Nadia smiled and I felt a warmth running through me. “Not exactly like this. But I’ve done similar things in the past. I worked for a short time in filling and as a receptionist at another company. I’m getting the hang of things,” she replied.
I loved the fact that she sounded excited as she spoke. “We’ll if you are unsure, you know my door is always open,” I added, patting her knee.
The car slowed down, and I looked out the front window. There were some cars parked on the side of the road. Ahead, it looked like the streetlights were out. The vehicle that was traveling ahead of us braked sharply. My driver slammed on the horn and the brakes. We stopped inches away from the other car.
If something was going on, I knew I had to protect her. “What the hell!” I shouted.
“Tonight, the streets seem to be filled with unlicensed drivers,” my driver replied as he moved around the car and took a right. “We’re almost there, boss.”
“Just get us there safely, please,” I added, smiling at Nadia.
Chapter 10 - Nadia
Abram told the driver where to go as our doors closed. I loved how, every now and then, his authoritative side stepped out. He was part of a Bratva family and was dangerous.
I knew I had to settle his mind and keep him happy if I was to succeed. Vadik was hammering me for the information. I had told him we were going out and I would send something as soon as I could. The pressure he was placing on me made me nervous.
It felt good being able to talk to Abram, though. He wasn’t as uptight as I imagined Bratva men to be. He seemed to be truly interested to know how I was doing. He was always friendly and kind so far.
I was about to thank him again when the car suddenly stopped. My body jolted, and I slammed into the seat before me, dropping the glass to the floor.
Abram hit his head against the cabinet. He recovered quickly as he glanced around. “What’s going on?” Abram asked the driver. He sounded angry.
“We’re surrounded, boss. We’re being ambushed,” he replied, sounding slightly uptight.
Glancing around, I saw three cars blocking us in. This surely had to be a fluke. There had been no indication that anyone else had been after the Dubow family, and mine didn’t have enough intel to act yet. I felt sure something else was going on.
I heard the gunshots echoing through the air as Abram threw himself over me to cover me. There was a steady stream of bullets for a couple of seconds. Every bullet that hit the car madea hollowclunksound. I felt my heart beating in my throat, sure that we were going to die.
Suddenly, everything went quiet, and I heard voices coming from outside. Abram slid off me and crawled to the front of the car.
“Shit,” he mumbled as he pushed forward between the front seats. The driver's door opened. Abram pushed the driver out. His body fell out like a bag of potatoes.
The door slammed shut and the car started moving.
“Keep your head down!” Abram screamed as he sped up. “Stay down! I don’t want you to get shot!” he added, glancing at me over his shoulder.
I didn’t want to be a distraction, as I felt he had enough to deal with. Lying flat on the backseat, I replied.
“I won’t.”
I could hear the quivering in my voice and hoped he didn’t notice it. Holding tightly to the seatbelt, I tried steadying my breathing. My throat felt swollen shut, and my heart was racing. It felt like a tornado within me, trying to get out.
The car hit something, slowing down for a split second, then jerked forward. Lifting my head carefully, I peeked over the backseat. I saw one of the shooters lying on the ground. I felt sure we had hit him. The other cars weren’t far behind.
Turning forward, I looked at the road ahead of us as Abram increased his speed. The road appeared to narrow and form a thin line. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision. There were another couple of shots. I felt the car swerve slightly before straightening out again.
There were more obstacles on the road than I expected. Abram swerved and managed to miss hitting anything. Iswallowed hard as the ocean in my mouth tried to flood me. We were heading to the edge of town. I didn’t know where we were going. But I felt sure he would get us out of this safely.
He took a sharp turn, and I fell back as something exploded next to the car. There was a horrid screeching sound. Abram slammed the steering wheel as she screamed.
“Shit, shit, shit! Hold on tight, the wheel blew, but I will get us out!”
The car swerved left and then right. I held onto the seatbelt as we spun before coming to a stop. Abram glanced back at me as he spoke.
“Come on, we need to get out of here.” He jumped out and flung open the back door. “We need to move before they find us,” he huffed as I stumbled out of the car.
Abram caught me before I fell to the floor. Once I was stable, he pulled lightly on my hand as he spoke.