Anastasia
I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but my arm is sore. I think I’ve figured out a plan, though. I keep myself calm. My plan is simple, appear scared and wait for an opportunity to get away. Panic does nothing but stop me.
It’s been a few hours, at least. Earlier, I thought it sounded like they were having a party, but it was hard to make out. I run through possible scenarios in my head. My father always said that the key to getting ahead was to play chess, not football.
I nod to myself, steeling myself in preparation for what I may have to do to get out of here. There’s loud singing. One of the loudest voices has an Irish accent. He sounds plastered, and I immediately determine to use this to my advantage.
I sit, waiting calmly for him to return. The other voices seem to be moving away while Killian’s voice gets closer.
The door swings open hard, and he smirks at me.
I don’t even have to be near him to smell the stink of alcohol. He clearly drank a lot. He smirks and walks over to me. “I’m hungry…” “I’m not a snack,” I say, looking away from him.
He takes my chain and yanks me to the floor in front of him. “Oh, you’ll do.” He pulls his pants down and pulls out his dick.
I look up at him as he says, “I’m going to fuck you until I’ve fucked the Russian out of you.”
“Excuse me?” I say.
He leans down to tell me again, “I said I’m going to fuck you until…”
His mistake. I raise my head, and the top of my head, the hardest part, connects with his nose. I raise a hand and punch him in the dick as hard as I can. He collapses to his knees, and I lean back and throw my head forward, headbutting him again. He falls to the floor, blood pouring through his fingers. I quickly search his pocket to find the key, and strapped to his side, is a small gun.
I free myself and stand up, confidently holding the gun and pointing it at him.
I wait patiently as he gathers his senses and realizes how the situation has flipped. He gets onto his knees, holding his hands up. “Please… Don’t kill me. I can do great things for you. I know people. I can connect you to the right people. People who will give you power.”
I hesitate, and he smiles. His teeth are red with blood. “That’s better. You’re just a little girl, not a killer. I obviously underestimated you, but we could do great things together.” He starts to get up, but I smirk.
“I’m not a little girl,” I whisper. “I’m a Bratva princess.”
I raise the gun to his head, and before he can say anything, I say, “I was born to do this.” I pull the trigger, and there is more splatter than expected.
I have to move, though. The guards will have heard the gunshot and will be coming this way. I rush out of the room and high-tail it down the hall, ducking into a room at the last moment.
I hear guards shouting and going past the room I’m hiding in. I look around. I’m in a bathroom. I breathe as quietly as I can. The guards aren’t bright and they don’t check the rooms as they rush back past.
I listen with an ear against the door, and once I’m sure it’s safe, I open the door and look up and down the hallway. I move down and pause as I’m about to reach the stairs. I clutch the gun the way Luigi showed me. I peek around the corner. I can hear voices shouting downstairs. I need to get out of the house. I look down the hallway on the other side of the landing. I
can see a tree outside the window. I wait for my chance, and when no one is looking, I run across the landing to the other hallway and down it. I get to the end and pray the window isn’t locked.
It won’t open, and I look around before stopping. There’s a set of stairs to my right. I take them slowly, keeping my gun raised and listening carefully.
I wander into a kitchen and look around. There are voices nearby, so I hurry to the open door across the room and step inside a garage.
Two cars are parked inside, and I rush around, searching for the keys. I find a button and hit it, and the garage door starts to open.
For a moment, I’m a deer caught in a headlight, and for some reason, Luigi’s face is what I picture, but it’s gone quickly as I shake myself back to reality. I see there’s a gate blocking my exit. I search around the garage with desperation before I find a clicker.
I press the button and almost whoop when the gate starts swinging open. I hear voices behind me, so I sprint, running out of the property into the street. I look up and down the road.
This isn’t East Harlem. this looks more like Central Park West. I see we’re not far from Central Park, and as I hear shouting behind me, I start sprinting.
I ignore the people staring at me as though I am mad, but I don’t have time to worry about my appearance. I run into the park; at the very least, I should be able to find a place to hide.
I don’t stop. I run onto a trail and deep into a thicket of trees.
I don’t even look back because I don’t need to. I know I’m being followed.
Luigi
I park outside the bistro because I know it’s the last place anyone will look for me. I dial Ana’s number and a Mexican voice answers.
“Looking for your girlfriend?” he laughs. “You’ll never find her.”
I put him on speakerphone and track the phone. “You scared of
me?”
“Hardly. You’re a little boy playing an adult. Your efforts are futile.” Mateo hangs up, and I bang my steering wheel. I nearly jump out of my skin when the passenger door opens, and Natalia slides in. “She’s in Central
Park West. Let’s go.”
She takes out a handgun and cocks it, looking at me as I stare at her. “Did you hear me? Get to Central Park West entrance, as close as we can get without crossing the Mexican’s path. Drive!”
I hit the gas and start driving. “How do you know this?”
“I’ve been tracking Anastasia since she made friends with Juanita Catalan. I knew it was dangerous, and she’d need help.” “Why didn’t you help at the auction?” I ask.
She shrugs, zipping up her leather jacket. “You had it sorted. I don’t play my cards until I absolutely have to.”
“Ana’s phone is only traceable by me. How are you tracking her?” I ask.
Natalia stares ahead. “I had her microchipped at her last flu shot.”
“What the fuck are you?” I ask, shocked. “A Russian spy?”
“I’m Ivan’s cousin, and I love my niece dearly. I love her more than life itself. Which is why you’re not going to tell anyone about this, so if anything ever happens again, we can find her and save her.” She smiles, and I take out my phone to send Alessandro a voice note.
“Alessandro, Ana is in Central Park. She entered from the west side but could be anywhere.” I send the voice note and look at Natalia. “How can I not tell Ana you’re tracking her?”
“Because I’m going to tell Ivan to spare your life,” she smiles, but there’s a coldness in her eyes. “Drive faster.”
I focus on the road, zipping through traffic at breakneck speed and almost causing several accidents. Natalia takes out a handheld device and checks it. “She’s moving fast, running. We can hit the entrance at the corner of W Fifty-Ninth Street and Seventh Avenue.”
I breathe hard as I move. “She’s probably being chased, which is why she’s running.”
“Well, we’ll have to get to her first,” Natalia says as we drive.
We don’t speak much for the rest of the ride. I get a notification with a voice note from Alessandro, “Luigi, that better not be the sound of a car I hear. You had better be sending me this message from my house. I swear…” I turn my phone off and toss it to the side.
“Your boss sounds pissed.”
“Does yours know you’re a supervillain? Like you’ve come across as a typical happy-go-lucky girl…”
“Have I?” she asks quietly. “Sounds like a nice life.”
I think for a moment, then ask, “So, what really brought you to New York?”
She chuckles. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you. We all have our demons, Luigi. Focus on yours and Ana’s, and you’ll be fine.”
We near the entrance, and she sighs. I glance at her. Her eyes are closed, and she’s breathing calmly.
“Are you meditating?” I roar. “Right now?”
“No better time than the present,” she murmurs as she slowly opens her eyes.
We pull up to the entrance, and we both get out. She comes around the car and starts running. “Follow me.”
I take my gun from its holster and run after her, scanning our surroundings. As expected, people are moving through the park, and they get nervous at the sight of us running with guns.
Some hurry away, others take out their phones.
Natalia fires a shot, and everyone starts running. I mean, I did the same thing at the street party. It works.
She stops to check the device, and another shot goes off, the floor next to us exploding with dirt. Natalia whips around and starts shooting. “Head East. I’ll catch up. She’s ahead.”
I take off, dodging the bullets being shot at me. I full-out sprint and reach a copse of trees. I take a breath and then yell, “Ana? Ana, where are you?”
“Luigi?” I hear the faint sound of her voice, and my heart floods with warmth. I run in her direction. “Ana, come toward me.”
We call each other until we meet on a pathway in the middle of the trees.
She hugs me tightly and then says, “We need to run. They’re right behind me.”
I take her hand, and we sprint down the pathway, listening out for the guards shouting to get us. We change direction a few times, but we both get tired. Ana first because she’s been running for so long.
We crouch behind some trees, panting hard.
“Ana?” Natalia calls. “Ana? Luigi?”
Ana calls out softly, “Nat?”
She comes over and crouches with us. “I’m glad I found you guys.
What luck.” She meets my gaze, and I nod. “What luck.”
“We need to get you both out of here. I can cover you for long enough for you to make your way to the east exit. Once there, turn left, head up the road, grab a cab, and return to your father’s house.”
“We should wait them out. Alessandro is on his way,” I say breathlessly. “She won’t make it all the way. She’s been running for so long already.”
Natalia looks at us seriously. “You either run, or you die. Those are your options. As a Bratva princess and a hitman, you should both be fit enough to do the latter.”
There are voices near us, and Natalia nods. “I’ll cover you and distract them. Get out of here, and I’ll see you later. Tell no one I was here to help.”
“But Nat…” Ana starts to say, but I tug on her hand, and she looks at me. She nods and waits.
Natalia listens carefully, and once some of the guards are in range, she stands from where we are crouched and opens fire. The bodies hit the ground with sickening thuds, but we only hear the first two before we take off toward the east exit. It’s far, Central Park is huge, but we push ourselves as hard as we can. We break behind trees for a few seconds here and there, but I don’t let us stand too long. I don’t want to waste the head start that Natalia has given us, no matter how weird her behavior is. I hope she makes it out.
We reach a pathway, and Anastasia tugs at my hand. “I’m exhausted, Luigi. I can’t go on. I need a break.”
“We’re close,” I promise, taking her hand. “I can try to carry you, but we need to keep moving.”
“You’re just as tired,” she says, panting. “And my muscles are cramping. We need to find somewhere to hide and regain our strength.”
I bite my lip and brush her hair back from her face. “Ana…”
The last thing I hear is a shot before I collapse to the ground.