Chapter 61

AVALINE

"I will never go with you. I will never serve nor give my loyalty to the Montevals." I scowled and added, "You have some nerve, Pascal. There is nowhere for you to escape now. Right at this moment, our soldiers are surrounding this house. I'm sorry, but you won't be able to follow through with your threat."

Pascal barked a laugh. He looked at his second in command, who only smirked.

"Apology accepted." He tilted his head. "Though I think I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"I don't care what you're apologizing for. They're coming." Why are the soldiers taking so long? Surely, they saw Monteval and his second in command enter the house. They should be barging in by now.

"I'm sorry, but you have the wrong soldiers."

Then the soldiers came in. They cornered me instead of him. Pascal and Desmond pulled out their guns and pointed them at me and Sibley.

"Tie them up," Pascal ordered.

I stepped back until the edge of a table hit my backside.

"You have nowhere to go, Mrs. Levesque."

"Fucking Czar Levesque."

I didn't let him grab me. I stopped his hand. Then I struck his face with my elbow. I pummeled his stomach and slammed his face hard onto the table. I bit his hand and stole his gun. I shot at the other soldiers approaching me. One of them fired at me, but I was quick to use the soldier I was holding as a shield. His body jolted from the impact of the bullet.

It's not just Faco. Even soldiers. Where are the others? Did these traitors kill the other soldiers who came with them? Where is Devika?

I engaged in a shootout while still using this traitor's body as protection. As his life slowly left him, he became heavier in my arms. I left the soldier on the floor as more soldiers approached. I hit one man's head with the gun and shot his face.

I pulled the trigger. Nothing came out. Shit! I'm out of bullets. I threw the gun on the floor and grabbed a chair to use as a weapon.

Sibley took down more enemies than I did. She was trying to keep others from getting near me, and I knew that after this, I'd want to be friends with her.

A lot of them anticipated my moves; they managed to dodge them and hit me back. Then something sharp stabbed into my skin, and I lost consciousness.

I willed fate to do something to slow my husband down so he couldn't come here and get killed.

But like always, it wasn't on my side. Czar was right in front of my eyes, and it was my worst fear realized: losing someone I love while watching.

"C-Czar..." My lips trembled. His blue-gray eyes are my solace. It's terrifying to others who see it because it's always angry, violent, untamable, and dangerous. But it softens so quickly whenever it finds me.

"See? She's safe, Czar. Now hand yourself over."

Czar glared at his half-brother. "Release her first."

"Don't get smart with me, Levesque. How about making Eiran Levesque leave first? I said you should be alone."

Czar looked sideways; that's probably where Eiran was hiding. Then his eyes gleamed with mockery.

"Are you afraid of your younger brother?"

"Surrender your weapons. Put them on the floor. Then make your second in command leave."

"You have yours," Czar pointed at Desmond. "Why is it not allowed for me?"

A cold metal was pressed against my head. I swallowed hard as Czar grew serious and began to pull out his guns. He dropped them on the floor along with his knives.

"Eiran is just outside waiting for Avaline. He'll take her home. Release her, and he'll be out of here."

So he will really surrender? No plans? No backups?

But he can't have backups if he can't trust his men anymore; he wouldn't know which one is a traitor.

My bindings were cut, and I ran to him; he caught me in his arms just as all guns were pointed in our direction. He spun us around so that my back faced the door while he faced all the guns, shielding me from harm.

"Czar, don't hand yourself over. Haven't you thought of anything else?" I fired all of my questions. I want nothing more than for both of us to be freed from here.

He ignored my questions.

"Did they hurt you?" He brushed a hair off my face. One of his hands was on my throat.

His eyes darkened when he saw the scratches from my fight with the soldiers earlier.

"I'll kill him."

"Czar, can't you just make peace with the Montevals? Please?" A pool of tears blurred my vision.

"I can manage by myself." He sounded so confident that he could. Has he experienced this before? It may be bad to wish he had, but that would mean he survived it and can survive this too.

He cleared his throat. "You will go with Eiran. He will take you to the mansion. You can stay here in Saint Petersburg or go home to your father or go out of the country. It's your choice, because I'm freeing you now."

I shook my head frantically and buried my face in his chest. "If you're staying here, so am I."

The veins in his arm became more visible as he tightened his grip on me, as if I startled him.

"Stop being stubborn, wife. Go home."

I am home when he is there. When he is safe. So I really don't have a home to return to unless he comes with me.

"Czar, please," I sobbed. My shoulders and chin were quivering. "You should not have come for me."

"Carino, go home. Now." His tone was stern, like a warning that the next time I said no, he'd use whatever he could to drag me out of here.

I cradled his face in my hands—my favorite thing to do in the world.

"I don't want to return to my father, Czar. I want to go home to you, with you. Swear that you'll return to me," I whispered.

He sighed in frustration. I know I'm giving him a hard time because he would always fight for his promises. If he promises he'll return to me, then dying won't be an option for him. I want to see him again.

"Avaline—"

"Swear it, Czar," I repeated firmly this time.

"Drag her out of here," said Pascal. "I've waited years for this and she's causing a delay."

Czar's lips brushed my forehead and lingered for seconds, and I could feel his promise and reassurance. I slumped in relief.

Before they took me away from him, I whispered in his ear.

"Ti amo, mi diablo."

CZAR

After months of playing cat and mouse with our father's golden boy, seeing the bastard in the flesh seemed unreal. But here he was now, within reach, begging to be killed. If he cared about his life so much, he knew not to show himself to me.

"You're not the ruthless, smartest man everyone claimed you to be, Czar," he chuckled and regarded me with fake sympathy. "Look at you now. Under my chains, my mercy, and soon your grave."

I cocked my head, my upper lip curling into a mocking smile.

"If that protects your precious pride."

He bared his teeth as his hand immediately reached for the gun resting at his side. My amusement reverberated at how predictable he was.

"Napikon ka lang, babaril ka na? Crash course on being the best capo, also known as me; you don't just shoot. That defeats the purpose of making your enemy suffer."

He bent down and swiped a knife across my arm. I heaved a breath but did not give any indication of pain. Pain has been my lifelong companion. Cuts, wounds, and bruises are my second skin. This kind of torture would have worked on any weakling or imbecile. Cutting me wasn't enough to intimidate me. Compared to all I have endured my whole life, this is just child's play.

"You're fucking right. I would have made your death easier, but you just reminded me of what I had in store for you." He raised his gaze to his men. "We're going."

He walked out the door. His men dragged me out of the house and even blindfolded me. Some of them, my traitors, got too smug at the thought of subduing me. One of them got bold and cursed in my face, taking comfort in his anonymity because I was blindfolded. I don't need to know all of them. I'll spare no one.

I assume we got inside a private plane, which was exactly where I needed us to be. I've been on planes far too often that I recognized it even with my senses limited.

"I appreciate the luxury," I commented and did not bother hiding a smirk. "At least you weren't cheap about this."