Boris’ grip on him is strong, but I clench my fists and swing them at his wrist, forcing him to let Misha go. Thankfully, my boy knows when to listen, so after a moment of hesitation he does turn away, sprinting somewhere over the lawn. God, may they have enough humanity left to spare him the bullets.
But I can’t watch him for too long as Ivan regains his composure, Boris shakes out of his momentary shock, and they both lunge at me. I sneak away from their attack just a moment before they catch me, and they almost bump into each other before turning to me with a growl. But I’m good at running, so I step back, keeping my eyes on them and ready to bolt in the opposite direction.
“What are you gonna do now?” I chuckle, playing with their attention and forcing them to focus on me. “Do you think you can-”
But a gunshot interrupts me, a bullet hits the ground just two feet away from my toes, and it startles me so much that I hurry to step back and, caught off guard, fall on the ground. Another bullet explodes a foot from my face, sending dust and heat at my skin, and my heart almost bursts with adrenaline and primal fear, forcing me to crawl away from the source of it.
“You are very lucky that I need you alive,” Yuriy growls, walking closer, and through the ringing of the gunshots I hear screams and cries. Oh no, Misha!
I immediately sit up, still disoriented from the fire, and look around. Yuriy is just a few feet away from me, looking genuinely pissed, and behind his back I see Sergei dragging Misha to the mansion by his collar. Shit! I grit my teeth, ignoring the wave of despair trying to grow in my heart, and follow Ivan’s and Boris’s hands forcing me to get up.
“Why do you need me? What do you want?” I turn to Yuriy and see his expression shift back to the calm and confident mask he likes to wear. He puts his gun away in his holster, dusts himself off, and looks at me with a fake smile.
“You’ll see.”
God, I hate his fucking theatrics.
I purse my lips and obediently walk after him, nudged from behind. “At least let Misha go. Whatever you’re planning, he has nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, I believe he does.” Yuriy glances at me with a smirk, and it feels like a cold hand grips my heart.
“What do you mean?” I tug at my hands, trying to get closer to Yuriy, but Ivan and Boris hold me tightly so I can only stretch myself toward him. “What do you want to do with him?”
“Nothing scary, don’t worry. You only have to wait.”
That doesn’t calm my anxiety at all, but I feel like it’s pointless to keep asking questions. I only keep my gaze on Sergei and Misha a dozen feet in front of us and walk forward. Thankfully, it looks like they’re taking us to the same place, and it’s not a basement or a torture room. In fact, we end up in Yuriy’s office, a big and spacious room with solid oak furniture and dark green walls.
When we enter, Olga is already there, leaning over the desk and typing something on a laptop. She looks at us for a moment and, without batting an eye, straightens up and turns to Yuriy.
“Is everything ready?” He walks to her, focused more on the laptop, and Olga nods.
“Riccardo will call you any minute now.”
I blink and open my mouth around a silent question. What? Riccardo?
But before I can say anything, Yuriy’s phone rings with Tchaikovsky’s symphony, and he grins widely and answers the call.
“Hello?”
The room is silent and his speakers are loud, so it doesn’t take a lot of effort to hear the response, and my heart drops when I realize that it is, indeed, Riccardo’s voice. I may not be so familiar with him, but I have a good memory, and the few times I’ve heard him speak were enough to memorize it. Now, I can easily hear that Riccardo is tense and furious. “I’ve just received a call from Louis and our border patrols. What the hell is going on, Yuriy?”
Louis? Oh, that means he’s alive! I quietly breathe out in relief while Yuriy openly chuckles and shakes his head, turning to the window. “I’d like to ask the same. Why was your man rummaging around our streets at night, killing my men and disturbing our peace? It was not a part of the deal, Riccardo.”
“What?”
“The truce is over now-so of course, I took what belongs to our family back.” He glances at us, and I narrow my eyes, burning with anger from within. “I am not going to touch Elena for now, but I’m counting on you to bring her back when I demand it.”
Riccardo pauses for a moment, and I can imagine him exchanging a glance with Elena before he grits out, “You can’t be serious. It doesn’t work like that.”
“If I say it does, it does,” Yuriy says with an arrogant smile, and god, how much I’d give to punch him in the face before shooting his head.
“That’s bullshit!”
“Eloquent.” Yuriy chuckles and takes a seat in his armchair behind the desk. “Well, if you’d like to discuss it like adults, you are always welcome in my house.”
Oh, come on, that’s such a cheap trick. Riccardo isn’t so stupid to come to his enemy’s house, is he?
“You don’t expect me to trust you, do you?” Riccardo says after a second, and I’m glad to hear mocking notes in his voice. Maybe someone will finally put this asshole in his place.
“Why not?” Yuriy plays innocent, even though it’s an obvious lie for everyone in the room, even Misha. “I don’t want to start the war all over again, and I’m sure you don’t want it either. But under current circumstances, we have to take another look at the deal between our families.”
Riccardo holds a pause, and I can’t believe he’s even thinking about it. What the hell!
“Besides,” Yuriy adds in the meantime and glances at me. “If your cousin wants to see his wife again, you have to hurry up. I am not going to keep them here forever.”
“How can I be sure your people aren’t gonna kill me as soon as I step foot in your territory?” Riccardo asks finally, and I can hear just how grim his voice is now. I’m not sure what Yuriy is talking about either, but I don’t like it.
“Oh, that’s simple!” Yuriy even laughs a little, slowly turning around in his chair. “Bring Elena with you. She’ll be your lucky charm.”
“I’ll bring my men with me.”
“Sure.” Yuriy grins. “Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”
Riccardo doesn’t say anything for a moment, clearly mulling it over, but in the end, he breathes out. “Alright, then. I’ll be there soon.”
“Great! It’s a pleasure to have-”
But Riccardo hangs up before Yuriy finishes the sentence, and I see his smile growing wider. He looks at Olga, leans on the desk with his elbows, and drums his fingers, looking like a child waiting to open Christmas presents.
“He’s angry. That’s good. Will make it easier to start the fight.”
Olga nods with a cold look in her eyes. “Our men are at their positions and ready to open fire as soon as they arrive.”
“Good, good.”
Ah, they can’t be serious! I look between them in disbelief before laughing out loud and attracting their attention. “Do you think Riccardo is actually going to come here unarmed? He’s not that dumb.”
“Maybe he isn’t, although I’m not sure about that.” Yuriy smiles and leans back in his chair. “But Elena will make sure he doesn’t change his mind.”
Elena? The smile falls off my lips, and I cast my gaze to the floor, thinking it over and over again with a lump growing in my throat.
Everything is ready.
Our men are at their positions.
Elena will make sure he doesn’t change his mind.
Goddamnit. It’s a trap. They want to kill Riccardo!