Page 25

I never thought I would feel this way, Not truly. Not in the way that seeped into your bones and unfurled like the first breath of dawn after a night that seemed endless.

Speeding down the highway, a stupid grin sat on my lips, my mind already springing up Hazel’s different reactions when I told her I called off my engagement to Alina. I already dunked myself in thoughts of what would happen next and knew it would end with one of us on top of the other.

For so long, I carried my life like a weight, dragging my past behind me, certain that some people were simply not meant for joy. That I was not meant for joy. I had accepted the cage, convinced myself the bars were safety, that silence was peace.

But then—this.

I remembered the conversation Hazel and I had about being happy, and at the time, I couldn’t even identify the feeling.

The windows were rolled down, the wind blowing against my skin, warm and alive. I watched the sun dipping low, spilling gold over everything it touched. Laughter—fucking mine—broke the air. It sounded strange, very unfamiliar, yet right.

Happy?

I was fucking elated.

I felt it now, the lightness, the space between my ribs no longer tight with old ghosts. This freedom. And it was not just escape, not just the absence of chains, but the presence of something complex. The quiet knowledge that the Pakhan allowed this. That happiness was not for specific people, but something I could claim.

And for the first time, I did.

On the passenger’s chair, my phone vibrated, and I snatched it—somehow thinking Hazel was the one on the other end. But it was Damir. I swiped at the screen and placed the phone on my ear.

“You can say whatever shit you want now. I’m in such a good fucking mood, I can condone it.”

“That means you haven’t heard.”

“Heard what? That the Pakhan knows about Hazel? That I called off the engagement? That he gave me his blessing? Is that what you were going to say, Damir? Ah, I didn’t only hear it; I gave the announcement.” I laughed into the speaker.

If someone else saw me right now, they wouldn’t hesitate to believe I was high. But Damir was stone-cold quiet, and it completely wiped the smile off my face. Something was wrong.

“Damir….”

“Boss. It’s Hazel. She’s been taken.”

A cold heaviness settled in my chest, and the world didn’t seem so bright anymore. “What do you mean, taken?” I asked, my voice low and fighting to stay in control. But inside, a storm brewed.

“Her friend Elena reported it at a police station. They were out for coffee, and they stopped somewhere. She heard her scream her name, but when she came out, she wasn’t there. She couldn’t reach her. Some others reported seeing a black van snatch up a woman, and the descriptions match Hazel.”

For a second, thick and suffocating silence stretched between us. Then, red-hot rage ignited in my veins. Someone had dared to take what was mine.

“Find her.” My voice was steel. “Trace her phone. Check the cameras. I want her location in ten minutes.”

“Already on it, Boss.”

I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles went white. My mind was already working through the possibilities. Whoever did this…whoever thought they could put their hands on her, would learn what a fatal mistake that was. Because I was coming. And there would be no mercy.

***

To think that, only a moment ago, I’d been relishing in the bubble of unexplainable joy, and now, the feeling had been brutally replaced with an uncomfortable vacuum-like stretch of uncertainty.

Fear.

I had never feared anything before. Not pain, not death, not the burden of the world pressing on my back. Fear was for the weak, the na?ve, for those who had something to lose. Besides Damien, I had nothing else to lose.

But now, it felt different. A snarl built up in my throat, raw and animal-like. Anger coiled inside me, a wildfire licking at my ribs, my lungs, and my heart. It was unbearable, this nagging feeling of helplessness, the sickening realization that no amount of strength or sheer force could protect or shield her from whatever she was already facing.

Damir sent a text message in under ten minutes.

The location he had sent me was deep in the woods—an old abandoned house. The roof sagged, the walls were covered in grime, and the windows were nothing but jagged holes of broken glass. It stank of damp wood and decay, the kind of place where screams went unheard. It was the perfect place to make someone disappear.

Rage burned through my veins like gasoline thrown on an open flame. Hazel was in there. Moy dorogaya Kheyzel . Every second she spent in that hellhole, every moment she breathed in the filth of this place, was another moment I’d carve into the bastards who took her.

I stepped out of the car, and the crunch of dead leaves under my boots was the only sound in the silence. My gun was already in my hand, but I tucked into the holster hanging on my belt. I didn’t care how many were inside. Didn’t care if it was a trap. I was going back with her, whether they liked it or not.

Men in black gathered outside the house like flies, but none of them stopped me. Getting to the cracked porch, I pushed the door with pent-up rage and stepped inside. It smelled like damp concrete and motor oil. My eyes immediately started scanning, and I held my breath for just a second before forcing it to steady.

Hazel sat tied to a chair, her body bound, her face pale, and her head held backward by the person I had least expected to be this stupid. Alina had a gun pressed to the side of her head.

“Baby, I’m so glad to see you here,” she greeted smoothly. “You came just in time.”

I stepped forward, keeping her gaze and holding my breath. My fingers itched for the weapon holstered at my side, but I didn’t draw. Not yet.

“Alina, what madness is this?”

“Madness, you say?” Alina’s eyes blazed angrily. “Miron, the only one mad here is you. You called off our engagement for this whore!”

“Don’t test me, woman.”

“Oh, that upsets you? Hearing me call her what she really is?” A tear slipped down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it with the back of her hand before repositioning the gun at Hazel’s skull. “I waited for you for months! Did Damir tell you I have my wedding dress? Everything’s ready for us, babe. And she comes along and makes it all disappear? No fucking way, Miron. Did you hear me? No way am I letting that happen! You belong to me!”

Throwing caution to the wind, I growled, “Let her go.”

Alina tilted her head, dragging the cold barrel of the gun along Hazel’s cheek. “And why would I do that? Because you’re asking nicely?”

Hazel’s eyes met mine, and my gaze quickly flickered to the dried tear stains on her cheeks. She’s been fucking crying. My eyes snapped to Alina, and I exhaled because if I didn’t, I was going to rain down bullets without giving it a second thought.

“Because if you don’t, I’ll put a bullet between your eyes before you take your next breath.”

Alina smirked. “I always loved that confidence of yours. But you can’t do shit because I have your weakness seated right here.” She cackled. “Whoever thought that you would have a weakness?”

I heard noise from outside and was confident that my men had arrived. The noise caused a brief distraction, and she looked over her shoulder. I seized the moment, gunning down one of her men, before running forward to tackle her. I dragged her by the elbow, pulling her close enough to myself to disable her arm with the gun, and then I pushed her to the center of the room, careful not to physically hurt her the way I wanted to, while I started working the ropes on Hazel’s chair.

Hazel whimpered, but I kept my eyes on Alina. And everything else happened in a blur.

Damir kicked open the door, ushering in one of Alina’s men with a gun raised behind his head and his hands raised. I loosened the last of the ropes binding her and helped her to her feet, cradling her shaking body with one arm.

The entire house reeked of gunpowder and sweat, the air thick with the scent of blood. My men had turned the tide; bodies were strewn across the concrete, groans of the dying ones echoing in the cold expanse.

“To think that there was a chance I was ever going to marry you,” I said to her. “You’re a fucking lunatic.”

“You’re no better, Miron Yezhov,” she spat, eyes filling to the brim with tears. “You’re just like me, broken and fucked up. Does she know? Has your whore seen you in action? Has she watched you feed a man his own tongue?”

“I swear to God, Alina, I will—”

“Do absolutely nothing, Miron! What you fail to see is that we were made for each other. This world, it’s ours alone. She wouldn’t even last a day. You need me, and I need you.”

Alina sat on her knees in the center of the room, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths, her mascara smeared like war paint. I raised my gun, had it trained on her, finger pressing just enough to feel the trigger’s resistance.

Her lips trembled, but her eyes were still defiant. “You don’t have the guts, Miron.”

I could have proved her wrong. Should have. But my gaze flicked to Hazel, standing just beside me, her face pale with fresh tears, her hands clenched. If there was one thing Alina said that made sense, it was that Hazel did not belong in this world, and for reasons I didn’t want to admit, I didn’t want her to see me like this. Not now. Not like this.

“You know I can do it, Alina. But I won’t.” I exhaled through my nose and lowered the gun a fraction. “It’s over,” I said. “I want you to stand up and leave. Get the hell out of here.”

Alina’s breath hitched, her fingers twitching at her side. Desperation shone in her eyes. She wasn’t built to lose. “Unbelievable. You’re letting me go.”

“We both know I don’t have the patience, so enjoy it for the next for seconds. Leave.”

She hesitated, and her eyes flicked back and forth, from the man standing in front of Damir with his hands up to Hazel leaning into my side.

I should have watched closely. I should have picked the hidden signal that passed in split seconds, giving the man permission to tackle Damir and snatch his gun. But I didn’t. So, when Alina yelled, “Now!” I did the first thing that came to my mind: protect Hazel.

The crack of a gunshot split the air, and I threw myself in front of her, wrapping my arms around her like a shield. A white-hot explosion tore into my side, searing deep, and I tried to look up, to see her face one last time, but the darkness rushed in too fast.

Damn it.

Hazel gasped, and my heart stopped cold.