Page 55 of The Bratva's Innocent Sold Bride
The sudden change to small talk shocked me, but apparently Daria had seen some things and was used to charged situations.
“We’re muddling through,” I said. Oops, that didn’t sound much like newlywed bliss, but Daria only laughed.
“It’s kind of fun, isn’t it? The blowups, then making up after? I hope Ivan and I never calm down.”
Sure, maybe she had a point. I had no time to think about it because we careened into a dark warehouse park and swerved between the hulking buildings toward the back. She pulled up in front of one that was surrounded by cars. I recognized the luxury rental we picked up at the airport. When she opened her door, I heard crashing from within the building.
Slinging her massive gun over her shoulder, Daria ran and stood on her toes to look into a window, then scurried back and opened the trunk, rummaging around in it. Yanking my door open, she handed me something about the size of a baseball.
“I’m going in. It’s pretty straightforward in there, but our guys don’t exactly have the upper hand right now.” She pointed to the side of the building. “Stand under the window in the alley. Give me a fifteen count, then pull the pin on that thing and toss it in.”
I looked down to see that I was holding a grenade. “What the freaking hell, Daria?”
“It’s just smoke. A diversion, nothing more,” she said. “Can I count on you?”
All her fast-spoken words hit me at once. Our guys didn’t have the upper hand. Mat was in trouble, maybe hurt. Maybe worse. She pointed out the pin I was supposed to pull.
“Do not hang onto it after it’s out. Throw that sucker and then get out of the alley fast.”
Like I was in a slow-motion nightmare, I ran to the alley and started to count. Was I going too fast, too slow? Standing on my toes, I peeked in the window, then forgot everything. The place was trashed, broken crates everywhere. An unmoving body in a pool of blood. Who was it? I heard another crash and darted my eyes in that direction. My breath gusted out when I saw Mat, blood running down the side of his face, gun raised. In the back where he’d come from, there were a couple of men tied to chairs, another body on the floor. Mayhem. A loud bang, and Mat swerved to the side.
Did he just get shot at?
Damn it, I must have missed my mark by now. In a daze of horror, I pulled the pin and tossed the grenade, then did as I was told and got the heck out of the alley, skidding behind the cars just as a massive explosion rang out and flying debris shattered the windows from the inside.
Just smoke, eh?
There was so much gunfire after that, I had to put my hands over my ears, staying crouched behind a car. My heart was beating so fast I could hardly breathe, and white spots danced in my peripheral vision. Where was Mat? Did he get shot? Did something crush him after the blast?
It might have been a minute or an hour, but finally everything was quiet except for… laughter? Who the hell was laughing at a time like this? Mat, that’s who. I was so relieved to recognize the sound, I stood up and flew toward the ruined warehouse just as he was staggering out the door with a couple of his cousins. His two brothers were behind him, ruffling Daria’s hair like she was their little sister, calling her a hero.
“No, there’s your hero,” she said, pointing to me with a grin on her smudged face. “How do you think we got that amazing explosion that let me get the drop on your friends?”
When Mat saw me, the laughter died, and his face went stone cold. Two of his cousins helped Ivan out, limping and badly beaten. He pushed away from them and struggled to Daria’s side.
“That was stupid and reckless,” he said, giving her a little shake, then dragging her into his arms.
“You’re welcome,” she said placidly, holding on tight.
Mat stormed past their little reunion and grabbed me by the shoulders. “What are you doing here? Do not tell me you were the one who threw that grenade.”
Well, I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t, so I remained silent. The shake he gave me wasn’t so little, and there was no warm hug after. “Talk about stupid and reckless.” But he rounded on Daria. “You! I can’t believe you brought her here.”
“Cool it,” Ivan said. “They saved our asses.”
Mat still had his hands on my shoulders, and we both realized at the same time that I was shaking. A delayed reaction to throwing my first ever grenade, or maybe the sight of all the blood.
“Are you hurt?” we both asked each other at the same time.
I started to go down, and Mat swept me into his arms, swearing in Russian as he carried me to our car. “I’m not done with you, Daria,” he shouted over his shoulder. She only waved.
He settled me in the seat and had a few quick words with the others before returning. “They’ll deal with what’s left to dohere. I’m getting you back to the hotel. I can’t believe Daria would—”
The shaking subsided, and I swung around in my seat to fix him with my fiercest glare. “I think Ivan was right. Daria just might have saved your asses.”
“We had it under control. She never should have brought you here.”
“Oh, yeah, three of your cousins tied up looked pretty well under control to me. And you’re bleeding! And I saw you get shot at.” He grumbled, but I continued. “What a hypocrite, with all your talk about me not putting myself in danger. You could have been killed, Mat.”
