"Any word from Antonio?" Sasha strode in with water and a bowl of soup with two bread slices balancing off the edge. I pushed myself into a sitting position on the floor from doing pushups and took the water he handed me. I looked at the bowl in his hand and shook my head. "What?" He asked incredulously.
"Where did you get that?" I gulped down the small bottle and tossed it at his head. "You ate thirty minutes ago."
"I stole it from one of the sergeants." He grinned, and when he saw the deadly look on my face, that grin dropped. "I'm kidding—"
"Well, I don't fucking kid," I growled, getting off the floor.
"These are leftovers." He rolled his eyes. "I may have flirted for another bowl. Look, you can't blame me. That's the only good thing on the menu. I'm not eating cardboard served eggs and—"
"Just shut the fuck up and eat," Marco growled from the corner of the tent. Sasha smirked, going to sit near the small table in the centre.
When we arrived this morning, Incumbent General Alfonso Huerta cleared a tent for us for twelve hours. I had to pay a fucking shit load of money for this. You would think I'd receive a discount, not that I cared for it, but no. I was Pahkan, and they didn't give a fuck about that. They were offering their services, and I had to pay for them.
"So?"
"No." Right then, my phone rang. I answered and pressed it to my ear. "Mikhailov."
"Javier is fucking around the clock. He gave me a time—4 p.m."
"What the fuck do you mean he gave you a time?"
"I can't pull any more strings." He sighed. "No one has touched her because of the exchange I made."
"Let me guess; I can't come to this meeting?" I gritted my teeth, throwing on my T-shirt.
"I can't even enter with a fucking gun, so no. No one but me."
"I'm not fucking with you, Rossi."
"I'm not fucking lying, Mikhailov. At first, I'd steal her right under your nose, but that baby deserves a fucking father." There he was, throwing the 'B' word in my face. I bet he knew it got to me because Mikhailovs don't disown their children.
Fyodor may have been a motherfucker, but he loved Katya and my mother in his fucked up way. Power got to his head, and he wanted everyone to think he was the ruthless man he claimed to be.
I, on the other hand, won't push my family away when I know I'm fucking feared in this organisation. If anything, they will taste my wrath if they fuck with anyone close to me.
"Two hours, Rossi. Nothing more, nothing less or else I'm coming for her myself."
"Agreed." He ended the call, and I placed in my sunglasses. "Sasha, get the men from the compound. Inform Bogdan that we are leaving now."
"Yes, boss." He swallowed the last spoon and stood to leave. "Capitán Demián." He greeted him when he reached the folds at the tent's entrance.
"Already leaving, Mikhailov?"
"Work calls." I grinned, shaking his hand in mine.
"I wouldn't deny it. That boy's been on his computer since you arrived."
"I can tell you it has nothing to do with work. Marco has something personal going on."
"A woman?" His eyebrow arched, and he smirked.
"I wouldn't doubt it." Demián laughed. He trained with me in the Russian Armed Forces and didn't renew his contract. I tell myself he was there to spy on them, and I couldn't care less.
"I will leave you to it. It was good seeing you, Mikhailov." He tipped his hat and walked out.
"I've got the blueprints for the building." Marco stood up and turned his laptop to face me. "Study it. There are no cameras in certain areas we could enter from. Three men guard the gate, two in the back. I think they're keeping Butterfly in the east of the building. There are many rooms, but I'm getting static from that room from the speakers on the walls."
"Me, you and Sasha enter from the front. I will have one of the shooters on the roof if anyone escapes and as a backup. Three will attack the West and three East." He nodded. "And Clara?"
"Exactly where I need her." He spoke through gritted teeth. "And I'm telling you, she won't get away this time."
"Let's go." He stood from tying his boots and followed me to the plane, where General Alfonso Huerta bid us goodbye.
Remind me to buy a private house the next time I come to Mexico.
I went in and out of sleep, and my head lolled to the side. After I gave her the pain relief pills, I checked on Victoria for the hundredth time now. She was breathing, and I wished I could take the frown off her face. No one deserves to have nightmares in their sleep.
I looked at the pail in the room, deciding I would just use the damn thing.
I relieved my full bladder and returned to sit by Victoria's lying form. It's been too quiet, and I have tried picking the lock with the knife, but it was fruitless. That fucking metal door was a pain in the ass.
Victoria whimpered, and I shushed her by rubbing her knees. "I am here." I yawned, blocking the sound with my hand. I rested my head on the mattress and closed my eyes, feeling sleepy again.
Shouts erupted in the air, and footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. Victoria startled awake with a sob. "Shh. It's fine." I quickly stood up, grabbing the knife from beneath the mattress where my head rested. Fuck, I almost had a heart attack. I looked at the knife in my hand, then the box on the floor, quickly forming a plan. I won't let them take or hurt us. "Quiet for me, Victoria. I'm going to get them."
She shook her head, looking terrified. "No. Por favor. Las bebes."
"I can use the knife. Someone sent it in the box. I think that person will save us."
"No, trust." She whimpered.
"I know. I know." I pushed her hair from her sweaty forehead. "It's our only chance. I won't let them hurt you again."
Her face twisted in agony, and she wrapped her hands tighter around her middle. She nodded and lay back down.
The voices became louder, and heavy footfalls rushed to the door. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on how many men were coming from the commotion outside. A few gunshots rang in the air, and I gripped the knife tighter. I'm hoping it's Burly Man or Skull, preferably the latter.
The latch on the door fell, and a key entered the knob. I could see Victoria trembling in my peripheral vision, and Skull stepped in when the door swung open.
I rammed the knife into his neck, and his hand flew up to it. His eyes widened as he fell to his knees. "Vaffanculo." I gripped the knife and held his head in opposite directions. I know I would regret this but fuck it.
I pulled the handle to the right, slicing his throat from ear to ear, ignoring his feeble attempts to get my hands off him. "Merde, testa di cazzo."
After he fell to the floor, I rushed to the pail and emptied my stomach. "Fucking hell!" I heaved, holding my stomach. A sharp pain pricked me somewhere in my stomach, and fear overcame me. I had to be alright.
I rolled the sweatpants down my leg and crouched over to look between my legs. No blood. It's just round ligament pain, I tell myself. On top of that, I haven't eaten or had any fluids in twelve hours.
"Julia." I spun around and looked at Victoria. Her eyes were on the dead man drowning in a sea of his blood. She called me Julia. I haven't heard that name in years, and it felt different. I smiled wanly when her eyes met mine.
"It's alright." I cursed myself. I should have covered his body or given her a warning. At least she couldn't see his slit throat. Neither do I want to see it.
"No good for the baby." She looked at my bloodied clothes. "Bad." I would laugh if she didn't look distressed. Having a ruthless baby daddy was the worst that could happen. I know there was little I could do to keep my babies' innocence.
"It's alright. Trust me." I smiled. "I'll go in the hallway and see if it's cleared. I don't hear any more gunshots." She nodded, holding my hand so I could lift her into a sitting position. "Estas bien?"
"Si." She nodded, looking at the corpse.
"Hey, look at me. Don't watch that." My nose wrinkled, and I grabbed the bed sheet to cover it. "Better?" She nodded. "Okay, I won't go far." She trembled, and I cursed under my breath. I winced when I realised I didn't pull the knife out. I hoped no one had any surprises for me in the hallway.
I turned around and halted. Anger replaced all worry, and I walked to her. I raised my hand and struck her across the face. "How dare you?!" I hissed, my lips curling in disgust. "You have the audacity after you fucking betrayed me?"
"I had to do it." She spoke through clenched teeth, watching me with those fucking brown eyes. She looked at the blood on the floor and then back at me. "We have to go."
"I'll be fucking damned if I leave this building with you, Clara. You. Leave." I pointed to the door. "It looks like your plan to kill whoever the fuck you wanted to kill was successful. I trusted you with my babies' life and ended up in a shit hole with no fucking food or water for twelve hours. Get the fuck out of my way."
"They're coming." She begged. "Marco and Adrik. They're on their way here. You wanted to run—"
"To hell with fucking running. I am returning to Italy with my sister because I am tired of this fucking shit. I came for my mother, and they fucking killed her. They beat Victoria as if she was a fucking sack of sand, so no, Clara. Damn it all! Leave while you can since you desperately need to get away."
I sucked in a sharp breath when the man that shattered my heart stood in the doorway, filling it with his bulky build.
I thought he left. Did he come to finish what he couldn't? I could feel Clara's body tense before me, and she, too, sucked in a sharp breath. Surprisingly, Victoria followed.
My eyes didn't leave Adrik's. The evil stirring in his black orbs made me shiver, and I'd cower in the corner if I were a little child. "No, Malyshka. You're coming home with me." He growled, and a whimper left my lips. His eyes left my face and to Clara's back. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Here, Marco." He smirked evilly.
Clara whimpered, quickly spinning and pointing a gun at Adrik. I wasn't surprised at this point. They wanted to kill each other. I'd be the guest. I didn't have time for this shit. "I will shoot you." She started crying. I told her to leave.
"Don't waste your bullets." He was so fucking calm. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Adrik's eyes were on my stomach, drinking the blood on my pants and vest when I opened them.
He stalked toward me, ignoring Clara, trusting she wouldn't kill him. I stepped backwards, and he stopped, his angry eyes snapping to my face. His lips twitched in what I assumed was a snarl. He started for me again, and I backed away until my back touched the wall. "You've got nowhere to run, Malyshka." He clenched his jaw and stopped dangerously close to me.
"I hate you." I spat. "I'd do it a million times so you won't have my children in your life." I was so angry with him. The scream somewhere in the hallway didn't pull our eyes away from each other.
His hands grip my throat. "Don't fucking test me." He growled. "You could run, but never hide from me."
"Get your filthy hands off me." I hated it because of what it did to me. That fucking pulse between my legs started when I met his black eyes.
Clara was hurling curses at Marco as he dragged her down the hallway. Where was he taking her? It's personal. Her words rang in my ears. I didn't care what happened to her. It wasn't my problem.
Adrik leaned forward, bringing his lips to mine. I swung my head to the left, where I found Victoria's curious eyes on us. Fuck! I forgot she was there. Damn, that bastard.
"I'll let this time pass. I will take what I want from you, Giulia. Your cunt, lips and hate me all you like. I know your pussy is begging for my cock. I could see it in your eyes." I took a sharp breath. He stepped away from me, taking the warmth of his hand from my body. That's good. I reminded myself. I needed him far away.
"I'd slap you right now if that didn't get your cock hard, bastard." I hissed in Italian, and his eyes widened for a millisecond before he laughed. I wanted to claw his eyes out.
"Is it your blood?" He tilted his head to my belly.
"Why the fuck do you care?" I hissed, walking to Victoria. "I'm sorry. May I introduce you to Adrik Bastard Mikhailov?"
"It's Adrik Dante Mikhailov, Malyshka." The ass laughed.
"Don't call me that," I yelled. Where the hell has his angry demeanour gone? Why the fuck was he laughing?
"Boss, it's empty. Everyone is dead." My eyes swang to the door to find Alexandr standing in the doorway. His eyes were on my sister, and I wondered what he was thinking. She, on the other hand, averted her eyes to the floor.
"Javier?" Adrik asked.
"Dead." Who the fuck was Javier?
"Fuck!" Adrik released a frustrated breath. "¿Puedes caminar, Victoria?" He turned to her.
"No." She shook her head. I looked between the two of them, and my anger increased. Have they met before?
"Alexandr, carry her to the jeep. I'll be after you."
"She's hurt badly, so carry her carefully," Alexandr smirked. I hated all of them!
"Come here." Adrik snapped, and I jumped. I looked around the room to find who he was talking to, and when I saw his eyes on me, I frowned.
"I know damn well you're not talking to me."
"Giulia." He spoke through clenched teeth. A sharp pain returned to my stomach at the same time as his name left my lips. Fuck, it sounded like I needed him. He reached me before I could open my eyes.
"Is the blood yours?" All traces of anger and tom-foolery disappeared, and his concern shocked me. "Answer me." He pleaded.
"It's not mine." I gritted my teeth when the pain returned. I was sweating profusely.
"Fuck! Stay awake, Baby." I was in his strong arms within no time, and just like that, I fainted.
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Giulia, Victoria and Clara need a break for real. The men (I love them) can eat dirt because these women have been through it!
But what a reunion almost gone down spicy road. I feel sorry for Victoria's ears.😂😁
What do you think happened to Javier and his lieutenants?
Vote, comment and share.💛🖤💛