The Bratva’s Locked Up Love by Jagger Cole

24

Quinn

At first,guards and soldiers try and stop me from running deeper into the facility. But when I start just yelling “Colonel’s orders!” at them, I stop getting any pushback.

I have no idea who’s attacking us, or what the hell is going on. But I do know I need to get to Maksim. The text from Yuri confirms so much that was already running though my head: something isn’t right here.

The fact that Maks is even here to begin with makes no sense. His permanent solitary confinement in the hole makes no sense either. Nor does the fact that he just keeps getting attacked in here. The guards beating him senseless and interrogating him in a side room?

Nothing about this is checking out. And now I think I might know why. Even if the reason makes my stomach turn and my heart heavy.

My father may very well be on the payroll of the Bratva family at war with the one that Maks belongs to. That might be why Maksim is here to begin with—because money was exchanged.

I rush down into the very depths of Yellow Creek. I rush down the long hallway towards the guard room outside the hole. But when I tumble inside, blurting that I need to see Maks, the room is empty. I frown. But then I hear the man yelling.

The door to the hole itself is slightly ajar. Quietly, I ease it open more, and my heart skips.

What the fuck?!

Maks is alive, alright. But barely. He’s in the middle of the cage, hanging from his wrists which are chained above his head. He’s shirtless, and blood flows from a dozen wounds. Two men—the guards—are inside the cage as well. The both of them are snarling and laughing as one of them beats Maks with a length of chain. The other screams in his face.

“Just fuckin’ tell us, numb nuts!” The guy roars. “Yuri fuckin’ Volkov! Sergei Belsky wants information, and you’re just being a fuckin’ idiot by holding out!”

Maks grunts something, and the guy sneers.

“And I swear to God Almighty, you tell me to suck a dick again and I’m gonna shoot yours off.”

Yeah, fuck this.

I slip my shoes off and bolt across the room. The both of them are too busy yelling at and hitting Maks to hear or see me. And by the time I slip into the cage and yank the gun out of the yelling guard’s holster, it’s too late.

“What the—!”

“Drop it!” I bellow, eyeing the man with the chain. The two guards stare at me like I’m insane. And maybe I am. But I’m too deep now to second guess any of this.

Maksim’s eyes raise slowly. Those dark pools pierce right into me. Slowly, the corners of his bloodied mouth curl into a grin.

“Malishka,” he groans.

I bite my lip. I want to rush to him. But not yet. I need to deal with these two assholes.

“Okay, chill,” the first guy says slowly. “You had a rough time a month back. I know you’re all shook up, but you’re confused.”

“I’m not. Throw your weapons on the floor and back away.”

He glares at me. “Listen, doc, we both know you ain’t gonna—motherfucker!”

They both jump about a foot off the floor when I drop the barrel to his feet and squeeze off a round. The bullet chips a piece of the stone floor off in a cloud of rock dust. The guard’s face yanks back up to mine.

“Are you out of your fuckin’ mind, doc?!”

“It is doctor!” I bellow. “Doctor. Not doc. Not Miss. Not motherfucking sweetheart! Understand?!”

They both swallow and nod.

“Yeah,” the second guy blurts. “Yeah, no, cool, we get, Doctor Coolidge.”

“Awesome,” I spit. “Now un-cuff him.”

They glance at each other, and my jaw grits.

“Now, fuck-faces!”

Maks smirks as the two guards jump. The first keeps glaring at me, but the second guy rushes to the controls and lowers the wench holding the chains up. Maksim’s arms drop, and then he slumps to the ground as the man lowers him. The guard rushes over and fumbles to take off the cuffs around his wrists before backing away.

“Thank you,” I say thinly.

The first guard grits his teeth. “What’s the plan here, doc? This is a maximum security prisoner here. You understand what it means if you try and break him out of here?”

I do. But I don’t care. Not anymore.

The guard takes a step towards me. My hand tightens around the grip of the gun.

“Step back.”

He grins. “You gonna shoot me, doc? You ain’t gonna—”

I haul back, and I swing as hard as I can. In Boston, June and I took six months of self-defense kick boxing. I’ve never used it, until now.

The gun butt slams into his head. His eyes roll back, and the guard slumps to the floor. I gasp, dropping to my knees and jamming my fingers to his neck. I breathe a sigh of relief. Not dead, just knocked out.

Quickly, I bring the gun up to train on the second guy. This guard is smarter. He just sticks his hands up in the air.

“Please, Doctor Coolidge, don’t—”

“Grab him,” I mutter, nodding at Maks slumped on the ground. “From under the arms. And then drag him out of this cage.”

He swallows.

“Do it!”

The guard jumps, rushing to do as I’ve said. He drags a weak-looking Maksim out of the cage before he stands, panting.

“Now?”

“Now get the fuck in there.”

He nods, backing inside the cage.

“I want your phone and walkie talkie. His too.”

The man instantly tosses his outside the cage, and then does the same with those he pulls from his knocked-out buddy. I use the butt of the gun to smash them all. Then I slam the cage door shut and make sure it’s locked.

I rush over to Maks and prop him up. His eyes are open, though, and he’s grinning at me.

“They teach you that in medical school?”

“I think I learned that in a Steven Segal movie.”

He chuckles, then wheezes with a wince. My brow furrows in worry.

“Can you stand.”

He nods. “Yes.”

“Then let’s get out of here.”

I help him up, grunting to help bear his weight as I help him trudge out of the hole and into the guard office. But the second we’re in there, suddenly, he’s grabbing me, spinning me, and pushing me into the wall.

I gasp, moaning as his lips crush to mine. He kisses me deeply, murmuring my name as his hands grip me tightly.

“I knew you were alive,” I choke, tears welling in my eyes. “I fucking knew you were alive.”

He groans, kissing me more before another explosion seems to rock the foundation. Maks frowns, glancing up at the ceiling.

“This place is under attack.”

He stiffens. “Another breakout?”

“No, someone’s trying to break in.”

Maks’s jaw grits. “For me.”

I nod. “Yeah, I think so. And I think I know why you’re here to begin with. Which is why I’m breaking you out.”

He stiffens. “Quinn, I can’t let you—“

“You damn well can,” I hiss. “Now move!”

He’s haggard lookingand hurt everywhere. He limps when I help him down the hallway. But he’s still strong. He’s still solid as a brick wall as he grips me tightly.

I skip the elevator and the escalators up. Instead, I barge through into the maintenance area where all the mechanicals for the complex are. Thankfully, there’s no one in here. Even better, my wild hunch was right.

There, right ahead of us, is the bottom of the freight elevator scaffolding; our ticket out of here bypassing all guards and whatever the hell is happening above.

We tumble inside. I push the big red button on the wall of the elevator while Maksim grunts and slams the cage-door shut. He turns as we start to rise, and his eyes pierce mine. Hurt or not, instantly, he’s on me. I moan as he captures me in his arms, kissing me deeply. I cling to him, and a month of lost kisses and anxiety about how he was comes pouring out in my kiss.

Light pours down the elevator shaft, and I know we’re close to the surface. Maksim pulls away, and his face says the same thing I’m thinking: we don’t know what’s up there. Or who. All I know is, my car is parked just outside the hanger. If we can get there, we might get out of here.

With a clang, the freight elevator comes to a stop. But the hanger is empty; utterly, completely empty. There’s no sign of a firefight, or any damage at all. But there’s no time to look for it. If the attackers are already down inside the facility, it means we’ve dodged them. It means I’ve gotten him out in time.

I throw his arm over my shoulder, wrap mine around his waist, and we start to move. I know I’m committing some major crimes here. Forget losing my license, this is felony jail time. This is possibly aiding and abetting and enemy of the State. It’s tiptoeing on treasonous.

I swallow thickly as I remember that treason is still technically a capital crime in the US.

But I can’t think about that. All that matters is getting Maksim safely out of—

“Freeze!!”

My heart lurches. I stiffen when I hear the gun cock behind us.

“Let her go, asshole!”

I blink. Tom? Slowly, I turn around, gasping when I realize I’m right.

“Tom!” My eyes hold his. “Tom, wait—”

“I said let her go, you Russian fuck!” He roars at Maksim.

I lower my arm from around his waist, and I step towards the Sergeant. “Tom—”

“Get behind me, Quinn!” He hisses, still glaring and point his gun at Maks. “Get behind—”

“He’s not taking me,” I say quietly, reaching back to grip Maks’s hand. Tom’s eyes fall to where our hands are touching, and he frowns in confusion.

“Quinn—”

“He’s not taking me. I’m taking him.”

Slowly, Tom’s dark eyes slide up to mine. His jaw tightens. “Just what the hell is going on here, Quinn?”

“I’m getting him out of here. This attack, probably the one before… it’s all about him. Someone’s after him, and I think my dad is in on—”

“Are you out of your fucking mind!?” He roars. “Quinn!! Get it together! You’re a smart girl, honey, I know you’re smarter than—”

“He’s not who they say he is!”

“Yes, he is!” My old friend barks back. “Now get away from—”

“I can’t do that.”

My heart races as I step sideways, between Tom’s gun and Maksim. The Sergeant slowly shakes his head.

“Goddamnit, Quinn!”

“I think he’s here because someone’s bribed my dad, Tom. They want him dead, or they want information from him, so they paid my dad—”

“That is insanity, Quinn!”

“Maybe. But I believe it enough to be doing what I’m doing right now,” I hiss. “And if you want him, you’re going to have to shoot me.”

Tom bristles, like he’s just realized he’s aiming a gun through me. He quickly pulls it up, his eyes narrowing at me.

“Quinn, honey…”

“He saved your life, Tom! I know you remember that!”

The older man clenches his jaw. “I can’t let him take you,” he growls.

“You’re not. I’m going on my own. So unless you want to kill me,” I choke. “We’re leaving.”

Tom and I lock eyes. I can see the war between right and wrong in his face. I see duty mixing with the history we have. And I know damn well I can see him wrestling with his own doubts and suspicions about my father.

Suddenly, he lowers his gun to his hip and flips the safety on. My breath exhales slowly.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t you dare thank me for this,” he hisses. His eyes drag to Maks. “You listen to me, motherfucker. You touch her, you hurt her—”

“I won’t. Not ever,” Maks growls quietly.

Tom’s mouth thins. “I will hunt you like a goddamn animal if you do. Twenty years in the SEALs, asshole.”

“You’re doing the right thing here—”

“Get,” he grunts. “Now, before I remember my vows and oaths of duty.”

I smile. “Thank you,” I whisper as I rush to him. I hug Tom fiercely, and he does the same to me. And by the time I slip the zip tie out of his belt and slip it around the pole behind him and over his wrists, it’s too late. When I yank it tight and pull away, his eyes turn livid.

“Oh you better be fucking kidding me,” he hisses.

“I’m sorry!” I wince. “I’m so sorry! I promise, I’ll prove all of this!”

I grab Tom’s walkie talkie and cell phone and back away.

“Goddamnit!” Tom yells. But then I swear I see him smirk at me. “You learned that shit from me, didn’t you?”

I shrug, grinning. “Maybe.”

“You’ve got five minutes before I start yelling for help. Make it count.”

“Thank you,” I murmur again before I turn and slip my arm around Maks. We shuffle out of the hanger and over to where I’m parked. I open the trunk, and Maks groans. But he knows it’s the only way we’re getting him out of here.

He slips in, I shut it, and then get behind the wheel.

Now what?

My heart races as the wheels in my head spin recklessly. Where the fuck am I going to go now, with a wanted escapee from a supermax black site?

But then suddenly, it hits me. I grab my phone and text June.

“Need the address to your cabin. Please don’t ask why. It’s an emergency.”

She responds immediately.

“What is your life, girl? You’re the most interesting man in the world guy from that beer commercial.”

I grin as she texts me the address. My maps app says we’re three hours away. I start the engine, but then grab my phone again.

“If anyone comes to talk to you about me, or any of this, can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Tell them I told you I was headed to Mexico.”

“U R James Bond. I can’t even. Please be safe. Call me when you can?”

“Will do. Love you.”

I switch to the maps app, put the car in drive, and peel out. The guard post is empty, which chills me. But when I hit the main road, I floor it.

Out of the frying pan, and into the fire.