Page 80 of Born into Chaos

“If you let us go, my family won’t come after you.” He ignores me, but I keep talking anyway. “If you do this, Shane, theywillkill you. I can promise you that. They will hunt you down and they will kill you in ways you can’t even imagine, but if you let us go, I can convince them to let you live.”

He grips the steering wheel harder, and I can tell my words are getting to him, that he’s at least thinking about turning this whole thing around, but then he smacks the wheel and shakes his head. “No,” he says, and I can hear the determination in his voice. “This is my best chance. I made a deal, and they’ll come after me if I don’t deliver Samantha. If I let you go afterwards, then your family will have no reason to kill me.”

“They will. You kidnapped me, and they’ll kill you for selling Samantha.”

“She’s not your daughter,” he screams at me, upsetting Samantha, and when I see her bottom lip tremble, I quickly lean over and kiss her forehead while giving her the pacifier she loves so much.

I meet her big brown eyes and smile down at her while I say, “Yes, she is. She became my daughter the second I held her in my arms.”

“You might want to learn to forget about her because she’s about to belong to someone else.”

His harsh words are like a slap to the face. Tears come to my eyes as Samantha plays with my fingers and smiles around her pacifier. I can’t look away from her. She’s looking up at me with absolute trust,but the truth is that I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing. I have no idea how to get us out of this mess.

When Shane turns onto a dark alley, my breath catches in my throat, and my hand feels sweaty against Samantha’s pink sleeper. I’d put her in Vitya’s favorite, the one with little white bunnies all over it. Tears prick my eyes at the thought of him. As much as I’ve grumbled about having a bodyguard over the years, I could sure as hell use one right now.

“They’re here,” Shane says, looking ahead at the black car that’s parked in the shadows. He flicks his lights at them, and they respond with a quick flick of theirs. When he reaches for the seat belt that’s keeping Samantha’s car seat in place, I grip the handle, determined to not let her out of my sight.

“Let go,” he hisses at me.

“No.” That one word is meant to sound strong, but it comes out as more of a whimper, one last plea for him to not rip my heart from my chest. “Please,” I beg, not giving a shit about my pride. I’ll gladly beg for this lowlife if it means I get to keep Samantha.

He pulls his gun and points it at me. “I will shoot you if I have to. Let her go.”

I face him, scared to death and shaking so badly I can barely catch a breath, but I don’t let go. He’s going to have to kill me if he wants to take her from me. Stalling for time, I say, “Let me carry her out to them at least. They need to know her routine, how many bottles she takes, what formula they should use.”

I could go on and on, but he’s too annoyed to listen to me, so he just cuts me off by saying, “Fine, but I swear I’ll shoot you if you try anything.”

I nod, willing to agree to anything if it keeps her in my arms. He waits for me to get out, not trusting me to stay in the truck without him, and then he quickly joins me before I can make a run for it. I glance around at the dark alley, trying desperately to find a way out, but there’s nothing but a brick wall. My fingers are gripping the car seat handle so tightly they ache, and I’m sobbing by the time we reach the black car.No one’s gotten out yet, and I can’t see anything because they’ve turned their headlights back on. Shane shields his eyes and hollers at them to get out.

The car door opens, and a man steps out, but I can’t see anything beyond a dark shape. I don’t recognize the man when he steps closer, blocking the light and giving me my first look at him. My heart sinks. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been hoping for a last-minute miracle, but seeing the man who’s about to buy the baby I’ve come to think of as mine is what finally sends me over the edge. I scream and take a step back, angling the car seat behind me in an effort to protect Samantha.

“What the fuck is going on?” the man asks Shane.

Shane points his gun at me. “Give him the baby.”

I shake my head and take another step back. “No.”

“I will shoot you, Sveta.”

“Then fucking shoot me,” I yell. “You’ll have to pry this car seat from my dead fingers, you pathetic fucking asshole.” I look between the two men. “I wish I could be there when my family kills you both, but I have no doubt they’ll do me proud.”

The man glares at Shane. “What is she talking about?”

“Nothing,” Shane quickly says. “She’s fucking crazy.”

“I’m Svetlana Melnikov,” I tell him, “and this is my baby you’re trying to take.”

I can tell he recognizes my last name because his jaw tenses and he shoots a murderous look at Shane.

“She’s lying,” Shane says, but the guy is already starting to back away, proving that he’s a lot smarter than the dumb fuck he’s doing business with. “Where are you going? We had a deal!”

The man starts walking back to his car. “I didn’t agree to buying a Melnikov baby. I don’t want any part of this shit.”

Without another word, he gets back in his car and starts to leave. When I look over at Shane, the rage I see directed right at me has me taking a slow step back. I keep Samantha behind me while Shane keeps his gun aimed straight at my chest. Even if he’s a terrible shot, he’ll still hit me from this distance, and chances are high that I won’t survive it.

“You stupid fucking bitch,” he growls at me.

I take another step back right as a deep, accented voice says, “Drop the gun, Shane.”

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