Page 35 of Brutal Loyalty

Death was nothing like Elena had imagined it might be. It was terrifying, yes, but not the kind of terrifying that made her want to shriek or run or cower. It was made of a low dread that crawled through her stomach like insects through mulch. It lurked beneath her tongue and in the back of her throat. It crept silently and undid the stitches that held her together one by one until there was nothing left to keep her whole.

It was stealing Roman from her, and as it did, it was stripping her world away.

“Stop!” Elena begged him, sobbing beneath him. She was pinned under Roman’s body, and she felt the very moment when he started to sag. The tension that held the bulk of his weight off her body disappeared, and he crushed into her as nothing more than a collection of bones bound by skin and muscle. The blood that ran out from his wound had long soaked into her clothes, and she knew it was her doing. “Roman! Roman, I love you, too. Don’t leave me. Don’t die. Please, don’t die,” she sobbed, choking.

Bargaining with death never made a difference, though. It took what it wanted indiscriminately…and if she didn’t do something, it would take Roman, too. Elena didn’t know much about anatomy, but she knew by the blood alone that if Roman didn’t receive medical attention, he would die. She was pinned and couldn’t turn to see the extent of the damage, but she felt it. And with Viktor looming over both of them, trying desperately to tug Roman off of her so that he could end her life, Roman’s situation was only deteriorating.

“Viktor, please, have mercy! Stop! Help him!” All Elena could do was beg. Roman’s weight, even with him unconscious, kept her pinned. Her words were her only weapons, and she used them as best she could. “He’s not guilty in any of this! He’s loyal to you!”

“Says the one who has told nothing but lies,” Viktor snarled. He wrested Roman off of her and threw him aside. In the few seconds it took, Elena scrambled back and rolled over, but it was too late. Roman hit the floor soundlessly, and Viktor descended upon her. He’d pulled on pants, which should have made him look more civilized, but somehow, he was even more ferocious than she’d ever seen him before. The fire that burned in his eyes was hateful, and Elena understood it well. She imagined how she would have felt if Alexandra had come into her bedroom to attack Roman. The low-creeping dread squirmed inside of her. It felt similar to seeing Roman hurt and knowing that there was almost nothing she could do to save him.

“Did you think that you could win his heart and slip your way into my family so easily?” he demanded of her. “Did you think Roman would not be loyal to me? Even though you’ve twisted his heart and corrupted his mind, he still lives to serve me. He understands pride. He is a man of his own will, and he has given his fealty to me,” Viktor growled, holding her still so that she had no choice but to listen, her eyes occasionally slipping over to Roman’s still form.

“Elena, this can’t be right.” Alexandra had come down from the bed now. She clutched a sheet to her chest, crying as she watched Viktor hold Elena down. “You…you can’t be involved in this. I know that you were close to your father, but you saw what he did! You knew about his crimes, and you had a change of heart…”

“She had nothing,” Viktor replied cruelly, not sparing his wife a glance. “Everything we know of her, past and present, is a lie. She is not worth our time or your loyalty, Alexandra, and she will die for her actions.”

“I deserve it,” Elena whispered. Tears flowed freely. “I deserve to die. But…but please, please, don’t let Roman suffer because of me. He’s loyal to you, he is,” she gasped out, swallowing back tears. “He deserves to live. He protected you, and I hurt him. Roman doesn’t deserve this. This is all my fault. Don’t let him die. Please don’t let him die.”

Viktor’s eyes narrowed, and his face twisted with rage. Elena was sure he was about to strike her, but instead, he pushed her harder down onto the ground and planted his bare foot on her chest. The wind was knocked from Elena’s lungs, and for a second, her vision speckled white. Would this be the end?

“If you want him to live so badly, then you’ll prove it,” Viktor said. His voice was hard, but it was not necessarily cruel. When Elena’s vision returned, she saw that Alexandra had come to stand behind him. She’d set a gentle hand on Viktor’s back, and the gesture seemed to have diminished some of his anger. “Tell me what you know about the Svodnik’s whereabouts and motives.”

Elena squeezed her eyes shut. “Will you believe me if I tell you? I swear, I only did what I did because I had no choice. I swear—my loyalty is with you, but I’m afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Alexandra asked. Her tone was softer and more sympathetic than Viktor’s.

Tears beaded behind Elena’s eyelids and slid down her cheeks. “He’s threatening my mother.”

“Elena, what do you mean? Your mother is dead,” said Alexandra.

Shaking her head, Elena choked back tears. “She’s alive. Roman found her, or I never would have known. She’sherein Boston, living in a nursing facility, and now he’s…” She choked her tears back yet again. “He sent Mikhail to threaten me. They had a picture of the two of us when I went to go see her. He said…he said he’ll make her life worse.” Elena looked to Roman, who was starting to look a bit gray. “Please, Viktor, I’m begging you. I’m dead, no matter what—either by your hand or my father’s. I made a mistake…a big mistake. But I don’t want Roman to pay for it. He’s dying. You need to help him!”

“Then tell me where the Svodnik is,” Viktor snarled. He held his foot over her chest, keeping her pinned. “Tell me what you know. If I find out you’re telling the truth, then maybe I’ll believe the rest of what you’ve told me. And if you lie, then you know what will happen.”

It was the best deal Elena was going to get. Even if Roman’s life had not been on the line, she would have taken his offer. Her father was a vile man who deserved to be punished for his crimes. He’d driven her to this, to giving up her future and hurting her only true friends, Alexandra and Roman. She wouldn’t hold Viktor back from getting his vengeance.

“I can’t say for certain where he is because he moves around, not staying in one place for too long. But he never goes anywhere without Mikhail, which means he’s currently in Boston. That’s all I know. I swear.” Elena couldn’t find the courage to open her eyes again—she didn’t want to know if Viktor was looking down on her with contempt or not, nor did she want to see how still Roman lay. “I haven’t seen him since he sent me to Russia, but we’ve talked on the phone. All I know is that he wanted me to pretend to defect so that you would let me come here and I could kill you…but I don’t want to do that. I never did, but my father can be very persuasive when he’s threatening my life. Now, please, save Roman. Don’t make him pay for my mistakes.”

“I think she’s telling the truth, Viktor,” Alexandra said softly. “I…I’ve known Elena for most of my life, and I really don’t think she’s lying about this. I’ve never seen her act like this around a man before—and I’ve seen her go home with enough of them.”

Elena opened her eyes, if only so she could look at her friend. Alexandra’s face was burdened with worry.

“Alexandra, call for help,” Viktor said. He didn’t take his gaze off Elena. “While Roman is given medical assistance, we’ll take the steps necessary to make sure our Svodnik agent lacks the ammunition to do any more harm while we investigate her claims.”

A whoosh of air left Elena’s lungs all at once. “Thank you. Thank you, Viktor. If nothing else, please, save him. He doesn’t deserve any of this.”

“And neither do we.” Viktor’s eyes had lost their cruelty, but his voice was as hard as ever. “If you are telling the truth, and if you do survive this, there will still be consequences for your actions. You will not be treated with the grace we have previously shown you.”

“I understand.”

Elena glanced toward the door. Alexandra was hunched by Roman’s side, her phone held to her ear. She spoke quietly, but Elena was sure that she was calling the Sokolov family doctor. There was still hope. With him on call, able to respond to in-house calls within moments, perhaps Roman could be saved.

“I’ll win your trust back, if you give me the chance,” Elena murmured. She didn’t struggle, nor did she make a move to get up. If Viktor was generous enough to give her a second chance, she wouldn’t ruin it. She would be placid. “I’ll show you who I really am when the strings are cut. From here on out, I have no ulterior motives—I’m me, and my loyalty lies with Roman and the Sokolovs. I’d already decided as much until…until this morning, I was reminded of the cruelty of my father, and felt that I had no choice but to do this. But you’ve shown me more kindness than my blood family ever has. I won’t betray you again.”

“Pretty words, but are they true?” Viktor removed his foot from her chest, but she stayed still. There were footsteps running down the hall and the sound of raised voices in the distance. Help was on its way. “This is your only chance, Elena. I will not favor you again.”

One chance was all she needed. Whatever it took, she would stick by Roman.

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