Page 22

SASHA

K irill and Damien are called in by the Pakhan to report back on what happened with the Albanians.

I follow them to the car, limping slightly and without much energy.

My arm wound isn’t bleeding anymore, so that’s a good sign.

Before I can open the door, Kirill whirls around and fixates me with his signature stare.

People downright tremble when he looks at them in this cryptic manner that can only translate to possible trouble.

“Where do you think you're going?”

His tone is so harsh that even the others, namely Yuri, Viktor, and Maksim, stop a safe distance away and stare at the scene.

I clear my throat despite the tinge of pain bursting through my chest. “With you. To the Pakhan’s house.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” He stares behind me. “Yuri, Maksim. Escort Lipovsky back to the house and make sure the doctor takes a look at him. If I find out my orders weren’t met, you’ll be the ones who face punishment.”

“Yes, sir,” both say at the same time.

I start to speak, but the words get stuck in my throat when he glares down at me. It’s not a good idea to provoke Kirill when he’s in this unpredictable state. It’s worse that I don’t know what made him this mad.

Is it because I got myself kidnapped? Or is it the fact that I couldn’t protect him?

His shoulders are tense, causing his jacket to strain against his strong muscles. His lips part as if he wants to say something, but they soon clamp shut again, and he slips into the car without a word.

Viktor moves to the front, and I intercept him. “Make sure he’s safe.”

The mountain of a man looks at me as if I were an alien. “I don’t need you to tell me the obvious.”

“If anything happens, call us.”

“I know that,” he says with a note of frustration.

“Make sure your phone is on you the whole time.”

“What the fuck, Lipovsky? Did you get your head hit in there?” He pauses as if he doesn’t want to say the next words, but then he speaks in a lower tone, “Worry about yourself first.”

And then he’s also gone. Soon after, the car that Damien, Kirill, Viktor, and Vladislav are in leaves the premises, followed by a few others.

I instinctively walk for a few paces as if I could run after them or something, which is entirely impossible, considering how weak I am. The fact that I’m standing upright is a feat in and of itself.

A familiar, safe arm holds my shoulders and pulls me into a headlock. Maksim ruffles my hair. “You scared us, you little shit.”

I tap his arm, wheezing. “I can’t breathe—”

Yuri pushes him with a surprisingly strong shove, and once Maksim releases me, he kicks him in the back of his knees. Then Yuri wraps his arm around my shoulder. “The fuck, Maks? Can’t you see he’s been drugged?”

“Oh, right.” Maksim scratches the back of his neck, looking apologetic. “My bad, Sash. Should’ve thought of that.”

“I’m completely fine. Look.” I duck from under Yuri’s arm, spin around, and punch the air. The moment I do, the whole world turns blurry.

I’m about to hit the ground when Yuri catches me, holds me upright, and says in a soft voice, “Don’t push it.”

“Yeah.” Maksim hugs my shoulder. “Take it easy. And I swear to fuck, if you scare us like that again, I’ll kill you.”

I can’t control the smile that lifts my lips. It’s hard to imagine that I only met these guys a year and a half ago. It feels like I’ve known them forever, but I guess that’s what true friendship should feel like.

“You did scare us,” Yuri offers.

“Even Boss lost his shit,” Maksim says.

I swear my heart is about to jump out of my chest and flounder on the ground. “He…what?”

“Fucking lost it, Sasha,” Maksim repeats slowly as if he thinks I didn’t hear him the first time.

“What did he do?” I really, really hope the heat rising to my cheeks isn’t externally visible.

“Let me see.” Maksim releases me, jumps in front of me, and starts to count on his hand.

“He ran in your direction when you were knocked out and would have gotten himself killed if it weren’t for Viktor, who jumped on top of him and protected him with his body.

Then Boss punched him for it. Can you believe that? ”

“Kirill punched Viktor?” I ask, looking between my two friends.

Yuri nods. “I know. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

“But why? He protected him, no?”

“Yes,” Yuri says. “But Boss said that if it weren’t for Viktor meddling in the situation, he could’ve gotten to you before they took you away. So in a way, he blamed Viktor for that.”

My lips part. “But…that’s not true. Viktor was only doing his job.”

“I agree.” Maksim nods. “I don’t like that dick most of the time, but Boss’s actions were uncalled for.

But listen, listen! That’s not half of it.

We managed to capture a few Albanians alive.

We tortured them on the spot, but when they didn’t answer Boss about where they took you, he killed them.

It was like a mass execution in some concentration camp.

Of course, Damien was mad about not being allowed to participate in the action.

We were close to losing our last chance at getting a lead, but thankfully, Kyle managed to use a different tactic and got the location from the last one alive.

It didn’t end there, though. Oh, no, it didn’t.

Did you notice that he brought almost all of our guards, even those who are supposed to remain in reserve?

He only left a few behind to protect the house and Miss Karina. ”

My jaw nearly hits the ground. Did Kirill really do all of that?

For me ?

No, he must’ve been under some sort of order from the Pakhan to save Rai.

But there’s only one problem with that logic—the Kirill I know wouldn’t put all his resources into saving someone he dislikes, even if he were ordered by the leader himself.

It takes me a few moments to compose myself and be able to speak in a moderately normal tone. “Did he explain why he was doing that?”

“Seriously, Sasha? Do you know Boss to be the type who explains himself?”

“Oh, right.” He’s definitely not.

“It’s obvious why he did it,” Yuri tells me in a strangely agitated tone. “He was worried about you.”

“No…” I laugh it off, but neither of them is joining me. So I clear my throat. “I’m not important enough in the grand scheme of things for him to do all of that.”

“You didn’t see him lose it and threaten to rape the Albanian with all objects available, so shut it,” Maksim says.

“He…what?”

“His exact words were”—Maksim clears his throat and mimics Kirill’s apathetic tone—“listen to me, cockroach, if you don’t tell me where you took him, I’m going to have you raped. I’ll assault you with every object available until I fucking break you. Maybe then you’ll know how it feels, yeah?”

I can almost imagine the unhinged look on Kirill’s face when he said those words. A part of me wishes I had been there to witness that side of him.

I must be wrong in the head.

“Besides,” Maksim continues. “Boss is not the type who leaves a man behind. If getting you back had meant going through more trouble than this, I’m sure he still would’ve done it.”

That’s certainly true.

When I was shot during that special operations mission, we weren’t that close, but he still carried me to safety. It’s not Kirill’s modus operandi to leave a man behind.

“Don’t get into shit again.” Maksim slaps my cheek with the back of his hand, teasingly. Almost lovingly.

Yuri’s face hardens. In an instant, he grabs his wrist and twists his arm behind his back, looking at him with a weird type of tension.

This is actually not the first time he’s done it.

Whenever Maks starts acting too familiar with anyone in his immediate surroundings—as in being himself—Yuri would become surprisingly violent.

I haven’t thought much of it before, but I think this isn’t just part of Yuri’s methods to keep Maksim under leash.

It feels like…more.

“The fuck?” Maksim struggles against Yuri. “Let me go.”

The latter releases him with a jerk as if just realizing that he might have done something he shouldn’t have.

Maksim rotates his wrist, frowning. “I didn’t know you could be this…strong.”

“You were being an idiot.” Yuri’s wise mask slips back in place and he pushes me in the direction of the car. “Let’s get you home, Sasha.”

Home.

I like the sound of that.

After all the hell I’ve been through today, it’s comforting to know that I have a home to go back to.

Now, if the reason I consider that place home—Kirill—would tell me why he’s so angry, it’d be great.

* * *

Thankfully, the drug doesn’t have a permanent effect, and it almost entirely wears off an hour after I get to the house.

I can move my limbs voluntarily, and my strength slowly returns to its usual level. My arm’s injury is shallow and doesn’t even need stitches. It’ll add another scar, though.

One more battle scar, Sasha.

I stopped counting all the scars I’ve gotten, especially in the army. That was when I officially stopped being a sheltered young lady.

After the doctor finishes bandaging my arm, Anna brings me a tray of food and stands there like a statue until I’m finished.

She doesn’t have to say a word. Her silent presence is enough to order me around. Sometimes, she feels like the female version of Viktor with her tunnel-like vision about protecting and ensuring Kirill’s well-being.

I guess, lately, I’m also turning into another version of them, because protecting Kirill has become my top priority since Russia.

After I finish, she fetches the tray. “Stop getting yourself in trouble, young man.”

And then she’s gone.

I’m ready for this day to finally end. Alas, both Karina and Konstantin barge inside next. Yuri and Maksim, who were playing the role of my caretakers, have to push to the side to make room for them.

“Oh my God, oh my God…” Karina grabs onto my good arm, her eyes filling with tears. “Are you okay? Look at all the blood!”