Page 84 of Be My Vengeance

We talked about ways we could cut the chain, or pickpocket the key from one of the guards. At one point a man brought us food. I ate slowly since it was hard to chew and swallow. I needed my strength, and this was the only thing that would provide that for me right now.

“Your boss is a pain in the ass,” Sergey chided as he descended the stairs. Two hours must’ve passed. “He told me he did it, killed my father, but he won’t drop the body off until I deliver you.” He stood in front of me.

“And Raff. I don’t go anywhere without him.”

“Danny.”

“No. Shut up, Raff.”

Sergey peered over his shoulder at Raff, then to me. “Actually, you may be on to something. Okay, both of you are coming, it seems.” He motioned to someone, who came to him. “Get the two of them in the van. We leave soon.”

Seemed like Gideon didn’t believe Sergey wasn’t going to kill us as soon as he knew Vladimir was dead.

“Let’s get going,” the man ordered as he pushed the gurney toward the bulkhead door. It had a ramp in, so that explained how they’d gotten me in here so easily. I wasn’t put into an ambulance this time but instead a black van.

Raff was with me, still chained, but I was glad he was here. Two guys with guns joined us and a third shut the doors. I wasn’t sure where Sergey was—maybe in another car up ahead. I didn’t like not having eyes on him.

I couldn’t see out the rear window, but Raff could. “Can you tell where we’re going?”

“In the direction of the hospital, but I’m not sure exactly yet.”

We sat in silence for the short drive. I didn’t know how any of this was going to go down. What I understood was: I had no gun, no way to protect or defend, and neither did Raff. I hoped Gideon knew what he was doing.

The van came to a stop, the doors opened, and Sergey was there. “You.” He pointed to Raff. “You’re coming with me. Danny, you sit tight for a minute, would you?”

What? “Wait.” Raff tried fighting off the men dragging him out. He was shouting and kicking. Then the doors shut, and his yelling got quieter.

What the hell was Sergey up to? Gideon wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t there, too. Alex might actually explode and rip Sergey’s face clean off.

One man was left with me, so they really must not have seen me as much of a threat. I stared at him. He was looking straight ahead like a perfect soldier. I tried moving my right arm slightly; the pain was there but bearable. My other arm that the IV had been in it at the hospital wasn’t in good shape. It was wrapped up around the wrist so likely a sprain.

A quick glance at my legs didn’t tell me anything, but I thought I remembered them saying something about my ankle. Fuck. I wasn’t going to be able to take this guy. I wouldn’t be able to fight a toddler like this.

The silence broke, gunfire rang out, and the man sitting with me peeked out the window, his weapon poised to strike, but it was pointless. A bullet whizzed through the glass, getting him in the head. He fell back, barely missing the gurney. Holy fuck.

The doors swung open and a manic Alex jumped up. He had an AK-47 in one hand and a machete in the other. Blood splattered the right side of his face, and his eyes were wild.

Once they landed on me, it was like water dousing a fire. “Danny.”

“Alex.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Alex

Getting to the safe house felt like a mad dash. Two hours wasn’t a lot of time. Gideon had called Toni on our way up there and informed him of everything that had happened since we’d dropped Vladimir off with him.

When we arrived, I could hear Maksim yelling. I looked at Toni and he shrugged. “He said he’s always wanted to tie his father down and tell him how he really feels about him.”

“You rule with fear, not respect. No one likes you. Do you think maybe the fact that you’re tied to a bed in Gideon Hendrix’s safe house is because your men let him take you to be rid of you?”

The four of us stood behind Maksim while Vladimir stared daggers at his son. “I should have drowned you as a baby,” he sneered, and Maksim gasped.

“I fucking hate you, and I hope you feel every second of your death!” Maksim pivoted on his foot and stormed out of the room. A quick peek at his face and I saw the tears. Toni went after him, which I couldn’t dissect right now.

“You’re a real father of the year.” Gideon walked to the foot of the bed.

“You have made a huge mistake, Hendrix.”