Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Turning to Oleg, I wait. “What do you want?” I asked.
“I want you to kill yourself.”
“Too much of a fucking coward to do it yourself?” I asked.
“Oh, no, I want Adelaide to know how much you love her, what you’re willing to do for her. How low you’re willing to go. Take off your shirt.”
“Andrei, please don’t.”
I unbuttoned my shirt and a knife was tossed in my direction. Picking up the knife, I looked at Adelaide. I hold the knife to the flesh of my arm, and slice down. There’s pain, but I don’t show any.
“We met before,” I said. “A few years before you became my wife. I had been in a fight, I was cut, and hurt. You were with some nurses, helping the homeless, and I had stopped to rest. You came to me, Adelaide. You helped me when no one else did, and I fell in love with you then. You wanted me to go to the hospital. You feared what would happen to the wound if I didn’t.”
“That was you?” she asked.
I nodded. “I love you, Adelaide, completely.”
“Then stab yourself,” Oleg said. “Show how pathetic Ivan Volkov’s men are. Let me see how weak you are.”
I lifted the knife, ready to plunge it into my body. I knew where to hit so it wouldn’t damage any organs or risk my life, but I didn’t need to.
Slavik and Ivan stormed into the building and I chose the commotion to charge forward, taking Oleg down. Adelaide fell and even as I wanted to go to her, I couldn’t. Punching Oleg, I landed blow after blow. He didn’t get a single chance to hit me back.
Suddenly, a scream erupted in the air, stopping me. Oleg shoved me back. He was too weak for me to care about, but I saw that Bethany had grabbed my wife by her hair and pointed a very shaking gun at her head.
“She will die if you don’t do as I say,” Bethany said.
Her pupils were dilated. She was high on drugs and her hand shook so damn badly.
Adelaide’s gaze was on me. Every now and then, she had no choice but to close her eyes because of the grip Bethany had.
I was trying to figure out how to save Adelaide, when I noticed her arm. Her hands were still tied together, but she shoved her elbow, jarring her sister in the ribs, causing Bethany to stumble. There wasn’t much time. The gun dropped to the floor, and Adelaide was able to overpower Bethany.
I grabbed the gun, shot Oleg between the eyes, and then pointed the gun at Bethany. I knew if I didn’t kill her sister right then and there, she would keep coming after Adelaide. I made the decision.
Adelaide could hate me, but enough pain and heartache had come to her life. With a single shot, I ended Bethany, right between the brows.
Adelaide, covered in blood, gasped and quickly jerked away from her sister. She got to her feet and turned to look at me. Her eyes were wide, but she rushed and stumbled against me. She collapsed in my arms, tried to hold onto me, but the rope around her wrists stopped her. Ivan handed me a knife, and I sliced through the rope. She wrapped her arms around me, and I held her tightly.
“I love you,” she said. “I love you so much but I was so afraid to tell you.” She started to sob.
“I had to kill her,” I said. “She was going to keep coming after you.”
“I don’t care. I don’t care.” She pulled away and held up my arms. “You didn’t have to do this.”
I cupped her face, tilting her head back. “Don’t you realize it yet?” I asked. “I love you. I will do anything for you. No matter what.”
“Well, that was rather … fucking boring,” Ivan said. He tutted and then looked to Nathan. “I better deal with him.”
“Why is Nathan here?” Adelaide asked.
“That’s a long fucking story.”
“I have all day until we get home.”
Home sounded so good right now.
****
Adelaide
Nathan was a hit man who now worked for Ivan Volkov. Andrei had been right. Nathan had nearly become Oleg’s trusted ally when Bethany ruined it, telling Oleg exactly who he was.
Nathan had been tortured but had refused to give any information away. He was supposed to die with me in that converted barn.
My parents mourned Bethany’s passing. I did have a lunch with my mother where she proceeded to tell me in detail what a huge disappointment I was. How ugly I was. How she wished she’d never given birth to me. That was the last day I had seen her, and I’d asked Andrei never to help my parents again. It may seem bitter, but they didn’t deserve it.
Andrei left them for Ivan to deal with.