Chapter 6

Samara~

N ow, even though it was late, it didn't bother me to walk home alone from work. I felt relatively comfortable in our neighborhood, so that'd never been an issue for me. However, it still bothered me to let Masha walk home alone after work, so I'd told her to stay put until I could meet up with her. Though the diner closed at midnight, it was still another half an hour or so before everyone was done cleaning up, then going home. So, even though my shift also ended at midnight, if I walked fast enough, I could make it to the diner by the time that everyone locked up to leave.

Unfortunately for us, this morning when I'd gone to go run a few errands, our car's engine light had come on, and rather than risk having it break down somewhere, I'd driven it straight to the nearest auto garage. Without an appointment, they hadn't been able to guarantee me a timeline of when they'd have the car repaired, still needing to run a diagnostic check to see what was even wrong to begin with. So, Masha and I had both taken the bus to work, but the bus nearest to our condo stopped running at ten, so we'd been on our own for a ride home.

At any rate, I'd made Masha promise to wait at the diner for me, even though she'd have to wait two hours. So, I wasn't surprised when my phone started ringing, Masha probably calling me to see where I was.

"I'm almost there," I said as soon as I answered her call.

"Samara," she cried. "Oh, God…"

My feet froze. "What, Masha? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so…I'm so sorry."

"What?" I snapped into the phone, feeling the tentacles of hysteria already. "What's going on?"

"I…." I heard her swallow loudly, trying to get herself under control. "I…I got tired of waiting." I closed my eyes as my hand tightened around my phone. "So…so I…I started walking home."

"What happened, Masha?" I repeated. "Tell me now."

"I…I…oh, God…" she stammered, still sobbing.

"Masha!"

"I…I took…I thought it'd be a…a good idea to…to take a shortcut," she finally said. "I…I decided to cut through Midler Street…you know, behind the Winged Apartments." I could actually feel bile dancing up and down my esophagus. "I…I didn't think…."

"Masha, what happened?" I asked for the millionth time, imagining the worst.

"I…I…" I heard her take in a deep breath. "I saw these guys…these guys, and they…Samara, I saw them shoot someone."

It took everything in me not to throw up everywhere. "Masha, are you…where are you?"

"Home," she cried out. "I…as soon as I saw them shoot the guy, I…I took off…off running."

I turned, then started practically running down the street. While the entire world used all the new car services available nowadays, I hadn't ever liked the idea of getting into a vehicle with a perfect stranger, so Masha and I used the bus when we had to, thankful for our car most days.

"Did they see you?"

"I…I think so," she admitted quietly.

My heart started racing faster in my chest. "Masha, were they...did they look like Kotovs?"

"I…I don't know," she choked out. "It was dark, and I…I didn't get a good look at them. As soon as…as I saw what happened, I took off running."

"Listen to me," I told her. "I'm on my way home. Lock the door and do not answer it for anyone but me. Okay?"

Just then, I heard a huge thumping sound vibrate through the phone, and there was no need to wonder how they'd found my sister. It would stand to reason that at least one of them would have chased her down after witnessing a murder. In her state of panic, Masha hadn't thought about how she'd be leading them straight to our front door.

"Oh, God," she cried. "They're here. Samara, they're here."

I stopped running, so that she could hear me clearly over the phone. If I had any chance at saving my sister, then she needed to hear me and do what I said. From the sound of the pounding coming through the phone, it was clear that they were prepared to break down the door if she didn't answer, and it was also clear that they weren't concerned with waking our neighbors, letting me know that they were Kotovs without me even having to ask.

"Masha, listen to me," I ordered, my voice firm. "Open the door, and before you do anything else, tell them to call Avgust Kotov."

"Sama-"

"Masha!" I yelled, cutting her off. "Tell them to call Avgust, or else they will kill you."

"I'm scared-"

"I'm on my way," I said, doing my best to reassure her. "I'm on my way."

Hanging up, I started running down the street, afraid that I might have a heart attack if I ran too fast or not fast enough. Luckily for me, the streets were rather empty this late at night, so I didn't have to fight a crowd to get to my sister.

I was also struggling with the uncharitable thought that Masha had brought this upon herself by not waiting at the diner for me. All that she'd had to do was listen to me and wait for me, and now we were both possibly going to die for her irresponsible decision to walk home alone.

When I finally reached our building, adrenaline had me racing up the stairs to the fourth floor, and the rush of blood in my ears had me deaf to everything around me. I felt like I was going to pass out with fear, but I couldn't let that happen. There were worse things than death in this world, and my sister had just encountered murderers that might be more than just murderers.

With the door to our condo unlocked, I was able to race inside, and when I did, I saw two men in our living room, my sister sobbing on the couch by herself. I wanted to run to her, but I knew better. Now, while I didn't know who these men were, I recognized their tattoos enough to know that they were Kotovs, and that we were screwed.

As my sister cried on the couch, the taller of the two men said, "I am Alexei Kuzmin, and this is my associate, Ivan Kiselyov." I glanced at the man with tattoos on his face, and you'd think that he was a block of stone with the way that he just stared at me. "It is my understanding that you know Avgust Kotov, yes?"

Though it was the coward's way out, I'd do anything to save my sister, even if it meant walking through Hell to beg Satan for a favor. Masha was a good person, and after already losing our parents, the very thought of also losing my sister was enough to make me almost throw up. Besides, I knew enough about the bratva to know that they wouldn't just kill her. The bratva were notorious for getting off on torturing people, and my vision dimmed with the possibility that my sister might meet that fate.

Finally, I said, "I do."

"And how is it that you know Avgust Kotov?" he asked, and his simple question made my stomach tighten.

"I'm not sure that I should say," I semi-lied. "But…but if you just call him, then…he'll…he'll tell you that he knows me."

"You assume that I have his phone number," he stated calmly, causing me to let out a choked cry, Masha sobbing harder.

With my hands shaking, I knew that I had to prove myself, or else these men were going to kill us soon. "Then call Maksim Barychev," I told him. "He'll tell you that I know Avgust."

After a few seconds of tense silence, he said, "Go sit with your sister." His grin was positively sinister when he added, "We got to know her a little bit while we waited for you, Samara."

Dropping my purse, I immediately rushed over to Masha, and as soon as I sat on the couch, she was wrapped in my arms, crying into my shoulder. I could feel her trembling, and all I could do was pray that Avgust took mercy on her, even if he wasn't going to take any on me. Still, I didn't care about that. I just had to save Masha; I couldn't care about the rest of it.

When I looked back up at Alexei, he had his phone to his ear, and I had no idea who he was calling until he said, "Maksim, we have a problem." He waited for Maksim to speak before adding, "We have a witness to what happened earlier, but she says that she knows Pakhan. Or more to the point, her older sister knows Pakhan. They're names are Masha and Samara Andreev."

"I'm so sorry," Masha muttered brokenly. "I'm so sorry, Samara."

Before I could comfort my sister, Alexei was standing in front of me, his arm stretched out with his phone in his hand. "Maksim would like to speak with you."

My hand shook as I reached for the phone, but that couldn't be helped. If anyone on this earth hated me more than Avgust Kotov, it was Maksim Barychev. "Maksim?"

"Long time, no see, kukla," he said, and just by the sound of his voice as he called me doll, I knew that we weren't going to make it out of here alive.