I'm racing down the pathway before the last word leaves his mouth. I can hear them now, someone growling muffled threats as I push past a series of lilac trellises and jump over a couple of ornamental boxes filled with brightly colored roses. Ava’s fighting, I can hear it, her heels loudly scraping against the brick pathway.
“If you don’t stop dragging your fucking feet I will crack this gun over your head and finish off what Roger should've done.” The voice is ugly, low, and coarse with a slight accent.
Rounding a bank of tulips, I see them; one man with a gun to Ava's head, her mouth is taped and her wrists zip-tied and bloody from fighting against the plastic binding. The other man is breaking the lock to get the street access door open. I shoot him in the head, dropping him instantly and the other man holding Ava turns, his eyes wide as I shoot his hand holding the gun to her head. He grunts, dropping the gun, knocked backwards from the force of the bullet, dragging Ava with him. He gets his arm around her throat and her hands go up, clawing at him as I shoot his shoulder. This time, he screams.
“You fucking pussy,” I snarl. “Two bullets and you’re screaming like a little bitch?”
I lift Ava with one arm, holding my gun on him with the other. “Are you hurt?” It's a stupid question. She was abducted, dragged through the window, and her mouth is covered with duct tape.
Ava gets her bound hands up and rips the tape off her mouth herself. “I'm okay. Is your mother all right? Did they hurt her?One of them pulled me out the window before I could see what happened.”
“She's fine,” I say, kissing her forehead.
Kidnapped and dragged away and she's thinking about my mother.
“Can you take my phone out of my pocket?” I ask calmly. “The top button in my contacts list will be Roman, push one.” I want to kiss her forehead again, her cheekbones, her mouth. I focus on the bleeding fuck who’s holding his shoulder, rocking back and forth.
Her hands are shaking so violently that I'm concerned she'll drop the phone, but she gets it out and presses the right button.
Roman’s voice rings out. “Do you have them?”
“Yes,” I say. We’re by the public entrance to the Rose Garden near the front of the hotel.”
“There in less than three minutes,” he says, but it's even less before I hear their footsteps racing through the pathway.
There's a muffled curse from Alexsey and a growl. “Fucking roses!”
Ava giggles, high and a little hysterical and then covers her mouth as if shocked that she could find anything funny. Roman and Alexsey take in the scene instantly.
"Thank you for leaving me at least one of these assholes to question," Roman says, giving him a smile that can only be described as avaricious. Alexsey is quietly contacting Father and our backup security.
I check my watch. “Fuck! I have a best man’s speech to give.” Still holding Ava, I holster my gun and hit the bleeding man across the face, grabbing his cheeks and digging in my fingernails. “I'll be seeing you later,” I say slowly, precisely. He tries to spit on me, but I kick him backwards and into a tub of snapdragons.
“Ava darling,” I give into the urge and kiss her forehead again. “Alexsey is going to take you home.”
“Can you untie me?” she asks.
Fuck!
"Of course." I pull out my knife, getting her zip ties off.
Then, she says something unexpected. “Are your mother and father staying?”
Frowning, I nod. “Well, yes. Alexsey and Roman will clean this up. Melor’s looking for our other bodyguards. My parents will stay to show that the Morozovs are invincible.”
She raises her chin stubbornly. “Invincible? Then I want to go sit with them and listen to your speech.”
I’m feeling a conflicting mix of admiration and frustration. “Malen'kaya soroka,my little magpie, you don't have to do that, you're hurt. Let Alexsey take you home and get your wrists looked at.”
Ava shakes her head, pulling her long sleeves down. “See? The abrasions are covered,” she says. “I still have my shoes on, which is a miracle with these heels.”
Looking down at her stubborn little face, I shake my head “Why do you want to do this?” I ask.
“Because,” she says, lips tight. “I'm betting the bastards who sent these men are still inside. I want to show them…”
She pauses for a minute, trying to find the words. “That I'm invincible, too.”
Roman grins.“Nu, chert voz'mi,well, damn. I like this woman.”
