Page 25 of The Pakhan's Kidnapped Bride
The grin that spreads over my lips is one of satisfaction. I’m getting to her. She’s losing her cool. That charade of carelessness is slipping away.
“Walk,” I demand, tilting my chin in the direction of the exit.
She opens her mouth to argue again, but decides against it, spinning away from me and storming ahead. Despite her long legs and quick strides, it’s easy to keep up with her.
“Why do you have to take the joy out of everything?” she mutters, more to herself than me, so I ignore it.
I start to look around, watching people going in and out of stores as we walk past them. Shopping, buying things that they think will make them happy. But happiness isn’t found in a mall. I understood happiness once. But it turns out it was fake. Emotions are nothing but a mix of chemicals in our brain, tricking us into thinking we’re happy—or in love—or whatever the hell our brains want us to believe.
It’s all bullshit.
“Fuck,” I mutter, my heart going cold as soon as I see him. This is the last thing I need now. And this is the exact reason why I warned Anya not to come out alone.
“What now?” Anya snaps, turning to face me.
“Get behind me.”
Something in my voice makes her obey me without question. Why can’t she always be this accommodating?
I draw my gun, holding it at my side, my eyes locked onto my enemy. A man who recently made an attempt on my life.
The mall is too busy for this. There are so many innocent people around us—this won’t end well.
At first, I think he might not have seen me, but the smile that spreads over his face as he turns towards me quickly makes me realize he followed me here. This is a targeted, planned attack. Three men step to his side, and at the same time, they all reach for their weapons.
“Fuck,” I mutter again.
Behind me, Anya lets out a quiet yelp, and I feel her hands reaching out to touch my back, her fingers knotting in my shirt, looking for reassurance. She’s obviously realized what’s going on.
Everything moves in slow motion as my senses heighten and Alexei Smirnov turns, his gun raised, his finger on the trigger.
Instincts take over.
“Everyone, get down,” I scream loudly. Most people don’t move. They keep walking, ignoring the madman yelling for no reason. So I fire one bullet up into the ceiling.That’swhen they start screaming, running, and dropping to the floor to cower infear. I don’t care where they go as long as they make an attempt to get somewhere safer.
By that time, Alexei has opened fire, and I’ve at least managed to get some of the civilians out of harm’s way—for the most part.
I fire several shots in quick succession, directly at him and his men.
Anya screams behind me.
“Stay close,” I shout, no longer feeling her hand on my back and wanting the reassurance of her touch to know she’s okay.
A bullet whips past my ear, the pressure of it brushing against my skin.
“What about all the people? They’ll be hurt.” Anya screams again.
“Stay behind me,” I yell, pulling her with me as I keep us moving, keeping providing cover fire, ducking behind a stone pillar as bullets slam into it.
The screaming around us continues. Young kids, women, children. Only a fucking monster like Alexei would do this in a mall.
Chapter 8 - Anya
My heart is beating so fast it feels as though it’s going to burst straight out of my rib cage. It’s so loud I keep confusing the drumming in my ears and the gunshots snapping around me.
My head is flooded with thoughts. Run. Stay. Hide. Help people.
Emmanuil has me pushed behind him, both of us pressed against a pillar in the middle of the walkway. My heart is breaking to see the people around us, cowering, crying, screaming, huddling, and trying to cover their heads with their arms and hands. A mother has her body thrown over her toddler, and I can’t bear to see them hurt. I have to stop this.
