Page 30 of Impregnated By the Bratva

The alleyway was darker than the street, but I could see him existing on the other side. Entering the alley, I glanced at Pavel as I spoke. “We will follow him quietly and…,”

Before I could complete my sentence, Pavel’s fist flew over my shoulder. He was quicker than usual, and I was caught off guard. As he swung, he shoved me to the side. My collision with the wall was hard. I felt pain shooting up my shoulder.

It was a trap, my mind screamed as the men seemed to appear out of thin air. They were quickly filling the alley. If we didn’t move, we would get caught. Pavel had taken down the man with the knife who came at me. But he was fighting with another one.

Turning, I joined him as we stood back-to-back, fighting off the string of assailants. As a light started shining through, and I thought we were at the end of the line, I heard the gunshot echo. Ducking, I looked around to see Pavel grabbing his arm.

The shot barely missed him. Grabbing him, I moved back behind a dumpster. I was sure it was the man we were looking for. I had to act now or lose him again. I looked at Pavel, our eyes meeting as I stepped out into the alley, my gun raised.

Around me, the men we had fought assisted each other up and cleared out. It was only me and the shooter. We gazed at each other as I pulled the trigger. Purposely, I only grazed him. I was still a bit shaken by the number of men he came with.

As my bullet ripped through his shirt and the muscle of his arm, he pulled the trigger. I ducked as his bullet swerved past me. Looking up, I saw he was gone. “Come on,” Pavel said as he joined me.

We chased after them. We couldn’t afford to lose them, and going back to their house was no longer an option. They will be waiting for us. Turning the next corner, I almost ran over an elderly man. My legs burned as we weaved through the people, and my heart pounded.

Stopping at the corner market, I thought we had lost them. But Pavel tapped my shoulder as he pointed to one of the men moving through the market. “Yes, that’s one of them,” I huffed as we headed after him. He glanced around and spotted us, starting up the chase again.

Turning at the next corner, we saw him entering an abandoned building. Pulling Pavel to a stop, I surveyed the building. “It could be a trap,” I breathed out. The building looked like it was about to crumble. “We must move carefully,” I added before leading the way again.

I knew we had no other options. Moving into the building, I stayed before Pavel. A deafening crack filled the air, and we had to take cover again. My leg was on fire suddenly. Looking down, I noticed my pants were torn, and blood was seeping through. Sighing, I was grateful that their aim appeared to suck.

“Distract them,” Pavel said. “I’ll go around.”

Before I could object, he moved away. Considering our options, I realized he was right. I was a better shot; if things went sideways, I could protect him. Lifting my gun, I shot a couple of rounds into the air.

There was silence as I moved out of hiding and continued towards the middle area. Spotting one of the men, I aimed and took the shot. He turned and fired back, as I had only gotten him in the side.

Taking shelter again, I shot again. I had to keep their attention on me. After another few shots, I heard my gun clicking. I was out of bullets. I had no shots left. Then I realized there was no shooting from them either. Hoping they had the same issue, I jumped out, ready to charge.

But there was my brother, two men already down and out, and he was beating on the third, the man I actually wanted.

“Knock him out and go get my truck. We need him,” I said, walking closer. After two more hits, he got up and took the keys from me. I found some rope on a table by the back door. After tying up the men, I dragged the man we wanted towards the door we had come in through.

I knew this could turn into a full-fledged war if we weren't careful. Hearing a vehicle approaching, I peeked out the door. I was relieved to see Pavel coming closer. He parked my truck as close to the door as he could.

“You leaving the others?” Pavel enquired. He sounded a bit worried.

Glancing back, I considered it. “No,” I finally replied. “We must probably take them all. No loose ends.”

We quickly moved back and dragged the other two men to my truck. Once we had all of them snugly inside, we could leave. It was one of the hardest feats we have done in a long time. But we managed to get them all in.

Driving slowly, we headed back home. We didn’t want to attract any attention as we heard the sirens closing in. Two cop cars raced past us. Pavel breathed out as hard as I did as we watched their lights fade behind us. I wondered if someone had called them. It was still early, and I felt sure the shots must have been heard.

Relief washed over me as we neared home. We got out on time, and we had all of the men. At home, Pavel assisted me in getting them down the side steps into the basement. As we moved, we kept an eye out for Grace. I hoped she didn’t spot us. This would be hard to explain.

Once we had all of them downstairs, I headed in to find Grace. I had to ensure she didn’t see or hear anything. I couldn’t afford for her to see something and be fearful of us. I stopped in my room for clean clothes and to patch up the bullet scrape before searching for her.

For a moment, I considered asking her to identify them. But I decided it wasn’t a wise choice considering the state they are already in. I found her in the entertainment room. She was watching some kind of soap opera from the looks of it.

“Hi there,” I said, knocking.

Grace looked around, surprised to see me. “Oh, I didn’t hear you coming in,” she said, putting off the television. “Have you been home long?”

“No, no,” I replied, looking down. For the first time in my life, I wished I had a normal existence. “I’ve just returned.” Looking up into her shining face, my heart skipped a beat. Smiling, I stepped back out of the room. “Well, continue, I’ve still got some things to do. I’ll see you later,” I added, closing the door.

I would rather keep her out of this. She still had a chance to return to her normal life. Leaning against the wall, a heaviness filled me. I would have to make a difficult choice at some point, but not today.

There may be a time when she would have to get involved, as she was the witness, but I loved her innocence and wanted her to keep it as long as possible.

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