Nothing.
I’m out.
Normally I’d never lose count in a fight like this, but it’s all I can do to keep things straight. I pull the trigger again to make sure. Nothing.
Vasili’s face turns from abject terror to amusement, and he laughs at me.
“You fucked u—” he starts to shout, but as woozy as I am, I still manage to turn the gun around and beat him across the face with the handle in one smooth move. Some of Vasili’s teeth go flying from his mouth in a spray of blood.
I don’t waste energy on words, I grab hold of his expensive shirt and coat with my injured arm, and continue to beat him with the right. Hard blows upon meat and bone, his jaw cracking as I hammer away. While the blood might’ve drained out of me to an unhealthy degree, it’s blood in my view as I exact the price for fucking with my girl.
No amount of pain or suffering will make up for his terrorizing Alicia. I just need to make sure he never lives another moment to possibly trouble her.
It’s not until his face is misshapen and shattered that I hear Alicia crying out, her words a garbled mess, marked with sobs and rage. “Fucking kill him,” she hisses before she slumps back, exhausted. But even still, she’s a fighter, trying to work off the tight rope that’s no doubt cutting into her skin.
She can’t wait to be rid of this place, and neither can I.
With a final bloody blow to Vasili’s face, I knock him down to the concrete floor and raise my booted foot. I slam the heel down into his head and hear his neck snap.
The rat deserved no better death, and I’m only too happy to give it to him.
I look over at Alicia, and find her staring down at the gory mess, clutching one of her hands. The rope has rubbed her wrists raw, she must’ve struggled free a little, but that doesn’t explain the blood dripping from her fist. For a second, I think she’s going to be sick, so I shield her from Vasili’s corpse, from the sight that she never should’ve had to witness.
My arms wrap around her body and tug her close, protecting her for just a second from all the evils of the world. But I can’t protect her from me.
“We have to get out of here,” I murmur toward her ear, hoping that I don’t frighten my sweet Alicia. I take a moment to swipe the car keys from Vasili’s corpse as she nods against my chest. Even though when she stands, she trembles like a leaf.
I remove the rest of her bindings, then help her up. We step around the bodies, her face buried into my ribs the entire way out.
I’m not about to take the stolen car any further, and Vasili’s should be safe, so I help Alicia into the passenger side before starting up the vehicle. This is sloppy work, and I’ve left a trail from one crime scene to another with the stolen vehicle left behind, but now I have to concern myself with her safety, not mine.
“Where are we going?” she asks me in a wavering voice, trembling with hurt and anxiety. I want to hold her, tell her everything will be alright, but there’s no time. We have to be long gone from here before anyone comes by. Police or mob.
“I’ll take you to my nearest safehouse,” I tell her in a firm, hard voice.
“You have more than one?” she asks, and I’m glad that thought at least distracts her from the situation. It’s enough to make me laugh, if only just a bit.
“Da, I do,” I say, shooting her a sidelong confident look. “A real man has to be prepared for all eventualities. One safehouse is easily discovered.”
She nods, still coddling her hand. I nod at it, then look in her eyes. She shakes her head.
“I’m fine. It’ll just need a Band-Aid or two when we get back,” she says, though I’m not sure if she’s lying. I don’t bother waiting to see, and instead pull back out onto the road, moving smoothly through the streets.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I promise her, and even though my heart is thudding in my chest, I’ve never been so relieved in my life.
I have her back. She’s safe. And that Zasranec is dead.
My nearest safehouse isn’t too far out of town, and speeding as I am we get there before long. I know how to avoid the police after all, so it’s no worry. The big concern is making sure the car won’t be found and lead anyone to us. I take it into the garage beneath the building, into a secure little semi-private area.
Hopping out, I go around back and remove the license plate. I’ll bring down an extra from the safehouse later, but for now I just tuck it beneath my arm and go to help Alicia out, opening her door and pulling her into my arms.
“It’s all okay now, my kotika,” I tell her in a reassuring tone.
And she doesn’t want to be away from me, not even for a step. As I lead her up the gray stairwell she’s clinging to me, holding on for dear life. We make it to the top and I unlock the metal door, but it’s not until we’re inside and I’ve locked the door once more behind us that she finally eases up.