Page 44 of The Tsar's Obsession
In the mayhem, I took my chance. I turned on my heels, and within seconds, my little sandals clicked on the sidewalk, speeding up in an unknown direction, away fromhim, my heart battering my ribcage.
Sketchy bars and questionable people all became a blur as I rushed down the street and ran away,anywhere. I just couldn’t stay. This was crazy, right?! This wasn’t me!
"Ay, baby, why you in such a hurry!" An unwanted and foreign hand latched onto my wrist, but in shock and horror, I ripped it out of the man’s grasp, momentarily turning around to see three men setting me as their target. This night was turning into a catastrophe.
“Don’t run, baby girl, I’m right here,” someone called after me, sending waves of fear to my legs and stealing all the air out of me. Faster, my legs barely catching up with the unfolding reality, I didn’t dare look back and only prayed to somehow vanish from the street.
Heavy footsteps pounded the pavement behind me, and I stole a glance back to see three men still in pursuit, smiling and whistling at me, picking up speed.
This was a nightmare. There was no other explanation as to why this evening descended into such chaos! I broke out into a full run, hyperventilating from the stress and the understanding of what was about to happen. The street was so dark, only dim lights providing any hint of where I was headed, but I couldn’t pick up speed in my sandals.
Then, a strong hand grasped my upper arm and yanked me back into someone’s large body. This was it.
“No! No, pl– please, don’t!” I couldn’t fully comprehend the situation as I was being pushed into a small alleyway between two buildings, not having the physical strength to push off the repulsive bodies making harsh contact with my own.
A million thoughts rushed through my mind. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening! No, please!
Suddenly, the cool evening air hit my backside when someone’s hand landed on my asscheek and pulled my dress up with quick and violent motions.
“Let me– let me go!” I screamed, my voice raw and unlike my own. Laughing like hyenas, they sandwiched me between them, their hands all over my body. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks as my arms made futile attempts to fight them off. I prayed for all this to end—God, please, no!
And my prayers were answered.
"Let her go." A powerful voice boomed somewhere close by, arresting everyone’s movements and sending a cold chill down my spine.
Through my blurred vision, Kirill’s outline appeared on the sidewalk, a look of pure rage and murder on his face. He held agun in his right hand, pointing it at one of the men’s faces. I wasn’t sure what was more shocking—that I ended up in this situation or that Kirill stood in front of me with a lethal weapon, about to end someone’s life.
"Fuck off, man, she asked for this." One of my tormentors stepped up to Kirill, trying to shoo him away, but Kirill didn’t move and only barked out more instructions as I watched on in a trance.
"I count to three. One bullet for each.One." There was no warning. A loud gunshot rang out, deafening me and reverberating through my chest. The man tumbled like a log, hitting the sidewalk with his entire body, sinking in an ever-expanding pool of crimson.
My eyes absorbed the scene before me, but I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. Their hands in the air, the remaining men stepped away from me and silently backed away and down the street, leaving me all by myself to focus on Kirill taking an urgent step toward me.
With a light touch, he pulled down my dress and bent down ever so slightly to catch my gaze. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Sunshine. Don’t run away from me again.” His calm and reassuring voice sounded far away, but his large, warm hands slid down my arms and carefully landed on my back. He held onto me with the utmost care, but all I could see was the dead man on the sidewalk.
It was all a blur. There was that familiar black SUV again. Yuri jumped out with a man I’d never seen before, and Kirill gave instructions in Russian. The dead man was flipped over, the crater on his forehead like out of a cartoon. They picked him up and threw him in the trunk. Easy. Fast. Quiet.
My eyes found those emerald jewels, taking in the sight of me with confidence and no regret. This was a metamorphosis, Kirill’s true nature slowly revealing itself to me. Another layer of Kirill Alekseev had been pulled back, and in real time, I received evidence of who he truly was.
It was easy to listen to his words about his status. It was a completely different thing to see it in real life, and I’d just had a front-row seat to an unforgettable show. Kirill wiped the blood off the gun on the black material of his shirt and put it away behind him so casually, as if pocketing his wallet.
But there was not much of me left. My legs were suddenly like jello, and the world spun like a merry-go-round. I just wanted to lean into something, close my eyes, and shield myself from the truth.
It was all darkness.
“Mia!”
My own name echoed inside me as I ripped my eyes open, my head pounding viciously. It was morning, the sunshine was blinding, the bed was soft, and the smell of beer was making me nauseous.
My dress clung to me, my whole body sweaty and hot. I knew where I was in a second—his bed.
Of course. He brought me home—tohishome—after themurderlast night. I stared at the ceiling and pondered how deep my trouble actually was.
The dead man’s face floated in front of my eyes, his facial features mangled beyond repair with the force of such a close bullet.
I should have been terrified; I shouldstillbe terrified. Repulsed, shocked, disgusted!
But I wasn’t any of that.
