Page 61 of Bratva Baby

He scowls. “I’d rather die than live under the Barkovs’ shadow.”

I see his finger twitch near his sidearm. There’s no time. I swallow my fear and lunge forward, grabbing for his gun. He reacts with lightning speed, blocking my hand. He releases my sister, and we struggle, arms locked in a violent dance. My heart thunders. He growls, shoving me away. I lose my balance and hit the floor, feeling a jolt of pain along my spine.

Grigor roars my name just as my father aims his weapon at me. The shot is about to go off, and everything funnels into that horrifying instant.

Then Grigor slams into him, tackling him sideways. They crash into a table, sending splinters and an abandoned vase scattering. My father elbows Grigor hard in the ribs, and Grigor staggers, but he doesn’t let go. A brutal fistfight ensues, and the room fills with the sound of flesh hitting flesh and my father grunting in fury while Grigor fights like a man possessed. His men circle around them, trying to find a way to separate them.

Meanwhile, the front doors burst open, and I see Aleksei, Dmitri, Maksim, Nikolai, and Akim rushing in with weapons at the ready. Their men fan out, taking shots at my father’s guards. My ears ring from gunshots. I drag myself to a corner, trying to keep my head low as bullets whiz overhead.

This is a war zone. The siblings fight side by side, picking off the guards who outnumbered us moments ago. The tide might turn in our favor if they can corner my father, but he’s slippery.

My father pulls another hidden gun from his ankle and aims at Grigor’s midsection. My breath catches, certain he’s about to fire. Then Aleksei’s voice booms from across the room. “Drop it, Thorne!”

My father roars something incoherent, switching tactics. He scrambles to his feet and shoves Cecily at me, only to yank her back again when Grigor tries to exploit the opening. In that single second of confusion, men from both sides exchange more gunfire, leaving some of my father’s men wounded or disarmed. The rest scatter, retreating with curses on their lips. The Barkov brothers press forward, but my father acts quickly, hooking an arm around Cecily’s neck, gun pressing against her temple.

“Back off!” he shouts, stepping away from Grigor’s furious lunge. “Any closer and I’ll kill her.”

We freeze. Grigor’s chest heaves, covered in bruises and blood. Aleksei and the others aim their weapons, but nobody can risk a shot. The dread in my stomach deepens. Cecily’s wide, terrified eyes seek mine. My father shuffles toward the exit, dragging her with him.

“Let her go!” I shout. “You have me, Grigor, everyone here. Why do you need her?”

He smirks, not slowing his backward movement. “You wouldn’t dare let them shoot while I have your precious innocent sister, would you? That’s the problem with you, Seraphina. You get too attached. Me? I care about winning.”

He edges out the doorway with the muzzle pressed to Cecily’s head. One of Grigor’s men tries to intercept, but my father fires a warning shot that sends the man ducking. Heart pounding, I watch helplessly as he slips through the threshold, disappearing into the night with Cecily’s muffled scream echoing behind him.

A profound silence descends, broken only by the groans of the wounded. I stumble forward, wanting to chase after him, but Grigor grips my arm. “Don’t,” he warns.

“Cecily,” I manage. “I can’t… We can’t leave her. He’ll hurt her.”

He cradles my face in his hands, forcing me to make eye contact. “We’ll get her back,” he vows. “I promise you, Seraphina. This isn’t over.”

Tears spill down my cheeks as I cling to him, words failing me. My father just outmaneuvered us all. He forced us into this firefight, escaped with Cecily as his shield, and left chaos in his wake. Even with Grigor’s brothers and their men, we lost her.

I choke out, “He’s taking her who knows where. He’ll use her. He’ll… Oh God.”

Grigor pulls me against him, stroking my hair. “Easy. Breathe. I told you, we’ll find her. That bastard won’t keep her forever. He’s cornered. He had to run. We’ll track him down.”

My heart stutters, but I cling to that thread of hope. “Please. We have to—We have to go after him.”

“We will,” he assures me. “But first, we need to regroup, secure your safety. Then we hunt him. I swear I won’t rest until she’s back with you. You have to trust me,Krasivaya. I love you, and I will never abandon you. Never. No matter what happens, that won’t change. Okay?”

The words flow into the cracks of my heart, soothing the ache. He loves me. Grigor loves me. It’s the truth that’s been there all along, even in the darkest moments, when I feared what would become of us. His arms surround me, holding me tight. And for a moment, in the midst of the blood and ruin, I believe him. I believe in his promises.

Because if anyone can save Cecily, it’s him.

Chapter 26 - Grigor

One week. That’s how long it’s been since the night everything spun out of control—since Thorne escaped with Cecily as his shield and vanished into the shadows.

In that time, my brothers and I have torn through our ranks, rooting out the snakes who sold us out and worked with Evan. We’ve interrogated, tracked leads, and threatened any source who might have known Thorne’s hideouts. But there is still no sign of Cecily.

The weight of that failure gnaws at me. Each day, I watch Seraphina force a smile in public, then crumble behind closed doors, trying not to let her despair swallow her whole. She never says it, but I see the guilt in her eyes, as if she blames herself for her father’s madness. I hate it. I hate that he’s got that kind of hold on her, even from a distance.

Tonight, though, I’m trying something different. No more scouring seedy warehouses or shaking down low-life informants—my men can handle that for a few hours. Instead, I told Seraphina to dress comfortably, to trust me. She looked puzzled but obliged. Now, we’re driving along a winding coastal road. The headlights illuminate the asphalt in front of us, and stars glimmer overhead. Beside me, her hands rest on her lap, clasped together.

“We’re almost there,” I say quietly, turning onto a small side road.

She peeks out the window. “Where are we going?”

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