Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Coincidences happen.” Kirill throws his hands dismissively. “If it weren’t for coincidence, I wouldn’t have been born.”
“I’ll drink to that. To Kirill’s coincidental fucking existence.” Damien raises his glass and everyone else follows.
The subject shifts from me to other crime-related topics that usually include drugs and shipments and customs.
Kirill gives me a look that says ‘you’re welcome’ but I ignore him.
Once the meeting ends, I’m more than ready to take Lia and go the fuck home. On my way outside, Vladimir falls in step beside me and whispers in Russian so only I can hear, “I know you had something to do with Richard’s death.”
“Proof?” I remain calm.
“I will find it, and when I do, you’ll count your fucking days, Adrian. I’ll finish your life with my own hands.”
“Good luck, Vladimir. I mean it.”
And with that, Kolya and I storm down the stairs.
“Have you checked on Yan?” I ask.
“I just told him to take Mrs. Volkov to the car. They’ll be there before us.”
I hasten my footsteps until I reach the parking lot. Kolya hesitates behind me, staring at his phone.
“What?”
His brow furrows. “The car is moving.”
“What do you mean, it’s moving?” I stare at the GPS on his phone and, sure enough, our main car has already left the mansion.
I retrieve my phone and call Yan. The ringing on the other end of the line are the longest, most excruciating I’ve ever heard.
When the call is finally answered, there’s rustling, panting, but it’s not Yan’s voice that greets me. It’s Lia’s, soft and in a small whisper-shout. “Yan! Yan, open your eyes!”
I don’t speak, because I don’t think she’s alone. I don’t want to give her away for talking to me.
“Yan!” she shrieks. “Adrian and Kolya will be here. They will help.”
“Shut up, bitch,” a voice says in the background and then she screams.
The line goes dead.
I grab it in a tight hold, my jaw clenching so hard, it’s about to snap.
“What happened?” Kolya asks in an unsure tone.
“Lia’s been kidnapped.”
25
Winter
It happened so fast.
One second, Yan was ushering me inside the car, and the next, he was shot. It was silent, swift, and I wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t jerked back, slamming into me.
Blood covered his shoulder, but he still reached out to push me away.
It was too late, though.
While I was preoccupied with trying to stop the bleeding in his shoulder, unyielding hands pulled me into the car as it revved forward.
Yan held on to me with all his might. They shot him again in the same shoulder. I put my chest to his so they wouldn’t be able to kill him and used all my energy to pull him inside with me.
I can tell they don’t want me dead or they would’ve shot me, too, so I used my body as a shield against Yan. It’s clear they didn’t want him to join us, and I probably should’ve let him fall outside the car for the others to find and help him, but I couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t run him over on their way out, just to make sure he was dead.
My body is still covering his after one of the men in the front cut off my conversation with Adrian. Here’s to hoping the small bits of information I got to my fake husband will enable him and his men to find us soon. Not only because I have a horrible feeling about where they’re taking us, but also because Yan has lost a lot of blood. My white gloves have turned red from how much I’ve pressed on the two holes in his shoulder, but the blood won’t stop oozing out.
His lips are pale and he keeps trying to push me off with his good hand, but I refuse to budge. If I do, the man from the front who’s holding a damn rifle won’t hesitate to shoot him.
I haven’t paid attention to where we’re going, but the roads are secluded, silent and dark. There are two men in the front. The one who’s driving is wearing a leather jacket, hair hidden by a hat, and a black mask covers everything but his mouth and nose. He’s the silent one, the one who hasn’t talked since we got in here. The other man is nestling a rifle as if it’s his pet. He’s the one who shot Yan, the second time, at least, and cut off my phone call with Adrian.
They’re not talking, so I can’t tell what nationality they are, but Rifle Man spoke with an accented English just now.
I have no idea what this is, but I’m almost sure it has to do with Adrian. Are they kidnapping me to force him into doing something? I don’t think it’s because of a ransom, or they would’ve made their demands by now.