VERA
There are a few gunshots, and the woman who had been speaking to me collapses into her food, blood spluttering out of her head
all over me and the table.
Screams and shouts echo around us as people jump from their seats and run. I scan the room, looking for Andrei. He had been standing to my right only thirty seconds ago, and now he’s gone. Panic strikes at the prospect that they have shot him. I can’t lose him.
Where is he?
Another gunshot misses me by an inch, smashing a vase on the table. My heart pounds, as I duck under the table, knowing it’s my only chance of cover. Two gun shots have been aimed at me and both missed.
I crawl on my hands and knees under the long table, heading in the direction I last saw Andrei. Uncle Igor has added me to his hit list, but his men are lousy shots.
He has revealed the truth of my identity to the public, and if we get out of this alive, it will soon be common knowledge.
It will force Andrei to release me by Bratva code, pakhan or not. I can’t understand why that thought makes me despair and hurt more than it should. Freedom from slavery should be something someone looks forward to not dreads.
Deep down, it’s the thought of leaving Andrei that I dread the most. If he releases me, where will I go? Back to Russia where I have no one. All I want is to be with Andrei, because I love him.
Another shot clashes through the room and my heart leaps into my throat. I still at the sound of footsteps coming toward my hiding place, echoing on the tiled floor.
The steps are slow, confident, and fearless, which means they belong to either Igor or one of his men.
I’ve got to get the hell out of this hall. I crawl along the length of the table, hoping I can make it to the end and then slip out undetected.
The room has gone eerily silent, and it makes my blood pressure sky rocket. I can feel the blood pumping in my ears.
I come to a stop at the end of the table and peer out beneath the table cloth. There is a door less than a few feet away from me, and it’s my best chance at this point.
Running could end badly, but if I stay put, they will find me anyway. Quietly, I slip my heels off and leave them under the table. There’s no way in hell I’ve got a chance of running with them on.
“Find them,” my uncle says in Russian.
A clash sounds and I glance back to the tables being turned over, starting from the other side.
Fuck.
My time is running out, and It’s now or never. I shut my eyes and take a deep breath, before sprinting for the door.
A man shouts after me, “There she is.”
A bullet hits the door frame, as I slip out into the corridor. My bare feet slap against the cold, rough tiles as I run for my life.
The thump of heavy shoes chasing me down force me to force one foot in front of the other harder and faster. If Igor catches me, It’s all over.
I know Andrei can look after himself. We both need to get the fuck out of here. God knows where his men from the brotherhood are at the moment, as they were stationed nearby to intercept anyone on my uncle’s side.
I take a right and pound down the corridor, not daring to glance behind me.
This place is a damn maze, and the last thing I want to do is get lost in here.
Nothing looks familiar to me from when we arrived and I come to a fork in the corridor, unsure which way to go. A shout close behind me forces me to turn right.
As I run it gets darker, and suspect I’ve gone deeper into this place. A room at the end of the corridor catches my eye, and I slip inside, hoping to give my chasers the slip.
I glance around and see I’ve stepped into an office. The thump of footsteps charging passed the room help me relax, and I let out a sigh of relief.
My legs are aching and my chest is tight from sprinting. There was a time when I was fit, but after a year cooped up in a basement being trained to be a dutiful slave, running isn’t easy.
I try to get my breathing under control, knowing it is too raspy and loud. Even though I’ve given them the slip for the moment, I’m not out of danger yet. My heart is pounding against my rib cage as I open the door and slip back out into the corridor.
Finding Andrei is the only thing on my mind at the moment. I’ve got no idea where I am or how to get back to the exit of this building. As I get closer to the dining hall again, I hear my uncle’s voice.
“Andrei, thought you could hide from me like a coward, did you?”
I freeze as ice cold dread spreads through my veins. He’s got him. I poke my head around the door jamb and glance inside to see him pointing his gun at Andrei. Andrei has his gun pointed at Igor in return. To my relief, they are the only ones in here.
“Stop,” I shout, stepping into the room to distract him.
“What do you think you are doing, Vera?” My uncle asks, not glancing at me.
“You tried to kill me,” I say, ignoring his question.
He keep his eyes on Andrei, speaking to me. “What else was I supposed to do to someone who had turned on me?”
“Vera, stay out of this,” Andrei adds, eyes wide with panic.
I shake my head, ignoring him. “I wouldn’t have turned on you, if it wasn’t for the fact you killed my family.” A lump forms in my throat, as I shout out the truth, hating the man before me more than I can comprehend.
My mind goes back to that day I almost sliced open Andrei’s throat. Igor drove me to that position. If I had killed Andrei, an innocent man, I’d be dead never knowing the truth about my uncle.
At least, not until it was too late, and I was six feet under. My death was always a part of his plan. If it Andrei’s men had done it this whole thing would have been cleaner. He could claim his presence in New York was to get revenge over his niece and stake his claim as pakhan of the New York brotherhood.
“Caught on, Vera.” He shakes his head. “The gullible woman who believes everything her uncle says.”
I clench my fists by my side, but I can’t help but feel stupid for falling for his lies. This asshole isn’t even trying to deny his involvement in their deaths. His own flesh and blood. “I’ll kill you,” I spit.
He laughs, as if that’s the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. “Vera, you don’t have it in you to kill anything.”
I grit my teeth. “I’d make an exception for you.”
“Vera, get the fuck out of here,” Andrei warns. “Leave it to me.”
I shake my head, narrowing my eyes at my uncle. “I need to be the one to do it.”
Andrei’s eyes widen. “Watch out, behind you,” he shouts.
One of my uncle’s men has crept up behind me. I’m too late, as he grabs hold of me. I gasp, trying to break free from his grip.
Then, the cold edge of a knife presses against my throat. I swallow and a stinging pain claws at my neck as the serrated edge nicks my skin. Andrei rushes toward me, but the sound a gun being cocked stops him in his wake. “Not another fucking step Petrov or she dies,” Igor says.
Blood trickles down my neck and onto my breast, making me shiver. I don’t disbelieve his claim that he’d get his man to kill me, after seeing those images of him standing over his own brother’s body.
Andrei’s eyes are wild with rage and focused on the cut at my neck. His muscles clenching under his tight shirt and jacket, jaw twitching. Andrei isn’t used to following anyone’s orders, no matter what.
My uncle has the upper hand and it’s my fault. I could have stayed out of trouble, If I hadn’t let my emotions rule me. Now, we’re at a disadvantage. Andrei tried to warn me, and I ignored him.
“Gun down, Andrei,” Igor commands.
Andrei glances between me and the man holding me, and back to Igor a few times, indecision burning in his dark brown eyes.
Then I watch him do something I never expected I’d witness him do. He backs down and sets the gun on the floor, holding his hands up in surrender.
It looks like my uncle has won, unless Andrei has something up his sleeve.