Page 108 of Wicked Arrangement

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 thiscar 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.

Chapter 55

Yaroslav

As I slowly regain consciousness, my first thought is:I’m alive. My second thought is:Where are Kim and David? Did they manage to escape?

Then, I feel rage—white-hot rage that courses through my veins. Innokentiy should have killed me when he had the chance. I’m going to get out of this, and I’m going to kill him.

I take in my surroundings, testing the restraints that tie me to the chair I’m in. It’s dark but I can tell I’m in one of the basement cells. The irony that I’m the first person to be held here, I haven’t yet needed to use them myself, isn’t lost on me. When I first got here, it occurred to me to have Sharkozi brought to these cells, to have him under my watch when I knew I had a rat. But I didn’t want to risk an escape attempt. Innokentiy would no doubt have achieved an escape if I’d ordered Roman to be moved. With him dead that’s at least one less enemy to worry about.

They’ve been meticulous about tying me up, I can feel the restraints digging into my skin. This tells me two things. One: they’re afraid of me, they know the damage I could do if I got loose. Two: I’m going to need them to untie me if I stand a chance of making it out alive.

The fact I’m still alive means they need me. I assume they want the code to the safe where I stashed the decoy USB, or if they’ve managed to get into the safe, they want the encryption key. If I’m alive, that also means they haven’t found Kim andDavid. The real flash drives are with them, so they’d have no use for me. I hold onto that hope, that Kim and David are alive and well, as I sit in the dark contemplating my options.

I don’t have many. Either I die here, my remaining loyal men manage to rescue me, or I escape. Unfortunately, the first one seems to be the most likely scenario. Innokentiy plans to torture and kill me, that much has to be true. He’d be a fool to leave me alive for long. I could take back my empire and easily defeat him if he ever let me go. Logic tells me that the only reason he didn’t kill me straight away is because he plans to torture me for information or his sick amusement. Innokentiy always was a petty coward who only acted tough when his victims couldn’t fight back.

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