Morozov

Chapter 14

Niveen
"Vera," I spoke, looking back at her. "Are you coming?" She was standing at the end of her bed, a bag sitting on it, as she looked around her room.
"Yeah," she said, caught off guard. She grabbed it and left, closing the door behind her.
I understood what she was going through. She was probably scared. Scared of never returning, scared that this house might burn down or even worse.

She was on our side but Nadia and Stanislav were still her parents. And returning to a house where her parents got murdered in? No one would like that.
In that moment, it was her childhood home. A few hours later, it would be a crime scene.
The cops will arrive and inspect everything. The news reporters will be there. The people will see two black bags with dead bodies in them being carried out of the house. And the police will cover it up. Sell it as a failed housebreaking. Except they'll leave out that it was connected to a war going on between the two leading Mafias of America. Because that would be a disaster.

And where were you?, Vera's family will ask her. And she'll answer, at my friend's house. Just like we'd gone over it before.
Mal and Ace won't suspect anything because no one knew about the connection between Jack and me.

And by sunrise, this will be over.

Or so we thought.

Vera and I were only one block away from my house when a black van pulled up a few foot in front of us, blocking our way. My heart skipped a beat as I eyed it varily, ready to run away, should someone step out and try to kidnap us.

We should have changed sides. We should have just walked away. But you never think you're one of the victims until it's too late. Until you're pulled into the van by strong hands covering your mouth so that you can't scream.

What was weird was that Vera, however, got in voluntarily. She didn't need to be held or covered up. She just got in with the same calm look she had when we left the house.

I wanted her to run. I wanted to yell at her for getting in as I tried to free myself. I kicked the air and pinched the guy dragging me but it was no use.
Only when the doors were closed and the van started moving was I let go of.

"What the fuck is going on?!" I yelled, panting heavily, in complete horror.
"Vera. What's going on?" I asked confused and also scared as hell as I looked at my friend and the man covered by a mask. The inside of the van was dark and shaky as we drove who knows where.

"We need to have a little talk," Vera spoke, not seeming scared at all. There was a hint of malice in her voice and it scared the shit out of me.

"We need your help with something," she spoke and that was when the guy pulled off his mask.

"Archie?!" I exclaimed in shock. I didn't know him back then. But I knew his face.

"Don't get distracted," Vera snapped, making me look at her again. "As you already know, my parents took Jack into their care after he was kicked out by his bastard of a father. He was like a brother to me. And you know," she paused, chuckling and shaking her head.

"that's why him betraying my family for the ones who treated him like a piece of shit hurt me even more. Might be a big surprise for you that I neither like, nor tolerate this."

"What?! You were the one crossing them, too," I yelled in total disbelief.

"That was a lie. Uuuhh shocking, I know," she had an ironic tone to her last part, making me feel like she was mocking me. Especially when she wiggled her hands in synch of her words.
"Anyways, you will help us get revenge."

"The fuck I won't," I scoffed and Vera sighed, slumping her shoulders. She might not have known about our -whatever Jack and I had- but she did know about our friendship. And if she thought I'd give that up by the snap of a finger, she was more naive than I thought.