28. Lev

28

LEV

I reckon there’s at least four men up there. I haven’t heard Igor’s voice in what feels like hours, but knowing him, he’s likely left his lackeys on babysitting duty so he can go and get even bigger reinforcements.

It’s hard to tell how long we’ve been trapped down here in my little underground bunker, but I have a feeling Elle and I won’t be leaving any time soon. At least, not until Igor decides to come back.

I can only imagine what he’ll do to us when he learns we’ve been hiding out right under his very nose all this time. I just have to hope that Mikhail decides to check Elle’s location before it comes to that.

I hate that I’m having to rely on the Koslovs to come and get us out of this mess, but right now, we have no other choice.

If it was just me, I would have grabbed one of the guns I have stored down here and walked straight into the line of fire.

But I can’t do that. It would leave Elle completely unprotected, and I’m not going to risk her life like that .

I never should have left my car outside the cabin. I was too focused on getting Elle inside that I didn’t make sure to cover my tracks. It was irresponsible of me, and now it might just cost me everything.

Igor knows that I can’t be far away, and somehow, he knows that Elle is with me. Though I have no idea how.

But I guess that doesn’t really matter. All that matters is making sure he doesn’t get his hands on her.

My jaw aches from clenching it so hard as I tighten my arms around her trembling body.

Elle doesn’t deserve to suffer like this. If I wasn’t such a selfish bastard, I would have left her apartment and given myself straight over to the Koslovs. But I needed her to listen to me. She needed to understand the danger that she was in.

But all I ended up doing was leading her straight to him .

Elle is still wrapped in my arms, her terror making her momentarily forget she hates me. She shivers, and I tighten my arms around her to try and bring her some comfort, despite everything.

I bury my fingers in her hair and cradle her head against my chest. It’s so soft, and I catch a waft of her fruity shampoo that has me biting back a moan.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper against her hair. “I hate that you got caught up in this mess.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is. All of it is my fault.”

Elle is quiet for a moment, lost to her own thoughts.

“Lev?”

“Yeah?”

She pulls back just enough so she can look up at me. Her eyes are red-rimmed and a little glassy, but the coldness has vanished .

“I didn’t mean what I said earlier.” She chews on her lower lip. “You’re nothing like Igor.”

She blinks, and a few tears escape down her cheeks.

This time, I don’t stop myself from taking her face in my hands and wiping them away with my thumbs.

“You were just a kid yourself…”

“You don’t need to do this.” I gently stroke her cheek as I stare down into her beautiful eyes.

“I was angry and upset. And it was wrong of me to blame you for something your father… Igor did. I-I’m sorry, Lev.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s like you said, I’m just as much to blame for what happened.”

“Your blackouts… Are they always that…scary?”

I cringe. I hate that she saw me like that.

“I honestly don’t know. I never remember them.”

Elle’s lower lip trembles again, and I reach out to trace my thumb along it.

“There was a moment where I thought you were dead.”

My chest feels like it’s being cracked open.

“I’m sorry I scared you.” I sigh. “I just… I wish I could know what happens during them. I mean, I could literally kill someone and not remember a thing.”

Elle’s eyes search my face, as if she’s looking for something.

A small crease appears between her eyebrows as she reaches up to cup my cheek.

“I don’t think you’re capable of hurting someone. At least, anyone who didn’t deserve it. Blackout or not.”

My throat thickens with emotion at Elle’s words.

“It means a lot to hear you say that.”

“I also want you to know that…I love you too. Scars, blackouts, and all. ”

I take her face in my hands and bend down to softly brush my lips against hers. “I love you more than you could ever know.”

I’m not sure if the imminent threat of death looming above us is making me act so impulsively, but as I slide my tongue into her mouth, I reach down and lift her up by the backs of her thighs.

“Lev?” Her eyes dart to the ceiling as she wraps her legs around my waist.

I don’t want to remind her that this might be the last chance we ever get to be together like this. I want to leave her with a happy memory of us for when this is all over.

Because, whether it’s Igor or Alexei, my fate has been decided.

I’m not getting out of this alive, so I sure as hell want to make the most of the time I have left with Elle.

I settle her down on the bed and neither of us wastes any time in taking off our clothes. As I pull my hoodie up over my head, Elle eagerly shimmies out of her jeans and panties before working on unbuttoning her blouse.

When she’s completely naked, she settles herself against the pillows where she then slowly parts her thighs for me.

The sight of her bare pussy has my already hard cock straining against my zipper.

I wish I could spend hours worshiping every curve of her body, but we’re already living on borrowed time.

“Lev…”

“I’m right here.” I take off the rest of my clothes and settle between her thighs.

I wrap one arm around her waist, pulling her flush against me, as I sink my fingers into her hair, holding her in place as I devour her mouth with my own.

She gasps against my lips at the first nudge of my cock against her entrance, and I bite back a groan when I feel how wet she is for me.

“I love you,” I whisper against her lips before slowly moving my hips.

“I love you too.”

I slowly slide my cock inside her slick heat.

When I’m fully buried inside her, I pull back to look at Elle’s face to find her cheeks once again damp with tears.

“ Dushenka , what’s the matter?”

“I don’t want to lose you.” She takes my face in her hands, kissing me fiercely.

“You will always have me.” I slide my cock out of her. “No matter what happens.”

I thrust back in.

I swallow Elle’s cries of pleasure with my mouth, and we soon find a rhythm that has us both panting and covered in sweat.

My hands roam over Elle’s skin, memorizing every inch of her as I continue to move inside her.

Her hard nipples rubbing against my chest and her pussy clenching around my length as she chases her release have me grinding my teeth, wanting to hold off from coming as long as possible.

Which is nearly impossible when I catch the look of pure ecstasy on Elle’s face when I reach between us and start slowly rubbing her clit.

“Elle,” I groan as my cock starts to leak.

“Please. Don’t stop.”

I bury my face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent as I increase my pace.

I wish we could stay down here forever, just the two of us. But at some point, reality is going to come crashing down .

The thought of never getting to experience making love to Elle ever again is too painful to consider, but that makes me want to cherish this moment even more.

“Please, Lev.”

“I’ve got you, dushenka .”

She clings to me, her nails digging into my back and her thighs trembling on either side of my waist, as she climaxes.

“ Elle …”

Her pussy pulses around my cock, sending me over the edge.

“I’m yours,” she whispers in my ear as I spill inside her.

When we’ve finally caught our breath, I slowly slide out of her, hissing at the surge of pleasure, before settling on my side and pulling Elle against my chest.

She gently traces circles on my forearm. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Can you tell me more about the night of the fire? All I remember is passing out and then waking up in an ambulance.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to upset you.”

“I…I want to know everything.”

I shift so that I’m propped up on my side with one arm cradled underneath Elle’s neck and the other draped over her middle. I want to be able to watch her face as I tell her, to know whether it’s too much for her or not.

“I don’t know why we were there. Like I said, I was confused why Igor didn’t take Maxim. He was sixteen at the time and was already starting to accompany Igor on raids and was well versed in putting bullets in people’s skulls by that point.”

Elle winces at my words but stays quiet .

I hate talking about stuff like this with her, but she wants to know. So, I continue.

“As we were driving over to your parents’ house, I kept asking why we were going over there. Eventually, Igor told me that we were going to get payment for a debt that Marco Senior owed.”

“A debt?” Elle frowns. “Why would my father have been in debt to Igor?”

“I have no idea. He never told me any specifics. For all I know, he could have made it up to get me to shut up. Because let’s face it, when does Igor Ivanov ever need a legitimate reason to go after someone?”

“I suppose you’re right… So, what happened?”

“When we arrived, Igor told me to wait in the car while he went to deal with Marco. He was gone for a while, and I got bored, so I wandered around the back of the house, which is when I saw you up in the window.”

I gently stroke my hand over Elle’s stomach as a small smile tugs at my lips.

“You had such a mischievous look on your face.” I chuckle under my breath.

“I was meant to be asleep.”

“I was tempted to climb up the rain gutters to come and talk to you. I know you could hear all the shouting, and I guess I wanted to make sure you weren’t frightened.”

Elle’s eyes widen.

“Really?”

I nod, looking down at her bare stomach as I slowly trace circles around the soft skin.

“Yeah… But then I heard Igor leave, and I ran around to the front of the house. I had never seen him look so angry before, and that’s when he told me he was going to burn the entire place down. ”

Elle winces, but I don’t stop.

“Dozens of his men had been waiting nearby with cans of gasoline and within seconds, the house went up in flames.”

“Oh god.” Elle’s hand flew to her mouth.

“I know, I’m so sorry. I begged Igor to get you all out, that whatever had happened, you and your family didn’t deserve to die. But he wouldn’t listen. He told me to get in the car, but then I thought of you up in your bedroom, and I just… I couldn’t leave you.”

I shake my head. “He ran after me, yelling that if I didn’t come with him, he would kill me, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t just leave you up there. So, I ran around to the back of the house and climbed the rain gutter.”

Elle’s cheeks are soaked with tears, and I bend down to kiss as many of them away as I can. She shivers at my touch, her hands clinging to my arms as I continue to talk.

“You were unconscious when I found you, wrapped up underneath your blanket. The flames were already starting to creep into your room, but there was no way I would have been able to carry you down the rain gutter. If I slipped, we both would have fallen to our deaths. So, my only option was to run through the flames.”

“Lev.” Elle’s voice cracks as she reaches up to trace the scars along the side of my neck.

“By the time I got you out, Igor and his men had gone.”

“What? He just left you?”

“I guess he figured I had signed my own death sentence by going into that house and saved him the job of killing me himself.”

“That’s barbaric.”

“That’s Igor.”

We’re both quiet for a moment, our steady breathing the only sound, until I eventually muster up the courage to tell her the rest of the story.

“I want you to know that I tried to go back for your family. But the fire was too strong. The top floor had almost completely collapsed, and the smoke… I really wanted to get them out, Elle.”

Her face crumples as she’s overcome with grief.

I know there’s nothing I can say that can make her feel better at this moment, but I hate seeing her like this. I wish I could have done more for her family, for her .

“Eventually, I heard sirens heading toward the house. You were still unconscious, so I stayed with you until I saw the fire engines heading down the drive, and then I left. I couldn’t risk them asking me any questions. But I hid in the bushes and watched to make sure you were taken care of.”

“Did he punish you?” Elle’s voice is barely above a whisper.

“Yes, but it was worth it?—”

Gunshots sound overhead, and Elle lets out a cry of terror as all hell seems to break loose above us.

The room shakes as heavy footsteps pound against the floor, followed by indiscernible shouting in Russian.

What the fuck is going on?

“Shit.” I scramble off the bed in search of my clothes.

My hands shake as I pull them on, the sounds of the gunshots ringing in my ears.

This is it.

“Stay here.”

“Lev—”

“It’s going to be all right. Do you trust me?”

This time, there is no hesitation as she nods.

I tilt my chin at her clothes. “Get dressed. ”

I crouch on the floor and feel beneath the bed for my weapons stash. There’s not much, only a couple of handguns, but it’s better than nothing.

A heavy thud sounds overhead, and Elle whimpers as she glances anxiously up at the ceiling.

“It’s okay,” I soothe, despite the fact that it sounded like a body hitting the floor.

I tuck both guns into my belt and get to my feet.

Something has clearly happened that has Igor’s men spooked, which has me wondering whether someone has shown up who wasn’t invited.

“Elle!” a male voice shouts from above.

Elle’s eyes widen as she glances at me.

“Alexei,” she mouths.

I guess that’s my answer.

“I know you’re in here! Let her go, Lev!”

Elle goes to run to the stairs, but I hold up a hand to stop her.

“Could be a trap. Stay here.”

Elle cowers in the corner as I tread lightly up the steps toward the trapdoor. There’s no quiet way of sliding the bolt across, which means if Elle misheard, and it isn’t Alexei, we could both be dead in a matter of seconds.

With one last deep breath, I slide the bolt across and brace myself for whoever is waiting for us on the other side.

The moment I push the trapdoor open, my eyes stare straight down the barrel of Alexei’s gun.

“I fucking knew it.” Blood splatters cover his face and hands and from how deathly quiet it now is, I know he’s taken out every single one of my father’s men.

“Alexei?” Elle calls from below, capturing his attention.

“Get out of my fucking way!” Alexei roars .

Alexei storms past me down the stairs to get to Elle.

I grind my teeth as he places a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and she smiles up at him like he’s her knight in shining armor.

Asshole .

“Are you okay?” He eyes her and then the bed. Between Elle’s flushed cheeks and the extremely rumpled sheets, it’s pretty fucking obvious what we’ve been doing down here.

Alexei seems to realize as he turns to face me with a murderous expression on his face.

“You’re fucking dead?—”

“I’m fine, Alexei.” Elle places a hand on his arm. “Truly.”

Her eyes find mine, and she offers me a small smile.

“That doesn’t mean I trust him.” Alexei’s eyes narrow on me.

“If it makes you feel any better, the feeling is mutual.”

“Don’t get fucking smart with me. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over having to put a bullet between your eyes?—”

Elle moves to step between me and Alexei. “That’s enough!”

I hadn’t even noticed that I’d stormed back down the stairs toward him, my hand now resting on the handle of the gun tucked into the waistband of my pants.

But Elle reaches out a hand and presses it against my chest, stopping me in my tracks. “I think we should get out of here before Igor comes back.”

Alexei locks his gaze on mine. “I agree, but that doesn’t mean this is over.”

I find that I can’t look away.

The wave of grief that hits me as I take in all the features that are so similar to my own has my chest tightening .

It’s the first time I’ve ever truly looked at Alexei, and despite his clean-cut esthetic and lack of scars, I can see myself in him.

My brother.

My enemy .