22. Yuri

“She’s cheese for the mousetrap, that’s all she is to me,” I tell him. “Where the hell is she anyways,” I mutter out loud.

Since telling her about Dmitry, I had been feeling lighter than I had in years and it was all thanks to her. There wasn’t going to be any future with Katya beyond a convenient marriage for the Bratva but if I ever wanted the real thing, I couldn’t think of anyone better than her.

This trip to the cemetery was all for her, she needed to confront her own feelings about Dmitry and his death, which was the only way forward for her and allowing it was paying her back for all she had done for me.

Her potential escape plans were the only things holding me back from installing her in her own place. But treating her like bait for Petya—and letting my Vors know how important she was to the plan— was a way to halt any potential escape attempts by her.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red. A maroon escalade was speeding down the road. In horror, I looked ahead and saw that it wasn’t going to slow down.

It was coming too fast, way too fast. It was going to hit Katya.

Instinct took over as I floored the pedal and shot onto the sidewalk. Grass flew up under my tires as I barreled down the cemetery to reach Katya in time. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I pulled up next to her, I was still braced against the dashboard, panic flickering now in the back of my mind. “Katya, get down, he’s going to hit me”

The escalade bucked, it dug its left shoulder into the pavement and started to roll and hit my suburban full force.

My hands could no longer push the dashboard away. The world outside the windshield was going topsy-turvy, flashes of white ground and white sky, a gray chain-link fence rushing closer, the windshield rushing closer, and I opened my mouth to say no but all the white turned black before I had a chance to say it.

My eyes opened; my vision blurred as pain exploded in my head. I was reaching for my gun, but the red escalade sped away loudly, dented, screeching. At least Katya wasn’t in danger anymore.

Grabbing my knife, I sawed off my seatbelt and crawled out the window of the upside-down car. People were screaming, and I saw a flash of raven hair running to me. “No,” I croaked as Katya neared me, “Car’s going to explode.”

“I know that” she hissed as she grabbed me. “Come on. Can you walk?”

White-hot pain lanced through every part of my body as she helped me to my feet. I kept my head down and struggled to run. The smell of gasoline was growing stronger by the second. Suddenly, the car exploded behind us.

As the loud noise burst through my ears, I felt the heat from the fire nipping at my back. I grunted, and we both hit the pavement hard.

“You, okay?” I wheezed, pushing myself up. I tried to look her over for scrapes and blood, but she was already on the phone, calling for help. “Katya,” I said sharply. “Hang up.”

Wordlessly, she stared at me. Suddenly, the light dawned in her eyes. She understood why she couldn’t get the police involved and quickly hung up. “You need to see a doctor.”

“I’m fine. Just get me to your car.” I could tell that I hadn’t broken anything. It was possible that I had some bruised ribs and a concussion, but that had happened to me more times than I could count. There was no need for a doctor.

She stifled a sigh, and it came out as a groan. Reaching down, she hooked her arms under me and helped me up. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” she said through clenched teeth.

“I just saved your life, kiska.” I scolded her, trying to stand, clutching the door frame, failing. I was hurting, battered, filthy, bloodstained, but in one piece. Katya’s hands roving all over me told me that.

I wanted her, now, to hell with my broken and bruised body. I grabbed her head and kissed her, hard, deep, painfully and her legs staggered to hold me up.

“Stop that,” Katya said finally, flushed but flattered. “You can’t even stand but want that?”

“I don’t need to stand for that,” I tell her.

“We’ll sit a moment, gather strength,” she says annoyed, and sets me down, she looks up at the car door like it’s a mountain top.

I didn’t care about getting in the car, I almost dies, everything inside me told me how much I wanted her now, before I did die. I pushed her against the side of the SUV and kissed her again, only stopping to come up for air.

“Yuri,” she begged, “Lay down, now, I need to bring you home. I’ll stay with you, next to you, I promise, just help me now, please.”

My arms held her as hard as I could until everything went black and I fell backwards, off her.