CHAPTER 52 — FAINA PETROV

Damn!

I would rather not have to shoot my father's men.

Holy crap!

If it weren't for their questions, we would have already managed to escape through the back.

— Mrs. Rurik, what is happening here? — asks Drake. Lohan and Luther watch me. Drake is one of the guys who “technically” started working for them and joined Adam and Ryck to guard my college gate. He was one of the men Andrey hired. It was through them that he found out about everything.

— You fucking traitor! — Luther shouts at Drake, trying to get closer. I put my arm in front of him, stopping his advance.

— Another time… — I whisper to them and without them waiting for my action, I give them both a quick butt on the head, which makes them fall to the ground.

I hope they will forgive me for this; I'm a good fighter and I know how to shoot very well, but there are twenty men against three people. We wouldn't leave here without a confrontation, and not to mention that the two of them are already on terrible terms. I can't act on impulse again; I'm carrying babies I need to protect, and this time I'm not wearing a bulletproof vest.

— Faina! — Boris, come in with your gun drawn — What happened here? He… — looks at the three bodies lying on the floor.

— Boris… they killed Andrey! — shedding tears — Some misguided person failed to tie them to these filthy chairs! — I fall to the ground, crawling towards the lifeless body, when I see Luther's hand moving. His body is close to the deceased. — Be silent. No. If. Move. — I whisper to him before I begin to simulate my mourning for my beloved deceased husband.

 — Shit… — Drake cocks the gun, pointing at the bodies of Luther and Lohan — I'm going to kill these bastards!

— No! — I shout, leaving them without understanding, the guns still pointing at them — My father-in-law will take revenge with his hands. I'll take you both to him.

— But we can still shoot a part of the body that doesn't affect it as much — Ryck says angrily.

Dear traitor, the next bullet will be to your head.

—No one is going to shoot them! They will go with me. Leave your weapons aside and help me lead you to my car. — I calm down and wipe away my fake tears as I stand up with Boris's help.

— And Andrey? — Boris, question me, your look reveals many things to me.

What a horrible thing, I had already forgotten about this man!

— I'm devastated, my children lost their father today, and you expect me to think about everything? — I put my hands on my face — I'm human too, a pregnant wife who just lost her husband.

Four of my father's soldiers follow my orders, holstering their weapons and lifting the fallen Green brothers off the ground. Luther does his best not to groan in pain and maintain a neutral expression, so as not to be discovered.

— You, take care of Andrey's body and take him to Mr. Rurik. — Boris instructs his men, being second in command after me. — Take care of everything here, Drake; I will take her home.

Boris hugs me and starts walking beside me out of the warehouse, accompanying me to the car and helping me keep up appearances.

— Thanks! — I say, already in the car, as he sits next to me. I look back and see them both: one passed out and the other pretending.

— Are you sure what you're doing? — he questions me.

— I have. — I respond, starting the car and accelerating to get out of there, kicking up the dust on the road.

— Think about it, little girl, if your father or your godfather find out… — he says, worried about me.

— I hope it's far away. — I look in the rearview mirror to check if they are following us — Luther — he pretends not to hear — Luther. — I screamed and hit his arm, trying to get his attention. He opens one eye and then the other — Where are you staying? Where are the others?

He doesn't respond and just watches me in the rearview mirror.

— Oh… — Lohan wakes up, running her hand over her head — What happened?

— Luther? — I draw your attention once again — Is there anything you guys here need to pick up before we leave the country?

— No, we'll leave with you — is all he tells me.

— Where are we going? — Lohan asks — You gave us a butt, and who the hell is that next to you?

— It's probably another one of her lovers. — Luther comments, raising one of his eyebrows at me.

— Boris, he is one of my trusted men. It's by our side.

— How many men have you made ugly with a pussy key? — Luther speaks intending to offend me and I ignore it because I know how hurt he must be.

Boris leans back and hits Luther in the face so quickly that I couldn't blink or stop the blow.

— Please be more considerate of Faina, you idiot. I've known Faina since I was a child. She is like a daughter to me. — Boris, defend me. I have trouble hiding a smile.

— You deserve it, brother. — says Lohan at his side — So, where are we going? I hope we are not on the way to giving ourselves over to Dostoevsky.

— I'm taking you both home. What the fuck did you two have in mind to come after me? — I punch the steering wheel — What happened today could have been a tragedy.

I had to kill Andrey, and as soon as your father finds out, he will come after us.

 — Home? Yours or mine? — Luther begins with his sarcastic questions.

— Ours. Where are your brothers? I hope they're there and they didn't come after you. — I reply, as I cut off another car that honks and screams through the window. I do the same with two more, until I enter a second lane.

— Who really are you? — asks Lohan.

 — Can we leave this for when we get home? This way, I don't need to explain myself several times. — I follow a dirt path, avoiding the road. That's where I arranged with Boris to hide the helicopter he bought for me, in case I needed to escape in an emergency. As now, it seems I had a prediction as they would be foolish enough to persecute me here in Russia. I wouldn't risk using my father's plane.

— No. I want to know now, Feyra. — Luther says — or rather, Faina?

I close my eyes and breathe deeply, trying hard to maintain holy patience with them.

— Are these the individuals you were involved with? I always thought Andrey was stupid, arrogant and deserved someone better. Knowing them—he points to the two behind us—I don't know if they're those people. — says Boris, who I consider to be my true godfather, next to me.

I park the car near where the helicopter is hidden and get out without responding to any of them, the three of them follow me out of the car.

— I apologize for that. — I say to Boris.

— Okay, little one. — He smiles. I gave him a hug, then a kiss on his cheek, before giving him a strong punch that made him spill blood and fall unconscious to the floor. I have pain in my wrist.

Shit.

— Fuck… — the two behind me exclaim.

— WHO. AND. YOU? The girl standing before us looks nothing like the one we knew. — Lohan wants to know.

— I turn my back to them, taking one last look at Boris. Leaving him behind, certain that he will be fine, I head towards the helicopter, open the door and settle into the pilot's seat.

— Can you guys get in the fucking helicopter, soon? I'm starving, my back is hurting, as are my feet. — I close the door tightly while I do the first checks before starting the aircraft.

— Do you know how to fly this? — Luther asks as he settles in next to me, while Lohan sits in the back, fastening her seat belt and holding the grab handle close to her head.

— If I didn't know, do you think I would be sitting here? — I retort, feeling my patience running out.

— How… that hurt. — Lohan teases her brother, who rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. — Whoever it is, I prefer this Feyra or Faina.

— Don't forgive her so easily, damn it. — Luther turns to him — She deceived us, stole from us, lied about her pregnancy and we don't even know who she really is. Who can guarantee that she will take us home or, indeed, to the grave she has probably already dug?

I roll my eyes intensely and put on my headphones, contacting the flight center, ignoring them both.

And then I'm the one who is considered the child here.