Chapter 101

The guns from the drone echoed in the empty building and the guys inside started shouting. Keenan and I stepped into the building through the door. We were afforded a few moments for our eyes to shift and take in everyone that was on the ground floor. I trusted Lorenzo to get the top floor without issue.

I’d grabbed the machine pistol from the van, Lorenzo knowing it was one of my favorite guns to create mayhem with. I let off bursts as I took on the four guys that had knocked over their card game. Keenan took on the three who now were trying to pull their back-up guns as their main ones were disassembled on the table.

Over the gunfire, I heard Keenan grunt and cough.

“Keenan!”

“I’m fine, Atamansha. Hit my vest and knocked the wind out of me. I’m fine.”

I wrinkled my nose because the guy that had been sleeping into the cot took cover against a cement pillar holding up the building. My eyes glanced over at the cage in the center. Marek was sitting in the chair but his eyes weren’t open. The distraction cost me as a bullet grazed my arm. Hissing, I holstered my automatic and pulled out a fresh pistol.

Moving quickly, I shot at the pillar a few times to keep the guy behind it as I moved to forward to get the drop on him. Sure enough, it worked and I was able to get three shots off, two of them hitting as he dropped.

“What are we looking at?”

“Got my three but Jaqueline is out.” Lorenzo sighed. “If you could bring her back to me...”

I growled. “I don’t give a rats ass about your drone, Lor. Keenan?”

“I’ve got the three but one of them is alive. What do you want me to do with him?”

“We don’t need information right now. We need the key to the cell and we don’t need them alive for it.”

A single shot echoed a moment later. Squatting down, I searched the guy behind the pillar but came up empty. Moving back over to four guys, I was done pickpocketing two of them when Keenan held up a set of keys. He raced over to the cage and I followed him.

“Shit. Which one is it.”

Tears started to well up in my eyes as Keenan tried key after key. Finally the lock popped open and I grabbed the door, swinging it away and making Keenan stumble back. My arms were around Marek within a second as I climbed into his lap. I held onto him tightly and I buried my head in his neck.

Marek was in rougher shape than I thought. He was black and blue in most places. What used to be a white button up was now mostly red tinted with parts of it torn. It looked like they had fixed up his shoulder from where he got shot but never changed the bandage. The tears that had filled my eyes now fell down my face.

“Prosti, chto eto zanyalo u menya tak mnogo vremeni, lyubov' moya. I’m so sorry. I’m here now. I’m here for you. We can come home soon.” I whispered into his ear.

“Ria, he’s drugged. He’d not going to be able to hear you.”

I shook my head, my vision blurring. “I know, Lor. I know, I just...”

Everything I had been holding back, all the emotions and the pain. From the moment that I accepted Enzo was going to take me until Lorenzo confirmed that he was still alive. It poured out of me. My face buried in his neck as I held him. Marek was in my arms now. He was going to be okay.

Suddenly, a hand moved to the small of my back and pushed me closer. I sat back, looking at Marek and he had a smile on his face. His eyes were still shut though. Putting my hands on the sides of his head, I kissed him. The beard that had grown was scratchy against my skin but I didn’t care. I need this more than I needed to breathe. His hand pushed me closer as his lips moved lazily against mine.

“Took…you…long…enough…”

I snorted and shook my head, letting my lips brush against his dry and cracked ones. “I’m sorry. I’ll be faster next time.”

Marek let out a harsh chuckle but it turned into a cough.

“Atamansha, we should go.”

I nodded. “Can you grab Lor’s girlfriend from the top floor?”

“That’s not…it’s not…you know what, fuck you.” Lorenzo grumbled in my ear.

“What about Marek? You can’t carry him normally, let alone in your condition.” Keenan looked from me to Marek.

Marek frowned and his brows knit together until I pressed a finger in the wrinkles. “If the adrenaline shot doesn’t work, I’ll trade with you. I just don’t think I can go up those stairs anyways.”

“Alright.”

I dug around inside my vest as Keenan disappeared from the entrance of the cage. Pulling out a box, I opened it up and grabbed one of the adrenaline pens. Taking a breath, I jammed it into Marek’s thigh. Normally, I’d apologize for putting a hole in his slacks but these were ruined anyway.

His eyes flung open and I nearly fell off of his lap but he managed to catch me before I did. He looked around for a moment before settling back on me.

“Fuck. I thought I lost you.” His voice was hoarse and I could see him struggling to swallow as he spoke.

“Ty byl yedinstvennym, chto uderzhivalo menya ot razvala.” [You were the only thing that kept me from falling apart.] 

Marek kissed me again, this time hard as his tongue dove into my mouth. I melted right there, becoming putty in his arms. My fingers splayed against his chest and I used every ounce of control I had to push him away.

“We need to go, Marek. The adrenaline is only going to work for so long. The drugs need to get out of your system.”

He frowned and it looked like he was going to yell but chose not to at that moment. “Alright. Who is here with you?”

“Keenan and my brother.”

Marek looked at Keenan but then did a double take. “Domani? Or Tempo?”

Keenan had the drone in his hands but it actually didn’t look nearly as bad as I thought it would. “Don’t ask right now, pakhan. We need to go. They probably need to do a check in at some point. We don’t know if they just did it or they need to do it within the next five minutes.”

Taking Marek’s hand, I watched him as I pulled him forward a couple steps. It looked like he was favoring his right foot but there wasn’t anything drastic that I could see while he stepped with me.

“Are you okay to walk?” I looked up at him.

He nodded and slipped his hand in mine. “As long as you lead, I’ll be fine.”

Keenan moved with the drone quickly and I followed him, pulling Marek with me. We went out the door and headed back through the brush. It was easier to follow the path we’d made when we first walked in rather than forge a new one. The way back took us longer with a slower pace but once we got to the van, Lorenzo already had it started.

“I got him, Atamansha. Get in first.”

Climbing in, I got into the passenger seat next to Lorenzo. Keenan helped get Marek up into the van and the whole thing shifted as he collapsed against the side of it. Shutting the door, Keenan barely sat down before Lorenzo pulled around and back on to the road. I pulled out my earpiece and handed it to Keenan before I settled back into the seat.

“The signal went out.”

I cursed. “How long ago?”

“Not long. But Enzo will know we got Marek.”

“It’s fine. As long as we can get out of here. The flip side of not having any electronics is that you can’t see anyone coming to attack you either.”

Keenan leaned forward, looking at the screen in the center of the dash. “Are we really going after your father though? Can we? Didn’t Vor specifically not go after it because it was too heavily fortified?”

“Vor Juri is a pussy.” Lorenzo shook his head. “He’s got too many skeletons that it’s made him a poor decision maker.”

Marek cleared his throat. “That’s my brother you’re insulting.”

“Oh, I can insult you as well if you would like. I don’t care if you’re married to my sister.”

I growled at Lorenzo. “Watch it.”

“What? I’m just saying. I would have liked an invite to the wedding. I bet you looked beautiful. Especially when taking out that bitch. Though, I don’t think anything can top that charity ball gown.”

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “I told you. I couldn’t contact you. It wasn’t like I was planning on getting married. You need to give him some slack. He had to marry me.”

“You are way better than he is.” Lorenzo grumbled. “He’s lucky I didn’t take down his entire infrastructure.”

“I would never have spoken to you again if you had.”

Lorenzo’s jaw dropped and he looked at me. “You would not!”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I would.”

“You can’t…seriously…what the hell, Ria?”

Shrugging, I pretended to be inspecting my nails. “I love him. You just have to suck it up and deal with it or you don’t get anymore Tuna melts.”

Lorenzo growled as he looked back at the road. I smirked, knowing I’d won.

“What…the hell is going on?” I looked back at Marek who looked utterly lost.

Keenan started off giggling but then turned into a full blown cackle. “They have been like this the whole fucking time. I can’t even. I nearly gave away our position.”

“Ria?” Marek sounded so meek and I patted my brother’s shoulder.

“This is my brother, Lorenzo Bernardi, also know as Wizard.”