The Mafia and His Obsession, Part 2 by Lylah James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 24

 

 

Valerie

 

Freshly showered, I walked out of my bathroom. My hair was still wet and it soaked the back of my dress through. The cold chilled through my bones and I fought back a shiver. My bare feet padded over, crossing my room until I was standing next to my bed. My breakfast had been delivered to me a few hours ago. It was now cold, and I still couldn’t bring myself to eat.

Not when I knew what was about to happen.

Not when I knew what this day meant…

Day zero.

Either we die today or live to see the next sunrise.

My heart clenched at the thought, and I closed my eyes, refusing to think of all the bad things that could happen.

When I opened my eyes again…I blinked. Once in confusion. And then in utter shock.

My lips parted but I couldn’t seem to find my words or my voice. My throat was clogged with emotions, and I felt the burning sensation in my eyes. There was wetness on my cheeks, and I swiped it away before looking down at my wet fingertips. I choked back a sob and looked up again, facing my dream.

This couldn’t be reality.

“Irina,” I whispered.

She nodded, taking an unsteady step toward me. Irina looked just as shocked and pale, her chin wobbling with the effort to keep her tears at bay. My legs took me forward before I could think, and I crossed the room until we were standing a foot apart.

I watched her lips move and I wished I could hear her words, her voice.

“Valerie.”

She was really here. In my room.

Not a figment of my imagination.

Irina was here and safe. Unhurt. Alive. Healthy. Smiling.

Irina wore a black dress, the same one I’d seen the maids wearing. Her hair was brushed back neatly, set into a pretty brunette plait. Her hands were folded in front of her. She looked a little nervous, her feet fidgeting left and right.

But she looked so happy that I had to blink in surprise several times, thinking this was just a dream.

Irina raised her arm up, as if to hug me, but then she looked uncertain, scared, confused. Tears slid down her cheeks. “It’s been so long.”

I could only nod. So long. Two years.

“You are okay,” she said, her tear-filled eyes assessing me for any damage. I couldn’t take my eyes off her face. I didn’t want to miss anything. “I was so worried…all this time.”

“Me too,” I found myself saying. Bringing a hand up, I touched her soft cheek. Irina gave me a gentle wobbly smile. “You are real,” I gasped. “Oh God, I missed you.”

This time, Irina didn’t hesitate. I didn’t either. I fell into her arms, and we clung to each other, a desperate attempt to hold each other close. Joy washed through me until I could hardly contain it. Shaking with relief and pure happiness, I pulled back and stared at Irina’s face.

She might have not been my blood sister, but she was no less to me.

Irina had been a friend to me when I needed someone the most.

She was a shoulder to me when I needed to cry. We had been bound to the same reality, the same thread, living the same tortured life.

Irina’s lips curved, a whispered smile. But her eyes said it all. So many emotions. The mirror of so much tragedy yet a pit of never-ending strength. I could see her scars, both the physical and the ones invisible.

She was still so beautiful, though.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you,” I said, releasing a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. “When Valentin took you away…I thought…”

Irina nodded her understanding. “I know. I thought it would be my end too. I really did. He was angry. So vicious.”

Her forehead was pinched with a frown. She lost the happy glow and her expression was now tormented. “He was so…brutal.”

Pain seared through me. I understood the meaning behind her words. And I knew exactly how brutal my husband could be. He was a man with no feelings, a man hell bent on destroying others he thought were below him in the hierarchy of game and power.

Valentin Solonik thought he was the King. He wanted a throne that was never his to begin with, and yet he’d fight dirty to win something that didn’t belong to him.

He’d take it.

He’d destroy it.

And then he’d throw it away, now useless to him.

Just like he had done with so many other innocent girls.

Take. Use. Sell. Kill.

Looking at Irina now, I felt a sorrow down my soul. How I wished I could have protected her from this.

My hand came up, and I touched the harsh circular redness on her neck. It had been a collar; I knew that. “He hurt you a lot,” I said softly.

“He did. But it’s over now. We will both be free soon.”

Shaking my head, I stared at Irina with confusion. She was here; that was a good thing. But how and why? That didn’t make sense to me. “I don’t understand. How are you here? What—”

Irina cut me off before I could finish my troubled thought. “Viktor.”

One word.

One name.

Yet so many unspoken words.

My heart stilled, missing a beat, and then surged to a frantic palpitation.

“He came to me tonight. I don’t understand how he was able to take me away from that place, but he not only took me away but he also took off my collar. He didn’t say much. He only said that—tonight, it ends.”

There was fear but hope also rose in me. Tonight, it ends.

Viktor hadn’t told me much about his plans. He wouldn’t. He only said to trust him. And I did. Some nights, when we would lay in bed, me wrapped in his warm embrace, I’d look into his eyes.

I would see fear…I would see uncertainty. Sometimes, I’d see a hopelessness so deep, it hurt my own soul.

Other nights, I’d see a strong man, someone so brutal and fierce, arrogance masking his face. His structure steeled, as if he owned this bloodthirsty game and he knew…he’d win.

Viktor was a man split onto two different pages of a story.

Tonight, it ends.

Tonight, we’d free.

Irina’s fingers curled warmly around me, and she gave me a gentle squeeze. “He also came to me a few weeks ago. He promised me he’d take me out of there. I didn’t know then…I mean, I didn’t know he was yours.”

My heart pounded against my ribcage and my chest pinched. Jesus, I never knew such simple words could have such effects on my fragile heart.

“I realize now what…or who brought the change in him. I knew Viktor before he met you. I could see he was a good man deep within, a man with a heart, but he was so blinded by something else—sometimes he was unnecessarily cruel.”

I looked into Irina’s silver eyes. And then I noticed her small smile. “I still remember our parting words. He was harsh, I was hurt. I told him that I hoped he’d find a good woman, one who will not make him so heartless to anyone. Someone who would teach him how to show compassion.”

“Irina,” I whispered. I could feel the quiver in my voice. There were so many emotions inside me, bottled up and ready to be spilled.

“I see he has found her. And I’m glad she is you, Valerie. You two couldn’t be more of a perfect match. I don’t believe in miracles or magic. I have long lost my faith in God. But I think now I believe in Cupid, the god of love.” Irina winked and then she threw her head back and released a laugh.

When I choked back a sob, which I was sure was a happy cry, Irina sobered. She looked at our entwined hands. “I hope to find that someday. A love like yours. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “It is. It’s tragically beautiful. Dark and simple. It hurts, but it is beautiful nonetheless. It is something worth living for.”

Irina grinned through her tears. “I’m going to find it one day. Trust me, I refuse to die without finding that type of love.”

I launched myself at her again, hugging so tight. My ribs constricted, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go. Irina tightened her arms around me, and we clung to each other, not sure if we should cry or laugh.

We did both. Sinking to the ground, we held onto each other.

Tonight, it ends.

Holding those words to my heart, I breathed.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

“Viktor told me to stay here. He said he will come for me later,” I finally said. Swiping away the trail of tears, I stood up and then lent a hand to Irina. She took mine in hers, pulling herself upright. “I guess…he will come for us.”

“When Yegor brought me to your room, he told me to wait for Viktor. He told me that under no circumstances should we leave this room unless Viktor himself comes and takes us away.”

I nodded. That made sense. Viktor said the same thing to me.

A heavy thud of my heart made me suck in a deep, aching breath. For hours, since Viktor left our bed, I had been trying to think of something else.

I didn’t want to think of what Viktor was doing…or exactly how dangerous his actions could be. For hours, I convinced myself that he was okay, he was safe.

If tonight he was taking us away from this hellhole…that meant…

Tonight, Valentin dies.

I didn’t know how or when. But once Valentin Solonik breathed his last breath, then it would be complete chaos.

Viktor would be right in the middle of it.

My lungs wheezed. For this exact reason, I had been trying not to think of it. I couldn’t think of Viktor being hurt. Or worse.

I had spent my day knitting. I had knit until my fingers were aching and became numb. Just when I was about to be swallowed and consumed by distress, Irina had appeared.

I had been elated. But now…the feeling of uncertainty and dread was back.

Irina slid in front of me, blocking my vision. “Hey. Breathe.”

I found myself nodding, an automatic reaction. She rubbed a calming hand up my arms and then smiled. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Hope is all I have left, Irina,” I choked. “I fear the last time I saw him would be our last. The thought of that has been driving me to the point of insanity since this morning. Sometimes it felt like I couldn’t breathe. So hope is all I have left.”

“Tell me how you and Viktor met,” she said suddenly. Her brows were drawn together. I could tell she was trying to change the topic, trying to distract me.

Irina gripped my hand and pulled us to the bed. We sat down on the edge and she folded her legs underneath her lithe body. “Tell me,” she demanded.

So I told her of my tale.

A tale of broken silent love.

A story that led to a taste of blissful happiness.

A tale of forbidden kisses and vows. Gentle touches and sweet love.

A story filled with paper swans and dancing.

A tale of how a savage made man fell for his silent myshka.

Irina listened intently, engrossed in my story until she wasn’t.

Until our little bubble snapped.

Irina stiffened, and at the look on her face, the rest of my sentence was suddenly stuck in my throat.

“What is it?” I whispered, my hand going to my throat. My hands trembled. Irina’s expression changed from calm to…something…fear.

A look of utter terror filled her face and she seemed to fold into herself, her shoulder caving in. She now appeared so small, so frightened.

“Irina.” I clutched her hand in mine. “What’s wrong?”

Her eyes flitted to the door, and a sudden coldness hit my core.

“Irina,” I found myself whispering again. I followed her gaze and we both stared at the door.

My heart thumped. I seemed to freeze on the spot. The heavy thud of my heart was causing my chest to ache.

“What’s going on?”

Oh God, please…

The door was still closed.

The world remained silent, like always.

Yet…

Irina’s lips quivered and she clutched her throat in panic. “You don’t hear it…?”

“What?”

Irina flinched and then jumped from the bed. She cowered to the wall, her whole body shaking with silent tremors.

“Hear what? What’s going on?”

My throat felt scratched raw. Maybe I was screaming, I didn’t know. I didn’t care. There was a sound in my ears, like something was pounding and ringing loudly. My head swirled and the world wouldn’t stop moving.

Irina was hearing something I couldn’t…and it was bad. My pulse raced and pain stabbed through my chest.

I marched to Irina and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. “What do you hear?”

Viktor.

My thought went to him.

My Viktor.

Something happened.

I swayed on my feet, my head swirling, the world now a mess of colors. Distorted. Silent. Dark. Empty.

The ground underneath us shook suddenly. My blood roared in my ears and my body trembled. Fear washed through me with an intensity that seared and incised itself within the depth of me.

“What was that?” I demanded. It felt like a small earthquake.

“It’s so loud…Valerie…”

Irina brought a hand to her chest, her fear-filled eyes meeting me. “I think…people screaming…I hear…gunshots. I think…I think there was an explosion.”

My heart stilled; the world froze. My stomach twisted almost painfully, and I felt the urge to throw up suddenly.

Viktor. My Viktor.

“No.” A whimper escaped past my lips.

Gunshots. Explosion. People screaming…

“No. No. No.”

I rushed to the door, my heart thumping frantically. Before I could reach the handle, a hand pulled me back harshly. Irina and I stumbled back a few feet before falling into a heap.

My arms lashed out angrily, and I tried to push her away. She wouldn’t let go, though. Irina used her last strength to hold me still.

She slid in front of my vision with her pale face and shaken expression. “We can’t…we can’t leave. Viktor made us promise. Under no circumstances, he said.”

I shook my head wildly, trying to escape her grasp, but she wouldn’t let go.

She wouldn’t…she just wouldn’t let go…

I wanted to go to him. I had to find him.

Viktor.

Oh God. No. Please. I couldn’t lose him. Not now. Never.

Irina and I turned to face to the door, the door that held us inside and held everything else happening outside.

My stomach cramped, and my face fell into my hands. I choked back desperate cries.

A storm was brewing. It spoke cruelly to my soul, cutting me viciously. Chaos had been unleased. At this point, nothing could be silenced for the calm had escaped through the little cracked holes.

Come back to me, Viktor.

Please.