Chapter 54

Kimberly

S ince his uncle arrived a couple of hours ago while Yaroslav was still out, we’ve been holed up in David’s room, trying to distract ourselves and stay out of the way. The last thing I want is to speak to Innokentiy without Yaroslav there, I can tell David feels the same way. We spotted Yaroslav arriving back a short while ago. Both of us are preparing ourselves to be summoned.

All day I’ve felt this overwhelming sense of dread, that something bad is going to happen. I can tell David feels it too. This is why, when we hear a gunshot coming from the direction of Yaroslav’s office, both of us spring into action. Without thinking, I race toward the sound, fearful for Yaroslav’s life.

“Kimmy, wait!” David calls, but I ignore him.

When I reach Yaroslav’s office, I see him unconscious on the floor and my heart drops, fearing the worst. He’s alone. Whoever did this has gone and left him for dead. I drop to my knees beside him, examining him to look for the bullet wound.

“Yaroslav! Wake up!” I scream.

“Fuck!” David says, coming in and kneeling down beside me.

Yaroslav stirs, coming to, his eyes glazed and unfocused. Seeing us seems to give him the strength to speak, to force himself to wake up more.

“Where have you been shot?” I ask, still searching, feeling more confused as I realize there’s no blood.

“Not shot. Drugged. Innokentiy,” Yaroslav answers, his speech slurred.

“Oh my god, David, we have to take him to a hospital, or I don’t know, make him throw up?” I say panicked, trying to lift his heavy frame up.

“No. No time,” he says shaking his head. With great effort, he reaches into his pocket and presses two small items into my hand. “All the information you need is on these. You need to run.”

“No, I’m not leaving you!” I insist, still struggling.

“David. Take her, you have to do this for me, you have to promise to keep them safe. Please,” he says, gripping his brother’s hands.

I can see tears in David’s eyes as he nods bravely, “I promise.”

“No, we can’t leave him!” I insist.

“Kimmy, you have to. Think of the baby. We don’t know who else is in on this, we need to go, to keep you both safe,” David says softly pulling on my hand, but I still resist, starting to sob.

“I can’t!” I say, clinging to Yaroslav.

“Please,” Yaroslav says, forcing his eyes open to look into mine. “Please go. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I reply through my tears, finally allowing David to drag me away.

As much as I love Yaroslav and want to stay and fight, to protect him and spend his final moments by his side, I know I have to put our child first. It’s not just my life I’d put at risk if I stayed.

David pulls me toward a secret door behind the bookcase and I can hear the sounds of footsteps approaching as we close it just in time. The passageway leads us through a maze of dark hidden tunnels underneath the house, not dissimilar to the ones I found all those weeks ago in Yaroslav’s Atlanta home. I pray to god this one isn’t a dead end that will leave us trapped.

Thankfully, David seems to know the way, steering me in the right direction when we come to different junctions. As we run, I can hear the sounds of gunfire and shouting, clearly, Innokentiy came with backup. Yaroslav’s loyal men are putting up a fight. I hope for all our sakes they win, but without Yaroslav to lead them I don’t know how long their loyalty will last. If Innokentiy tells them Yaroslav is dead, how many of them would choose to follow David, a mentally ill man they all underestimate, or an unborn child?

It feels like we’ve been running forever, I’m still weak and I have to stop to catch my breath. It sounds as though the fight is happening right above our heads. It’s then that I notice the small grate above us, presumably for airflow for using the tunnel but on the outside, it must look like a harmless storm drain.

“David, boost me up, I want to see if I can see anything out of that,” I say, pointing at the grate.

David hesitates, “Kimmy, we really should keep going, they could be following us any minute, I promised to keep you safe.”

“Please, it will only take a moment,” I plead, “We’re wasting time standing here arguing,” I reason.

He sighs but relents, holding out his hands for me to clamber up and peer out of the small gap. In the gloom of the night, I can make out that we’re underneath the drive outside the house, presumably under one of the flowerbeds. I can just about make out the front entrance of the house where a fight is going on between four men. I’ve no idea who is on whose side, but it appears as though they’re out of ammo as the fight has turned physical, the men grappling and throwing punches.

Eventually, two of them fall to the ground and don’t get back up. The other two start to run in our direction. The gravel crunches under their feet as they stop close to our hiding point, I can’t see their faces only their feet, but they’re close enough that I can hear them.

“What do we do?” one man whose voice I don’t recognize asks, panting slightly.

“We’re going to have to fall back,” the other man says reluctantly, his voice is one I do recognize.

It’s Artem.

“We’re outnumbered and they had the element of surprise on their hands, the boss is smart, he can handle himself, we need to fall back and try to find David and Kimberly. That’s what he’d want us to do,” Artem orders.

I can’t tell whose orders they are though. Is Artem’s boss Yaroslav or Innokentiy? If he’s on Innokentiy’s side then the good thing is that Yaroslav’s men have won, we could go back to the house and save Yaroslav. But if he’s on Yaroslav’s side, then we’ve lost. I contemplate calling out to Artem for help, but the words get stuck in my throat. I don’t know who to trust. If he’s on Innokentiy’s side, letting him know we’re here could cost us our lives.

Right now, the only person I can trust is right next to me. David and I need to get away, we can seek help from Grace and Thomas Gillihan, I’m confident they can be trusted. Then we can work out who is a friend and who’s our foe.

Artem speaks into his comms, “Fall back men, fall back,” and the two men rush off, away from the house.

Just like that, our opportunity to get help from one of Yaroslav’s most trusted men is gone.

But was that Yaroslav’s mistake, did trusting Artem get him killed?

“Come on, we should go,” I say to David who eagerly puts me down.

He looks at me questioningly, “What did you hear?”

I can’t find the words to explain what I’m thinking right now. “I’ll tell you once we get the fuck out of here,” I promise. “Come on, let’s go.”

David nods and continues to lead the way out of the maze and into uncertainty.

We follow the tunnels in silence, far away from the house. Eventually, we meet some stairs and climb up to what appears to be a parking garage with only a few vehicles.

“This one,” David says, pointing to a nondescript gray sedan, a car similar to one owned by hundreds of average Americans.

It’s a good choice, the car is least likely to draw attention. I assume David is aware of this escape plan, for all I know the Volkovs have a similar setup in all their houses. It dawns on me just how little I know about Yaroslav’s criminal life and what being part of the Bratva means. I suppose nothing can prepare you for it, but I wish now I’d asked more questions. I feel like more of a burden than a help. To my relief, the car is unlocked with the keys in the dash.

“I’ll drive,” David insists, I don’t argue with him, my hands are shaking, and I know I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the road. All I can think about is Yaroslav.

As we drive away, trying to put as much distance between us and the house as possible, we’re still reeling from what just happened. Innokentiy has staged a coup. Yaroslav’s uncle, his family member, the man who was there for them when their parents died, the person he should be able to trust the most, is the traitor. Innokentiy is willing to do whatever it takes to gain control, even betray those closest to him.

Yaroslav will soon be dead if he isn’t already. The thought is like a bullet to my heart.

I look over at David and see my fear reflected in his eyes. We both know what this means. Without Yaroslav to protect us, we know who Innokentiy is coming for next. Us. In this car are the only two people left who could inherit the Volkov empire—David and the baby in my womb. I clutch my stomach protectively. Without Yaroslav, I have to be the strong one now for our family.

No one is taking my child from me. Not without a fight.