Chapter 101 Anya
I watched them string Nikolai up and something inside me broke completely. This could not be happening. This could not be real. I had watched them kill Dmitri. Watched them kill Pavel. Watched them kill Viktor. And now they were going to kill Nikolai. The man I loved. The only good thing left in my life.
"No," I screamed. I fought against the guards holding me. "Please. Take me instead. Kill me instead."
Ivanov ignored me. He was speaking to Nikolai. Saying something I could not hear over my own sobs. The guard behind Nikolai raised his club. Positioned himself. Prepared to strike.
"Stop!" I screamed again. "Please stop!"
But no one listened. No one cared. The club started to come down. And then everything changed.
The main gate exploded. The sound was deafening. Wood and metal flew everywhere. Guards scattered. People screamed. Through the smoke and debris came soldiers. Dozens of them. Armed and armored and moving with military precision.
They poured into the courtyard like a wave. Guns raised. Shouting orders. "Everyone down! Get down now!"
The household staff dropped immediately. Guards tried to fight but were overwhelmed in seconds. Gunfire erupted. Short controlled bursts. More guards fell.
Ivanov spun around. His face went pale. "What is this? Who are these people?"
One of the soldiers stepped forward. He was tall. Broad shouldered. His face was hidden behind a tactical mask. He pulled the mask off. My heart stopped.
"Mikhail?" I breathed.
It was him. Nikolai's second-in-command. The man who had helped run Nikolai's business before everything fell apart. I thought he was dead. Because Ivanov mentioned having him assassinated so Nikolai could have no one willing to save him. But here he was. Leading an assault force.
"Mikhail," Ivanov said. Recognition dawned on his face. "You are supposed to be dead."
"Rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated," Mikhail said. His voice was cold. Flat. "Now step away from Nikolai."
"Or what?" Ivanov demanded. "You will shoot me? In front of all these witnesses?"
"Yes," Mikhail said simply. He raised his rifle and pointed it directly at Ivanov's head. "I will."
Ivanov laughed. But there was fear in his eyes now. "You cannot just walk in here. This is my property. These are my people."
"Wrong," Mikhail said. "These are prisoners. You have been holding them illegally. Torturing them. Murdering them."
"Lies," Ivanov said.
"Really?" Mikhail gestured to the three bodies on the ground. To Nikolai hanging upside down. To me standing there bruised and bound. "This looks pretty damning to me."
More soldiers moved into position. They surrounded Ivanov. Cut off any escape.
"Cut him down," Mikhail ordered.
Two soldiers rushed to Nikolai. They carefully untied the rope. Lowered him gently to the ground. Nikolai gasped as blood rushed back to his legs. He tried to stand and collapsed.
"Easy," one of the soldiers said. "We have got you."
They carried Nikolai away from the platform. Away from Ivanov. Away from danger.
"Anya," Nikolai called out. His voice was weak. "Anya."
I tried to run to him but the guards still held me. "Let me go," I demanded. "Let me go to him."
Mikhail looked at me. Then at the guards holding me. "Release her. Now."
The guards looked at Ivanov. Ivanov's jaw clenched. "Do not listen to him. He has no authority here."
"I have all the authority I need," Mikhail said. He gestured to his soldiers. "And I have the guns. So unless you want to die right here I suggest you order your men to release Anya."
Ivanov stared at him for a long moment. Then he nodded to the guards. "Let her go."
They released me immediately. I stumbled forward. Ran to where soldiers were laying Nikolai down.
"Nikolai," I said. I knelt beside him. Took his hand. "Nikolai, are you alright?"
"I am now," he said. He smiled up at me despite the pain clearly written on his face. "You came."
"I did not come," I said. "Mikhail did."
"Mikhail is here?" Nikolai tried to sit up. "How?"
"Long story," Mikhail said. He appeared beside us. "I will explain later. Right now we need to get you out of here."
"What about Ivanov?" Nikolai asked.
"What about him?" Mikhail replied.
"Are you just going to let him walk away?" Nikolai demanded. "After everything he did?"
"No," Mikhail said. His face was grim. "I am not going to let him walk away."
He turned back to where Ivanov stood on the platform. Surrounded by soldiers. Trapped.
"Alexei Ivanov," Mikhail announced loudly. "You are under arrest for murder. Torture. Kidnapping. Human trafficking. And about forty other charges I cannot remember off the top of my head."
"You have no proof," Ivanov said. But his voice shook now.
"We have all the proof we need," Mikhail said. He pulled out a phone and held it up. "See this? For the last ten minutes it has been recording everything. Your confession. Your execution of three innocent men. Everything."
Ivanov's face went white. "You are bluffing."
"Am I?" Mikhail asked. He tapped the phone. A recording played. Ivanov's voice filled the courtyard. "Let this be a warning. To anyone who thinks they can challenge my authority."
Ivanov lunged for the phone. Soldiers grabbed him. Forced him to his knees.
"No," Ivanov shouted. "You cannot do this. I have connections. Powerful people who will protect me."
"Not anymore," Mikhail said. "Your connections have been severed. Your assets have been frozen. And your powerful people have abandoned you. You are done, Ivanov."
Guards surrounded Ivanov. Pulled his arms behind his back. Cuffed him.
"Take him away," Mikhail ordered. "And make sure he gets a cell with a very nice view. He is going to be there for a long time."
Soldiers dragged Ivanov off the platform. He fought. Screamed. Cursed. But it did not matter. He was finished.
I watched him go and felt nothing. No satisfaction. No relief. Just emptiness.
"Anya," Nikolai said. He squeezed my hand. "It is over. He is gone."
"I know," I said. Tears streamed down my face. "But Sonya is gone too. And Dmitri. And Pavel. And Viktor."
"I know," Nikolai said. His own eyes were wet. "I know."
Mikhail knelt beside us. "We need to get you both medical attention. Can you walk?"
"I do not know," Nikolai admitted.
"Then we carry you," Mikhail said. He gestured to two soldiers. "Get him up. Carefully."
They lifted Nikolai between them. He groaned but did not cry out.
"What about her?" one soldier asked, nodding at me.
"I can walk," I said. But when I tried to stand my legs gave out. Mikhail caught me.
"Easy. You have been through hell. Let us help."
He picked me up like I weighed nothing. Carried me toward the gate where vehicles were waiting.
"How did you know to come?" I asked.
"I have been watching for weeks," Mikhail said. "Ever since Ivanov took Nikolai. I just needed to find the right time. Go to the right people. And then tonight when I saw what was happening I could not wait any longer."
"Thank God you came when you did," I said.
"Thank God I was not too late," Mikhail corrected.
He carried me to an ambulance. Paramedics immediately swarmed around us. Checking vitals. Dressing wounds. Starting IVs. They laid Nikolai on a stretcher beside me. Our hands found each other across the small space.
"We survived," he whispered.
"Yes," I said. "We survived."
The ambulance doors closed. The engine started. We pulled away from the mansion. Away from the courtyard. Away from the horror.
Through the back window I could see soldiers securing the scene. Arresting guards. Collecting evidence. Ivanov was being pushed into a police car. His head was down. His hands were cuffed. He looked small suddenly. Powerless and pathetic. Not the monster who had haunted my nightmares.
"It is really over," I whispered,tears streaming down my face.
"Yes," Nikolai said. "It is really over."
I closed my eyes and let myself believe it.