Chapter 26 - Anya

Ruslana already seems to be relaxing when we drive towards the mall. I think that just knowing that her brother is aware of the situation and didn’t completely freak out has made her calmer.

“I don’t know why I thought the entire world was going to fall apart when Rodion found out,” she laughs a little. “I honestly didn’t know how to handle it, though. Thank you, Anya. For taking the time to help me.”

My heart flips happily. I’m so glad she opened up to me and now we can help her sort it all out.

I park near the entrance of the mall. The two security guards followed us in their own car, and they park close by. My live location on, Rodion is happy, and everything is fine.

We wait at the side of the car until the security guards join us. They will stay mostly out of sight, but it’s comforting to know they are there. I rest my hand over my tummy, not really showing yet, but I’m still one hundred percent protective of my baby.

“Let’s go explore a little,” I say happily, leading Ruslana into the mall.

We are shopping up a storm, choosing cute dresses and even exploring baby stores and all the weird and wonderful things I didn’t know I needed until I saw them. Ruslana is almost back to her old self. The fun, bubbly girl I first met and love. It’s so good to see her like this again.

She holds up a black knit sweater. “What do you think?” she asks.

“I love it, but what about the grey—to bring out the color in your eyes.” She grabs it and holds it against herself. “Mm. Well, now I think I need both.” She laughs.

After a while, my body is starting to ache with tiredness, and I demand a coffee break. We sit at a small cafe inside the mall and watch the people walking back and forth, enjoying their day or rushing past with a fowl look on their faces. For a while, we laugh and comment on what each of them might be doing. But I still want to talk to Ruslana a little more about what has been happening.

“Ruslana, I’m really glad you told me about that guy who has been bothering you, but I think you need to sit down at talk to your brothers, too.”

She sighs, sipping her coffee and rolling her eyes a little. “I know. I agree with you. The one I was most scared to tell was Rodion. And he knows. So, the worst part is over. I promise I will speak to all of them myself.”

“Sooner rather than later?”

“Yup. I’ll do it tonight and tomorrow. It’s hard to get them all in the same place at the same time, but I can talk to whoever is around.”

I’m relieved she isn’t going to fight me on this. Her family needs to know what’s going on with her and it's best if it comes directly from her.

“Also—“ she says, and I look up, catching the serious expression in her eyes, “I wanted to say to you, and I’ll tell my brothers the same thing—I’m really sorry about all of the trouble I caused. I mean—the drinking and whatever weird rebellious stuff I was going through. I don’t know why I did it—but I’m done with that rubbish now. I’ve missed my family. I’ve been feeling so alone without them,” she sighs.

“They were never far away, Ruslana. They were always there for you—you just had to see it for yourself.”

She nods.

“Ok, enough serious stuff. Let’s finish our coffee and then I want to go and find a new jacket. It’s getting a lot colder at night and I saw the most magnificent yellow coat at that boutique in the middle of the mall.”

“Sure, I also want a new coat—one that can fit around my stomach when it starts getting as big as a balloon.”

After coffee and some chocolate muffins, we head to the boutique. The bodyguards are close by. I see them waiting just outside the entrance of the store when we go in. I nod and smile as I walk past.

Ruslana and I are not in the store for very long. She is madly in love with the yellow coat and buys it.

The lady at the cashier’s desk is busy packing it into a paper bag for us when we hear a loud scream outside the shop.

My heart freezes in my chest and I spin around to see what is going on.

Ruslana grabs my arm, her eyes wide with fear.

I take her hand and we run towards the door.

Both security guards are dead. They are lying in a thick, spreading pool of red. Surrounding the entrance of the store are five men.

Ruslana screams when she sees the scene in front of us. She grabs me so tightly her fingers dig into me arm. I take her hand, squeezing it gently. “It’s going to be ok,” I whisper.

“Hello, Ruslana,” one of the men says, stepping forward.

I’ve seen him before. He is the one from the club. The one who Rodion fought.

I hold my breath, my mind is racing, looking everywhere for a way out, but we are completely surrounded by his men.

“Declan, what are you doing here?” Ruslana gasps, her voice tight and her hand shaking in mine.

“You weren’t responding to my messages anymore—and you’ve been ignoring my calls. A man can’t wait forever, you know.”

“I told you I’m not interested!” she shouts. “I will never date a guy like you.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t want to date you,” he laughs. “I just need to use you.”

“What do you mean?” I demand, keeping my voice steady and calm.

“Anya Dubrov—well—not anymore, I believe. Kuznetsov now, isn’t it?”

“I asked you what you want with Ruslana,” I demand again.

“Her brother pissed me off. I don’t like to be disrespected like that. So, he is going to have to pay for the way he treated me,” he snarls.

“Are you joking?” I snap. “You are stalking Ruslana because you got a little embarrassed over losing a fight in a club?”

My comment makes him angrier.

“No, you stupid bitch—it’s bigger than that. Your families have both been pissing me off. It’s time to take down your alliance. It’s gotten too strong and the rest of us are over it.”

“Who is us? ” I feel the tension flooding me when I realize this is much bigger than just some asshole stalker in a club.

“Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself properly.” He steps forward and holds out his hand towards me, as though he wants to shake mine. “Declan Volkov. The pleasure is all mine, I’m sure.”

Fuck.

This is bad.

This is very, very, very bad.

I tug Ruslana closer to me and take a step backwards.

Ruslana whispers, “Who is that?”

“A rival of our family,” I say.

He laughs, holding his hands out at his sides. “Come on, girls, there is nowhere to go. Ruslana—just come with me and no one else has to get hurt.”

“You’ll have to go through me if you want her,” I snarl at him.

“You’ll have to take both of us or none at all,” Ruslana says fiercely.

While I’m talking, I’m trying to slip my hand into my purse and feel around for the taser that I put in there, just in case.

I know I can’t take down a whole team of men, but I’m going to do my best to make it as difficult as possible for them.

I pull the taser out and hold it tightly in my hand. “Ruslana, on three, we are running.”

“What?” she stammers in shock. “To where?”

“Just run. It doesn’t matter where,” I whisper.

“Come on now, ladies, you know this is just a waste of time,” Declan says, his men pushing closer to us, closing the circle around us.

“Now,” I shout and push Ruslana to the side. She bolts back into the shop, I bolt to the left. I already know it’s pointless before it plays out, but I can’t just sit back and let them take us. Declan runs after Ruslana, which I knew he would do, but I spin on my heels and leap onto his back, jabbing the taser against his neck.

He goes rigid, dropping to his knees. I hold it against him, watching him convulse as his body shudders with volts of pain.

His men are furious, grabbing me and dragging me away from him.

Declan groans loudly, clutching at his neck. He staggers up to his feet.

“Fucking bitch, what the fuck?” he hisses.

One of his men comes out of the store, gripping Ruslana in his hands. Tears are streaming down her face. Panic in her eyes.

Declan steps forward and slaps me across the face. It stings my cheek, but I won’t show an ounce of weakness.

“Take them both,” he snaps to his men.

“Actually, step the fuck away from both of them.” Rodion’s voice sends a flood of relief through me, to the point where I am fighting tears.

I spin to see my brothers and his, all standing around the team of guys Declan brought with him.

Three of Declan’s men bolt immediately. Declan swears under his breath.

The guy holding Ruslana drops her and runs into the shop.

Declan is finally left alone. He lifts his hands in the air and Leon walks towards him.

Before he can get close enough, Declan makes a dart to the side and sprints away, into the mall.

“Should we go after him?” Oleg asks.

“No, we know where he lives. We don’t want to cause a scene in public like this.”

Rodion grabs me and drags me right up against him. “Are you hurt, is everything ok, did he do anything to you?” he stammers, running his hands over my body.

“Rodya, it’s ok, we’re both alright.” I lean into him, burying my face into his shirt and breathing in the scent of his body. All of my fear evaporates with him near me.

But the aftershock of what just happened starts to show when my entire body begins to shake.

He holds me tighter.

“You were amazing,” he whispers against my ear. “You did an incredible job. I’m so proud of you for fighting back.”

I take a deep breath and lean away from him.

“Ruslana?” I call out to her. Her brothers are standing around her, checking on her.

“I’m ok.” She nods, tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much.” She rushes over to me and hugs me tightly.

“Let’s get out of here before the cops arrive,” Leon sighs, looking down at the dead security guards.

“We’ll have to handle this privately,” Rodion says.

“I’ll call my guys. They’ll sort it out—and then we are going to plan together—to sort out the Volkov problem.”

We all walk out of the mall together and I have a sense that my family is now twice the size it used to be, and we are all going to be looking after each other from now on.

Rodion drives me home, his hand resting on my leg, he doesn’t want to let me go even for a second. I feel shaken but relieved that it turned out ok.

At home, Rodion and I curl up on the sofa together, wrapped in each other’s arms, we just snuggle up together and watch a show. Neither of us is really paying attention to the television, though because we both can’t keep our hands off each other.