Page 75 of The Bratva's Bounty

The car jerked randomly with the steering wheel being in a game of tug-of-war with Nicole and the man, making it hard for me to keep my balance a little. It was almost impossible to properly aim at the man with how much we were all being thrown around in the car. One jerk and the bullet could end up through Nicole instead.

For a split second, the car steadied, and I immediately lunged for the man, grabbing him by the neck and blowing a hole into his head after digging the gun into the side of his head. Then, out his body went, becoming roadkill after the car next to us ran his body over.

Leaning around to the front, I kissed Nicole's cheek with a victorious smile. "We're almost to the main road." It was right there, just another mile, and we'd be safer with the crowded streets.

Sadly, a clean getaway wasn't in the cards for me.

"Fuck!"

Thwump!

"LEV!"

Chapter 33

Nicole

"LET ME IN!!!" Ipushed my raw throat to the brink of snapping my vocal cords when I suspected to be within earshot of the guards who stood at the front of the Volkov Estate.

Half my body hung out of the beaten Jeep Wrangler, one hand gripping the wheel while the other waved madly to get attention drawn to me. "OPEN THE GATES!!!"

My battered body popped back into the car when a bullet whizzed past me and grazed my outstretched arm.

Hyperventilating breaths matched my racing heart as I kept my foot flat to the floor, still pushing the vehicle to go at max speed despite the mansion coming into view. I was afraid to ease off the gas pedal, afraid that the car would slow down just enough for my chasers to catch me at the last minute before I could get to safety. I'd probably wreck a few things and tear up the landscape beyond the gates, but I wouldn't stop until I was inside the mansion's doors.

As I got closer, to the point of nearly crossing the threshold of the opened gates, I could see armored SUVs and fully armed men spill out into the road, forming a blockade with a spot just wide enough for me to slip through.

I couldn't pay attention to anything else around me as I zipped past them at an ungodly speed. God, I thought I would pass out from the lack of oxygen in my body. It wasn't until I cleared the armored blockade and crashed into the fountain at the front of the mansion that I sucked in a proper breath that burned my lungs as if I'd inhaled acid.

"Oh my God! Nicki!" Angel's shocked voice was right there, and I could see her rushing to me with Nikolai right behind her. Yet, she felt so far.

Splash!

The chilly water did nothing to shock me out of my stupor when I stumbled out of the doorless Jeep and landed in it. The only thing it did was put me into shock. I was drowning in inches of water, but my arms and legs had no strength to move my body out of danger or lift me above the water. I had to be dragged out by a set of arms.

Fresh air mixed with my drowning lungs, sending me into a violent coughing fit as Nikolai and Stepan dragged my soaked body inside the house.

Everyone rushed me in the blink of an eye, toweling me down, wrapping me in blankets, settling me on the couch, and Angel even managed to get a damn I.V. in me so Alexei could run fluids and nutrients into me.

I wanted to tell them all so badly, and I knew time was of the essence. But my mouth refused to open, and when I somehow forced it open, words and sound refused to leave. I needed to tell them about Lev before it was too late, but my body repelled every effort. Even when my frustration spilled over into tears, no sound came out with my angry sobs.

Lev needed me, yet I was fucking useless!

"Hey, shh, hey, it's okay." Hanna's softened voice soothed me as she held me tightly. "You're safe. You're alive and safe. You're okay now."

But that's what was wrong! I was okay while Lev could be dead!

I couldn't stop crying for the life of me.

It was like my body had a mind of its own. I was no longer in control. At the very least, my rational side wasn't in control. If I had to wager on it, I was willing to bet that all the events of the past days, all the trauma and repressed rage and sadness, finally reached a breaking point.

The volcano of emotions finally blew.

"We're gonna have to sedate her," one of the twins, probably Alexei, said, making my panic rise.

I didn't need to be sedated! I couldn't! If I was out of it, I wouldn't be able to tell them about Lev!

Immediately, I struggled against Hanna, who was actually trying to help me by shielding me from Alexei. The young doctor was by far amused, and he fought his way through Hanna to stick a needle into my neck.