He doesn’t have time to do a fucking thing. I beat his head in with the crowbar, my rage taking over and informing my muscles as I come down on his head over and over again. Somewhere in there, I see my brother. Smiling in my face. Telling me how much he admires me. Hugging me with love.
All we’ve got is each other, big brother.
I bring the crowbar down a final time on the bloody mess that used to be the man’s head. Adrenaline pumps through my arms as I stand over the dead man, seeing only Pavel’s betrayal.
He will pay for this. For everything. I will make him pay.
I look around. Dawn is upon me. The sky is starting to show streaks of yellow and orange against the blue. I’m still near the woods. That’s where they were planning to dump me when they were done with me.
I go over to the bigger one’s body and look for the car keys. I need to get to my father and tell him the truth of it all before anything else happens. Pavel needs to pay for starting this war. In the back of my mind, I start thinking of Isabella. Her father probably has her, which, for now, is for the best. When this is over, I’ll go and claim her. I meant what I said to her. She is mine. All mine.
Most importantly, I meant what I said to Dmitri. I won’t let Pavel’s greed destroy everything.
27
ISABELLA
I’m sitting on the couch by the window as my dad sleeps. The sun is up now. I can’t see it from the hospital window, but the sky has shifted to blue again.
Alexei’s probably dead by now. I keep trying to get used to the idea of never seeing him again. I can’t. My face feels raw and my eyes are sore from crying so hard. He’s dead, and for what? This stupid war is still going on.
I want to leave, but my father’s men are at the door all the time. And when they’re not out there, they come in here and talk to him about one thing or another. I’m surrounded by them. I can’t even go home and take a shower after all this.
I lean my head against the window, my heart heavy with sorrow. Eventually, I’m going to have to tell Dad that I’m pregnant. I don’t know how he’s going to react. He might tell me to abort it. It’s why I didn’t bring it up earlier. No matter how all this shakes out, I’m keeping this baby. Fuck him.
It’ll probably be a fight. After all, I’m carrying one oftheirchildren. I wonder what Maxim will do when he finds out. Will it make everything worse?
Who knows? It’s all fucked up.
I start to think about Anya and Dmitri. I didn’t see either of them when they dragged me out of the cabin. Maybe they’re dead too.
I rub my belly, thinking about what a fucked future is to come for this baby. Between my family and Alexei’s…
Maybe it’ll change things in Maxim’s mind if he knows. I lift my head up as the idea takes hold. His son is most likely dead… but if he knew that he had a grandchild on the way, it might change his tune on this whole war. He might back off, and if he backs off, then I know my dad will too.
I look over at my father. His eyes are closed, his mouth slightly open. The silver streak in his hair is dulled from his time here in the hospital. If I could sneak out while he was sleeping…
But how? Hospitals are harder to get out of than prisons. There’s one door in and one door out. There isn’t even a window in the bathroom.
I bite my nails, formulating a plan. There’s at least one guy standing guard outside. If I can get past him, I’d be home free.
But maybe I don’t have to get past him. Maybe I can get him to leave his post and then…
Then what? I’m not one of them. They’d kick my ass if I tried to fight them. Still, I’ve got to try. I can’t just sit here and rot.
I get up and walk across the room with soft steps, being careful not to wake my father. When I get to the door, I open it carefully,looking out. Fingers is sitting there, leaning back in his chair, his long legs stretched out and blocking the hallway. He looks up at me and says, “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Um, no. Not really. Could you find a janitor or something? The bathroom is backing up in here.”
He sits up slowly. “Backing up? Are you serious?”
“Very. I’m keeping the door closed because I don’t want the smell to come out and disturb my dad, but something’s gotta be done, you know? This is a hospital. It’s unsanitary.”
“All right, all right. Hold your horses,” he says. I watch him get to his feet as he walks over to the nurse’s station. It’s a shaky plan. I mean, I’m just making this up as I go.
One of the nurses nods, then looks around for a second. “I can get somebody to come take a look at it.”
I can see Fingers is ready to let that be that. So I say, “Actually, I think it’s pretty urgent, don’t you? I mean, a person could get really sick if raw sewage were coming up from the bathroom in a patient’s room?—”
