I was about halfway up the stairs when I felt the gun shoving into the back of my head.
“What the fuck are you doing in my house?” Kolya breathed like a dragon behind me. How did I not hear him approaching?
Raising my hands, I slowly started to turn. “I am unarmed and mean no harm,” I said.
The anger on Kolya’s face was prominent. His jaw was clenched so tight, I thought he might break his teeth. His brows were furrowed, and his skin had a reddish look. I understood why he was pissed at me. But I had to try.
Kolya’s finger slid to the trigger of his gun. I stood tall, not fearing death. I was prepared to face my death should it be here and now. Suddenly, Avgust came up behind Kolya, shoving his gun into the back of his head. The scenario was almost funny.
“Aren’t you happy that I shadowed you?” Avgust huffed, glancing at me with his usual cocky smile.
Sighing deeply, I nodded. “Yes, thank you, brother. But why in hell’s name were you following me to start with?” I asked.
There was a pause as Avgust took a breath before speaking. “Brother, you didn’t answer your phone.”
“I was a little busy, as you can see,” I shot back.
He took another deep, slow breath, shaking his head. “Clara tried calling you, then called Zhenya as she couldn’t reach you. Zhenya couldn’t either and called me. I tried calling…”
“Yes, yes, I get the drift,” I interrupted him.
“Well, when I couldn’t get hold of you, I tracked you. And now we are here,” Avgust replied. I could hear some anger in his tone. But the sarcasm dripped from his words.
Avgust shoved his gun harder against Kolya’s head as he shouted at him. “Lower your fucking gun before I put a hole in your head!”
Kolya had a strong resolve. I could see his determination as his grip tightened on his gun. His lips tightened, and his gaze was fixed on me. I knew that he wasn’t going to lower his gun. At the end of this confrontation, both of us would be dead.
His voice filled the air around us as he started throwing accusations around. “You kidnapped my sister, and now you’re back to do what? This time, you took her from my home!”
I froze as he shouted at me. I had no intention of taking her. I merely wanted to talk to her. Hell, I even came unarmed. Both Avgust and I replied the same thing. “We didn’t take her!”
If it wasn’t for the seriousness of the situation, we would have laughed. “What the hell do you mean we kidnapped her?” I questioned, confused.
Kolya shook his gun as he spat at me. His rage is coming through strongly. “You fucking took her! What do you want here when you already have her?” There was a sadness to his voice that I knew all too well.
The situation was frustrating, and we weren’t getting anywhere as he hadn’t given us a straight answer. His gun was still aimed at me, and Avgust’s gun at him. I could see it going offas he started squeezing the trigger. I braced myself, but the shot never fired.
Before it could, the double doors swung open, and our attention was drawn to my other brothers storming in.
“Stop!” Timofey exclaimed as he rushed towards us. Timofey held a tablet in his hands as he came running up the stairs. “It wasn’t us!” he screamed. “We didn’t take her. Here’s the proof.”
I felt my chest closing as fear stepped in. Raising my brows, I stepped closer as Kolya lowered his gun and grabbed the tablet from Timofey. There was a text note on the tablet screen.
We have her!
We want ten million for her safe return!
We will text you the details!
Below this was a picture of Clara tied up in the back of a van. I couldn’t believe it. I should have come sooner, then maybe she would be with me and safe. “You couldn’t protect her!” I spat at Kolya, feeling my rage growing.
He tensed up before throwing the tablet across the room. It hit the wall, and tiny pieces rained down to the ground. Turning to face me, I could see he knew what he had done. “I will let you go for now. I’ve got ants to terminate!” he spat.
Taking a deep breath, I tried calming my wild heart. I spoke in a calm, even tone. “Then we have a common goal. For now, let’s put our differences aside and save Clara.”
Kolya studied me briefly, then nodded. For the time being, this was how things would be. Yet, I couldn’t find it in me to trust Kolya. But putting our differences aside so we could achieve a common goal was vital.
“Alright, let’s get started,” I huffed, walking past Kolya down the stairs.
