Page 83 of Bratva Butcher

“Not now. We need to get her onboard!” Nikolai pushed past her and jumped into the last free speedboat. “Come on! Let’s go! Now!”

Dimitri, Mikhail and I joined him, while Illayana, some tall guy with multi-coloured eyes who hovered over her like he was afraid she would disappear and Lukyan jumped into another. Aleksandr and a woman literally half his size, covered head-to-toe in tattoos and piercings, were already waiting in their own boat with several other people, prepared to leave.

I couldn’t miss the odd looks even if I tried. Apart from Nikolai, who was completely focused on Tatiana, rocking her back and forth, whispering in her ear, the other Volkov siblings kept giving me the side-eye, unable to hide their surprise at my presence.

None of them objected, though, so I supposed that was a win.

Two men pushed our boat into the water and climbed in. The engine roared to life, and then we were off, speeding across the water.

My fingers gripped the sides of my seat so tightly that they turned white. Out of all the modes of transportation we could have used to get out, it justhadto be by fucking boat.

The ocean freaked me out.

Instead of focusing on the fact that there was thousands of feet of water below me, with god knew what swimming in it, I looked back at the island, thoroughly enjoying watching it all fall apart. Watching all the trees burn. All the buildings crumble. All the people scream. The smoke billowing into the dark sky. The flames racing along the grass.

Burn, motherfucker, burn.

Exhaustion began to seep deep into my bones. Now that we were no longer fighting for our lives, all that adrenaline that had been pumping through my body was starting to wear off. That sucked for a multitude of reasons, the main one being that ithelped keep the pain at a manageable level. Particularly the stab wound in my fucking shoulder.

My hair whipped around me in a chaotic frenzy as the boat plowed through the water, zooming towards the giant, dark grey submarine. It sat just above sea level, a tall tower with sails on either end sticking up high from the rest of the watercraft. People were disembarking from the speedboats and walking along the outer hull when we pulled up next to it. They moved towards a hatch located at the bottom of the tower that would allow them access to the inside of the submarine.

We were the last boat to arrive.

I swallowed the massive lump in my throat and tried my best to wipe any unease from my face.

I am going to have to do that? Are you having a fucking laugh?There was no protective barrier to keep you from falling into the ocean. One wrong move, one slip, and you’d find yourself plowing towards the water and right into the jaws of a fucking shark.

Aleksandr stood on the submarine, feet planted firmly, arms crossed over his chest, expression hard. Dangerous. When Nikolai got to his feet with Tatiana still in his arms, the boat rocked, causing him to stumble.

A small shriek fell from my lips.Dear God, don’t let me get eaten by a shark.

Dimitri glanced over his shoulder at me, and I gave him a thumbs up, plastering a smile on my face as quickly as I could. His narrowed, suspicious gaze had me thinking he didn’t believe the act I was trying so desperately to put on.

That hard expression dropped from Aleksandr’s face immediately, replaced with what I guessed was sympathy. “Give her to me,” he grunted, stretching out his arms.

Nikolai clutched Tatiana closer to his chest like the mere idea of handing her over to someone else was inconceivable. Hemust have realised how hard it would be trying to get onto the submarine while still holding her because he kissed her forehead softly, tenderly, before begrudgingly handing her over.

“Be careful. Don’t drop her. Watch her head.”

“I’ve got her, Nik. I’ve got her.” Aleksandr held her tightly as Nikolai jumped up onto the submarine. He quickly took her back from his brother.

Mikhail jumped up next. “Head straight down into the ship’s galley. There will be a team of doctors waiting for you.”

Nikolai nodded once and took off, running surprisingly well along the wet surface of the submarine. It gave me a fucking anxiety attack.

Dimitri climbed up next. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out. You’ll never live it down if he sees. You can do this.

I went to follow behind him but froze when he turned, placed his hands on my waist and lifted me up onto the submarine like it was nothing at all. Beautiful blue eyes locked with mine, staring so intensely at me that it was like he was looking into my soul.

The man was such a fucking enigma. One second, he was telling me he’d leave me behind if I don’t keep up, and the next, he’s helping me up with such tenderness and care. It was like the dude couldn’t make up his damn mind about how to deal with me.

Dimitri frowned, looking down at his hands, still on my waist. He immediately let go and stepped back, his face turning hard, impassive. He shook out his hands before they closed into tight fists. He gave me a cross, angry look, like it wasmyfault he’d reached out and helped me, and then he spun on the balls of his feet and marched away.

See what I mean? Fucking enigma.

The inside of a submarine looked exactly as I predicted. Dull. Cramped. Bland. It had long, thin hallways that I had to turn sideways to get through, and ugly steel walls. It was kind of what you’d expect if you crossed a spaceship with the NASA Command Centre. Enormous computers and monitors everywhere. Big, oversized buttons and dials. Giant machines that looked like they could destroy the world with the press of a button.

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