Page 59 of The Bratva’s Monster

The convoy is behind me, on its way to the meet. I’m fairly sure the rest of the way will be unfettered. It looks like the plan was for these three cars to slow the convoy down and for the rest of these cars to catch up and bombard them.

They didn’t count on my being here. As I walk up, the doors open to the broken down car. I pull out my handgun and pop the driver and his passenger in the head. A third guy ducks back into the car and gets a shot off through the window, but I step back in time and dart around the car to the other side. Thanks to the deployed airbags, he doesn’t see me when I come around and get him in the back of the head.

And the cavalry’s arrived. Three cars screech to a halt, doors open. I duck behind the incapacitated car, holstering my handgun and swinging the AR around. I don’t give them a chance to react. I raise up and aim over the trunk of the car and open fire, spraying all three cars.

Sparks and gunpowder fly as I pick off at least two of them. The rest open fire on the car. Between spurts, I hear them yelling at one another back and forth in confused Russian. What the hell happened? Where’s the convoy?

Those seconds are all I need. I raise back up and shoot the remaining three with the AR, catching one of them in the belly. He hits the ground, grabbing himself and swearing in anguished Fenya.

I walk around the car and pull out my handgun. He sees me and his eyes get large. He dropped his gun several inches away from where he fell. He looks around and turns himself so that he reaches for it.

I get to him before he can grab the gun and I step on his arm. “Fuck!” he screams as he rolls flat on his back.

I raise my handgun to his head. “You want to live through this?”

He just stares, his face in a scowl as he glares at me. I stomp on his arm, feeling it break under my heel. Then I press my boot into his belly, digging the toe in. The scream that comes out of him streaks out above us and hits the walls of the buildings on the block.

“You want to live through this?” I yell at him. He nods fast, his face wet with sweat.

“Yes!” he yells.

I lean in, putting my weight on his wound. A strangled gasp escapes him. “Good. Because I need somebody to tell Stefan that we’re coming for his fucking head. You tell him the monster sends his regards.”

I kick my foot in deeper to the wound and his entire body flinches as another shriek jumps out of his mouth. Then I get my foot off him and kick his gun across the street.

As I walk away, I hear him say, “You need… to keep an eye on your bitch, monster!”

That stops me. I turn around and say, “What did you just say?”

He smiles, blood staining his teeth. “Have you killed her yet?” he says. “Your Pakhan gave you an order, monster. Kill the rat⁠—”

I put a bullet through his head. My hand moves on its own and the next thing I know, he’s dead and my gun is pointed at his head, tendrils of smoke coming from the barrel.

Stefan knows about Liz. Worse yet, he knows that Alex wants her dead.

Liz is in more danger than I realized. I need to move quickly if I’m going to keep her safe. I run back to my car. The back end is falling apart, but it’s still running. That’s fine. The car doesn’t need to be pretty. It just needs to get me to Liz in time.

24

LIZ

An hour ago, I was woken up by Rikki banging on my door. When I opened it, he rushed in, telling me to pack a bag as he rushed to Gedeon’s office and started gathering up all the papers he’d printed out.

I’ve been a Bratva wife long enough to know better than to question him in the moment, so I moved automatically, rushing up to my room and packing up enough clothes for at least a week away. By the time I got dressed and got back downstairs, he was rushing me out the door.

We’ve been on the road since. The back of the Rikki’s car is missing a fender, and Rikki hasn’t spoken a word to me.

I’m scared. Really scared. I don’t know what’s going on or what Rikki is doing. I’m worried that he’s angry with me. Or that he’s decided to carry out whatever kill order might be out for me. I keep telling myself that Rikki wouldn’t hurt me. I was so sure about that before. I don’t know why I’m not now.

The fear in my bones slides away as we pull into the parking lot of a motel. My stomach starts to settle as he parks the car and says, “Stay here.”

I do. He gets out and I’m here in the car, sitting in the dark with nothing but the headlights reflecting off the doors of the first-floor rooms. Rain is starting to speckle the windshield as a chill runs up my spine.

All I really know in this moment is that I’m in danger… but not from Rikki. Something’s gone wrong and he’s trying to protect me. But from what?

Only a few minutes pass before he opens the door and leans in and says, “Let’s go.”

I comply, grabbing my bag from the back seat and getting out. He’s at my side before my door closes, arm around my shoulder as he looks around and urges me forward.