Annya couldn't breathe. After all they had been through. After all they had lost, he was willing to take out the last of his family, and for what? This couldn't have been his idea. Alex must have been pushed into doing this against his will. She looked at the clock, seeing that she still had an hour until her brother came back, and she decided it was time to start cleaning up after herself. She needed to have as much time to think through everything enough to be able to control her facial expressions when her Alex came back.
As soon as she was satisfied with how things were replaced, she went back to the flight website, breathing out a sigh of relief, seeing that it had started it's trip home. He made it out. She leaned back in the chair, thinking about what she had just discovered. She stood up, walking to the balcony in search of fresh air, hoping it would clear her mind enough for her to think clearly. She rested her arms on the railing, intertwining her fingers together, as she started laying all the facts out in her mind, to get a better look of the situation.
"Anya, what are you doing? You'll be seen" Genevieve came up, lightly resting her hand on Annya's shoulder.
"I'll be okay" she responded absentmindedly. "He made it out, Anya. he's safe, now" Annya looked at her friend.
"I know" was all she said, as they looked back out into the white mountains beyond their room. "Maybe you can go back and visit once all this is over." Gen was always an optimist, but never really thought things through.
"He won't want to see me. I lied to him. I fed him empty promises and used him. I'm the last person he will ever want to see." Annya looked down at her hands in shame before another hand covered them in comfort.
"He's smart, Annya. he will understand," Gen tried, but Annya only nodded, still looking down.
"Remember what we talked about?"Gen asked. Annya nodded again, hope starting to tug at her heart before Gen's eyes lit up in irritation. "Hopefully inside where we don't catch hypothermia. Anya, it's cold, let's go." Annya rolled her eyes and snorted as she turned around, walking back in.
"I'm going to my room, if that's okay. I need some time alone" Annya mumbled. Before Gen could say anything, Annya was out the door with her files in hand.
She knew seeing the room across the hall would be difficult, but there was no amount of preparation that could lighten the blow of the sight in front of her.
The whole hotel room was spotless. All her clothes that were everywhere were neatly folded on the couch. Upon closer inspection she saw that it wasn't just the clothes that were lying around. They were all the clothes she had in the room. He was helping her pack. Looking over at the coffee table, she saw a plate of something wrapped in tin foil. She thought she couldn't take it any more when she saw a paper plane that said open me by the plate with writing so neat, she couldn't help but read it, bringing on the memory of the first now he had sent her along with a fresh stream of tears.
Remember, the flight is at 10:00 AM. - he had emphisized the AM by underlining it three times, knowing how she is in the mornings.- please becareful and don't do anything stupid until then. I'll see you on the plane. And at the end of the letter as a heart immaculately drawn.
She didn't know what to do. She just stood there, drowning in emotions she didn't want. Part of her wanted to run. A big part told her to steal a flight back to America and find her way to the only person she could trust, but that wasn't how she was raised. She was a fighter. She would fight before she could run. She was smarter than anyone in her class in every school she joined. She could figure this out.
With one deep breath, she went to erase anything that reminded her of him. The last thing she needed was a distraction. She took the folded clothes and food and threw them away along with the plate, but she couldn't bring herself to throw away his note. She shoved it in her back pocket, and closed and locked every entrance in the room.
Once the main area was closed off, she started pacing, thinking about all that has happened since the death of her parents, putting all the new pieces together and fitting them into the bigger picture. She didn't want to write anything out of risk of someone finding out she knew, so she tried to talk to herself silently, working everything out on her own.
She had a few open cases going for when she would hit a dead end in one, she can move to another to give her mind a reboot, but this time, she couldn't think about any other cases. She needed to know what was going on with her family. Her mind quickly went to Genevieve and how this would affect her. If Annya were to intrust her enough to take her with her, would she turn against her, or would her brother kill her if she stayed? There was just too many factors running around in her mind to think straight. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try to combat her headache as she went to get some water, hoping to give herself a break.
She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her brother's knock on the door, and instinctively threw her cup in his direction, letting it shatter into pieces. He tried again, she responded the same way, watching the plate scatter along with the cup, letting them all meld together, not knowing what piece belonged to what item and the thought terrified her. She was lying when she told Sean she didn't get scared. The only thing that scared her was her ignorance.
She knows she's supposed to know something and yet she can't, leaving her vulnerable to an unknown threat, and the man outside her door is exactly that. Her brother knocked again, she listened to see if there was anyone else with him, but he was alone. He left for a while, she assumed to get another room key, and she was left in the deafening silence.
She took this time to gather all her weapons, keeping her favorite gun in hand attached to her best silencer, and her sharpest knife in the other. She was ready for a fight. She stood in the kitchen away from direct sight of the doorway, so she could see the intruder before he saw her. And just like that, the siblings were battling each other much like when they were children, still learning to fight, but now, they were both out for blood.
She listened intently into the hallway until she heard the knock she was looking for. One set of footsteps closing in on her room, followed by another knock, then silence. Suddenly there was a beep of the door, indicating that a keycard had been accepted.
As soon as her brother was in view, she shot, only catching part of his hair. His response was instant, he pulled out his own gun, pointing it at her direction, ready to shoot back. As soon as he saw that it was her, his eyes grew wide in surprise and confusion, but Annya didn't have the patience.
"Annya, put the gun down. Tell me what's going on." he slowly put his weapon on the floor, raising his hands above his head as he stood back up.
"What have you done, brother?" she asked. Her voice was quiet and controled, but deadly. He didn't respond. She cound tell he realized that she knew, but he still played stupid. Another shot landed by his pinkie toe, taking part of his leather shoe with it. She had always been an excellent shot, making her good for taunting, and Alex knew it. He also knew that her third shot always made contact, and right now, she isn't in the safest state of mind.
"ANYA, STOP IT!" she closed one eye, aiming for his head. She didn't need to close it, but she was always for the dramatics during a hunt. "Anya, Anya, listen to me. We can discuss this." she opened her eyes, tilting her head up with a smirk playing on her lips.
"Would you kill an unarmed man?" he asked, his voice wavering.
"You know I have." she responded smoothly.
"Would you kill your brother?" he tried again
"Would you your sister?" she was calm, the tidal waves of emotions have disappeared as she focused on one problem at a time. Sure she was hoping to save Alex for later in the game, but who is she to fight with the order of events?
"It's not my gun that's been fired." there was genuine fear in his eyes, making Annya scoff. That's the leader of all of the Russian mobs for you. A coward and a snake, willing to take down his own blood for his benefit.
"And it's not me that's working with the man that killed both my parents and trying to do the same to the last of my family. You've always been a dumbass and a coward, Alex, but disloyal?" she tisked. His eyes widened, guilt evident on his face.
"Where's Sean, Alex?" she demanded, quietly, but her voice boomed strength and dominance.
"Still on the plain. He'll be fine. You were right. He had no business being here."
"What of Alistare?" She demanded. Alex was backing away towards the wall, as she stalked closer to him with her finger half an inch away from the trigger.
"He will make sure no one is after Sean, then come home in a month. I swear, Sean will be okay. Please put the gun down, Anya." Alexander's voice was low, but only to keep it from breaking.
"What are you doing with-" There was a sharp pain in her side, then darkness.
Waking up, Annya shook her head, noticing her neck was sore. She tried to reach her hand up to the location the pain that had been radiating from but her whole arm was held back. In alarm, she looked around trying to take in her situation around her as discreetly as she could.
She was in a chair with her arms tied down with rope and wrists attached to the arm rests with zip ties, but she noticed that her legs were free. She was disarmed and gagged, which angered her more than scared her. Looking around, she noticed the familiar warehouse and cells, and remembered her confrontation with her brother, filling her with disgust.
As thought right on que, she heard footsteps approach her. The pressure and speed indicated it was in fact Alex. She leaned her head to her side, following his movements as he walked closer to her, standing right in front of her. There was sadness in his eyes, maybe even regret, but Annya couldn't help the betrayal that she was sure showed on her face.
"I'm going to take the cloth out of your mouth if you promise to keep your voice down. Uncle doesn't know I'm down here and we need to talk." he said quietly. His words struck hope in his sister's heart. Maybe he didn't have anything to do with her capture. But if that was the case, how did he end up in front of her without a scratch? How did he end up with the email? He was involved, maybe unwillingly, but what else did he have to lose besides her? Being the don, didn't mean as much to him as she was sure she did. She only narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. All she knew was he was involved.
"What have you done?" she quietly seethed.
"I didn't have a choice," he responded. "There has been a rebellion on my hands since dad died and I didn't know what else to do. I had to secure my place." Apparently, she wasn't as important to him as his power.
"Alex," she warned. She didn't have the patience for him to beat around the bush. She knew what he was saying, but she wanted to hear the coward say it outright as he looked in her eyes, as she didn't let him look away. Everyone knew she would have a better don, but because of the patriarchy, he was put to power. And based on how the clan was running, she wasn't surprised people wanted a change in leadership.
"Anya," he started. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead as he thought of a way to put it. "Anya, ever since father died, the organization has split down the middle. Some believed in tradition, wanting me to stay in power, but others felt like you were a better fit, and I panicked. I sent you away and told everyone you ran and that was supposed to be the end of that. No one was supposed to get hurt, but Uncle wanted to make sure you didn't get in the way and I wasn't able to stop him. He had too many people behind him."
"You didn't want to stop him," Annya corrected. her voice was venomous, dripping with anger and betrayal.
"I don't want you to die!" he let his voice raise, but quickly looked around, making sure no one heard him and then brought his voice back to a whisper.
"I swear to you , Anya. I never wanted any harm to come to anyone." she could tell he was talking about Sean, but his word choice reassured her that their uncle didn't know about him. "When I found out how far uncle was willing to go, I really was trying to find out who was also with him to take him down."
"He captured you." Annya stated, waiting for an explanation.
"A ploy to get you to believe that I was on your side." There was shame in his voice, but Annya didn't care.
"He still believes you're on his. You're too scared to stand up to him." Annya leaned back in her chair. She resisted the urge to go into her power pose, not wanting to bring attention to her untied legs. In response, Alex only looked away in shame.
"Or you still are his spineless bitch." she leaned her head to get a better look at his face. She wasn't going to give him a break just yet.
"I never wanted to lead," she clarified. Sure she was good at it and more qualified, but she never wanted the responsibility that came with the power. "I was happy right where I was. You didn't need to kill off your whole family for a job you're really not that good at." that got his attention. He looked back at her, anger in his eyes.
"I didn't do anything to my mother and father!"
"How do you think they died, dumbass?" she seethed, leaning towards him. "Uncle has been planning this for a while and you were stupid enough to walk right into his plan with open arms." Annya scoffed. "Even mom knew." Annya has never been more ashamed with her relation to her brother than she was at that moment just from the sheer stupidity radiating off of him.
As soon Alex was about to open his mouth to respond, the door to the railing above them swung open as the man they had known and trusted all their lives, silently walked down to where they were. It has been a couple years since they had seen him and age hadn't seemed to have had much effect on him. His hair was still a beautiful golden color, slicked back on the sides and the top was just combed out of his face. His suit was form fitting, although showing a hint of his beer belly. Annya supposed that he would be considered attractive for women his age, but all she could think of at this moment was ripping that smug smile off his face.
"Anya, Alex. I'm so glad to see you two together like old times. You know when you were young, you were inseparable. You were the best of friends always looking out for each other. Now look at you." he said with a victorious smile. Alex looked away, refusing to look either of the two in the eyes as Annya stared daggers at the both of them, while Artyomov looked at Alex with pride filling his posture.
"I always believed that the fates would prove justice. Now my powerful nephew has developed courage, ready to take on the world, while the vulgar brat is put in her place." he spat that last bit out at Annya who looked slightly amused. She always found pleasure in getting under people's skin. "My father and brother should have put more energy into disciplining you."
"You call him brave just because he was willing to do your dirty work. He's a mindless sheep. He always was. It's why you chose him, isn't it?" Annya was met with a strike to the face, accompanied with an all too familiar sting. When she looked back at the men, Alex looked guilty while Artyomov was furious. Without waiting for a response, Annya spit out the blood in her mouth at his shoes, earning her a strong punch to her other cheek. Before her uncle pulled at the roots of her hair to force her to look at him, although her face remained emotionless.
"You don't have anyone to protect you anymore, Annya, so I suggest you start behaving." Artyomov seethed, tightening his other hand around Annya's throat. She looked past her uncle at her brother to see that he'd completely turned his back to the scene, making a new wave of anger flow through her, but only a smile showed on her face.
"You know, my brother and his bitch wife let you run around doing whatever you wanted for too long, you've become complacent. Now it's up to me to put you in your place as you should have been long ago." another blow to the face, still not letting her throat go.
"Does that place happen to have a stove in it, or is that the bedroom?" she taunted. She knew her uncle had always been rather traditional, always complaining to her parents about how she played outside too much, or how she needed to start learning how to properly cook and clean so she could be able to find a husband. Every time he would bring up, her parents would shut down the conversation, standing up for her, and her father would keep him from laying a hand on her, although his influence couldn't reach his father, but now Artyomov was free to do as he wanted. The only person who could have had her back was too scared to speak up like he always was.
Although her uncle was right about one thing; she never knew when to shut up. She was always ready to provoke, too proud to stand down, but she didn't care. That comment got her a kick to the face so hard, the chair was knocked over. She made sure her ankles were wrapped around the legs of the chair, so they would look like they were tied down. She would need them to break free when it was time. The sound of her 'oof' and the thud of her body made Alex turn around, worry clear on his face, but before he could register what had happened, Annya was being kicked in the stomach, more blood escaping her lips.
"UNCLE, STOP!" he rushed over to them, Dragging Artyomov away from his sister with him fighting back angrily. "This is not what we discussed!"
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