing from my truck, I catch his friend—an equally dead man walking—pull out a knife from his jacket as he runs at me. My left leg shoots out, kicking the knife out of his filthy hand and breaking it in the process as well with the heel of my leather boot.
The sounds of their cries fill the empty street around us, but I’m not done.
I’m as far from being fucking done as the dawn is from them. Because they won’t live to see it. I send a fist to the gut of the one with the broken arm. The one who dared to lay a hand on my girl…dared to slap her.
He’ll be rid of that arm.
The other fucker is trying to get up, but just as fast, my boot comes down on his back, pinning to him to the ground as I press hard enough to hear a crack and a beautiful sound of his cries. “Please, please…dude, stop!”
“Please,” I grit out, not recognizing my own voice. “Fucking please? Please, what? Kill you faster? Did you hear her plead with you as well just now?”
“No, man! Stop! We didn’t know! We didn’t know the girl was taken!” He keeps crying just as his friend finds his breath again, but not in time to do anything because I take his already broken wrist and twist it, breaking his entire arm at the socket, and I listen to him call out for help.
“Shut your fucking mouth,” I snarl, punching out his teeth and feel them scrape against my knuckles.
Soon enough, they stop crying, but I don’t. I keep unleashing my storm, my rage, and the blinding fear inside me until utter silence falls upon the street and only my heavy breaths fill the space around us along with the steady slash of raindrops onto the wet asphalt.
That and Aurora’s wild, loud heartbeat.
I finally allow my eyes to take in her state. I couldn’t do it earlier because if I’d see how badly they hurt her, I’d never be able to stop. Fucking never. I can barely catch my breaths as they heave out of me at the sight of her.
She’s hurt. Her soaked hair hangs in heavy ropes, and her face bares many bruises. Her blue-rimmed lip is cracked as a thin stream of blood trickles down at the corner. Her button-up shirt is torn, exposing her milky flesh and a light purple bra as she shakes, her body twitching either from nerves or cold or both. The raindrops sliding down her face as they mingle with the tears pooling in her eyes.
I curl my bloody hand into a fist, trying to stop it from trembling as everything inside me demands to finish the job. To end these lowlifes right here and now. But they don’t matter anymore. They’ll be dealt with.
“Aurora.” Her name is barely a whisper on my lips but it’s enough to break her out of stupor she was in—and I see it, I see the crash coming over her. I move, catching her weak, frozen with cold and fear body in my arms. She’s so small…fragile…and drenched as her body burrows into mine.
Her tiny fists clench around my shirt right away as if she’s afraid to let go. “Y-you’re here.”
“Always,” I murmur into her hair, pressing my lips to the top of her head, my own body shaking but not from cold. “Did they…” I swallow hard. “Did theyhurtyou?”
I was late. I didn’t see where they came from. I didn’t see what they did to my lychik before I got here. I was fucking late!
I feel her shake her head against my chest as she clutches onto me tighter.
“Shh, you’re okay. You’re okay, Lychik,” I murmur into her hair again, pressing her shaking body into mine, feeling her frantic heartbeat against my own.
I feel every thump and every ounce of blood that courses through her veins.
I feelher…but the song it sings is different. The tune is off, and I tip my head up to the vengeful fate, the sting of every bitter raindrop burning my eyes, but I need it to understand. I need it to fucking know that I won’t let Aurora go.
I won’t.
A roar of distant thunder scratches the sky, and I close my eyes, laying my head on top of Aurora’s. “I won’t ever let anyone hurt you. I won’t let anything happen to you. Never…never.” I close my eyes, soaking in the promise that burrows deep inside my heart.
I’ll protect you from the poison. I’ll protect you from the past. Because there’s no other way.
“Ti moya navsegda…”
As the silent promise sets in, my heart starts racing, beating wildly against its confinement because it knows how fragile that promise is. Just as fragile as my girl.
“Wh-what does that m-mean?” she whispers into my chest.
