Page 99 of Ace of Shadows
Where is he? Where is the team?
“Ruslan,” I gasp, peering through gathered legs. “Where is he? What did you do? Where is he?”
I’m dragged upward so swiftly that I barely have time to get my feet under me, and then I see him.
Ruslan’s on the ground several feet away with multiple men kicking the shit out of him. The impact of fist against flesh turns my stomach. Blood sprays across the ground, his clothes are slightly torn, and I can’t tell if the gash along his abdomen, weeping blood, was from the crash or from these monsters.
“No!” Turning, I slam my elbow into the face of the man holding me. He lurches back in shock, releasing me from his fist so I sprint toward Ruslan. “Leave him alone, you monsters! Leave him alone! Stop! Stop!”
Dodging the outstretched arms of two other guards, I make it to the group around Ruslan and grab one by the arm. Throwing my weight backward, I do everything I can to haul him away from Ruslan. The man stumbles a step, turns, and slams his fist so hard into my face that I blink and suddenly, I’m on the ground with no memory of how I got there.
Hands claw at my shoulders, pulling me upward while I twist and yell. “Leave him alone!”
“Careful,” says one man as he shakes his fist, the impact of punching Ruslan causing him pain. “He’s the Ace. Don’t kill him. Just fuck him up.”
“Kill him.” One voice cuts clear through everything, a slimy voice that’s cold and slightly high-pitched. Through the crowd walks aman with broad shoulders straining out of a white T-shirt, and a head covered in light blond hair so fair that he almost looks bald.
“Boss,” says one of the men, poised to kick Ruslan once more. “He’s the Ace. We can’t kill him.”
Boss? Is this… Alexei?
“Fine,” Alexei murmurs and he pulls a large, heavy silver handgun from his back. “Then I will.”
“No!” I scream, lunging forward with all my strength. They’re ready for me this time, though, and several men step in my way. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you fucking dare!”
Alexei stands over Ruslan, aiming his gun down.
Ruslan, through bloodied teeth and a torn lip, manages a laugh that’s more of a wheeze. His jaw tics back and forth, then he spits a mouthful of blood on the ground at Alexei’s feet. Pushing against the bloodied tarmac, he manages to get up onto his hands and knees. Dirty boot prints cover his shirt and blood soaks into his jeans as he moves.
“Alexei,” Ruslan croaks. “You ain’t g-got the balls.” Kneeling, he gazes straight up at the barrel of the gun.
My heart leaps into my throat and for a cold, terrifying moment, I fear Ruslan’s just signed his death warrant.
To my surprise, Alexei doesn’t take the shot. He lowers his gun, then he leans forward and a cold smirk stretches across his pale face. “I don’t need you dead,” he says. “Not when I have her.”
Then all eyes are on me. I blink furiously, trying to clear the slight haze creeping across my vision. Alexei clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and the sea of men around himleap into action. They all head back to the cars and those holding me start dragging me back.
“Ruslan! Ruslan! No, let go of me, you fucking dick. Let go!” I kick out my legs and twist my body back and forth until the skin under their hands burns, but no one slacks on their grip this time. Through it all, I glimpse Ruslan panting heavily and still on his knees as Alexei stalks away from him.
“You bastard!” Ruslan yells, failing in his attempt to get up. “I’ll find you, Ivy. I swear to God, I will find you. Iwillfind you!”
33
RUSLAN
“Sit still.”
Bradley’s deep demand isn’t enough to keep me sitting on the bed but his heavy hand on my shoulder is. Pain lances through my entire body from the contact, so I grit my teeth and glare at him. “I don’t havetimeto sit here! Ivy is out there with that maniac, and every second I spend in here with you is a second too long that she is with him.”
“You’re in no state to go anywhere,” Bradley remarks, somehow remaining calm when it feels like everything for me is on fire. “And the longer you fight me, the longer you have to spend here.”
“Better listen to him,” pipes up Valentina from her seat across the room. “None of us has ever won an argument against him.”
“There’s always a first time,” I mutter. Unfortunately, the painkillers I threw down my throat haven’t started working yet, so regretfully, I obey and slump back down onto the bed.
“Good,” Bradley replies, and he resumes stitching up the gash above my eyebrow. “You want to go out there and look for her, but it’s a big city and we don’t know where to look. So let Raven work and when we have something, you’ll know.”
“It’s been too long,” I murmur. “Too long.”
