Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“We got the ice cream, and we were walking back–almost in front of our building–when this white van drove up on the sidewalk, and three guys jump out. Valentina screams and picks Lili up. She tells me to run to the building, but I–” he shakes his head, looking confused. Like he’s still that ten-year-old boy in shock on the sidewalk.
“I just stood there. I froze.”
“That’s a normal human response,” I murmur softly, not wanting to interrupt his flow but also not wanting him to go on with some belief that he did the wrong thing.
He swallowed. “One of them shot Valentina in the head. She went down on the sidewalk with half her head blown off. He grabbed Lili’s arm and pulled it out of the socket, yanking her out of Valentina’s death grip.
“Two guys grabbed me. I finally woke up and tried to get away, but it was too late. They wrestled me to the van. Maykl––Alexei and Feliks’ dad–rushed out of the building with guns drawn, but he didn’t fire.”
Baron’s brows furrow. “I screamed at him to shoot. At the time, I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t, but, of course, he was afraid of accidentally hitting me or Lili.”
Baron stops and doesn’t go on. His gaze is unfocused, like he’s still reliving the moment.
“Then what happened?” I whisper.
“They threw us both in the back of the van and took off. Maykl shot out one of the tires as they took off, but they kept driving, speeding away. There was a chase. The van flipped–a bunch of times. I got knocked out for a while.”
“Bozhe moi,” I breathe.
For a moment, Baron’s eyes focus on my face like I just reminded him I’m still here. That we’re in the present. A future where he’s all grown up. Where he escaped from that event with his life.
He swallows. “I heard gunfire in the front. The back of the van is blocked off from the driver’s compartment, so I don’t know what’s happening. We’re in the dark–upside down. There’s a guy on top of me. Lili is screaming and crying because she’s in pain. My head and neck hurt.
“One of the guys throws open the back doors. He has Lili in a chokehold, a gun to her head, and he’s shouting for everyone to get back.
My dad and his men are there, but they drop their weapons, and I can’t figure that out, either. I realize the guy on top of me is knocked out, so I get his gun. I knew how to fire it. My dad had been taking me hunting for a few years as an excuse to teach me how to handle weapons.
“Lili’s crying, and the guy is shaking her, telling her to shut up, or she dies. I walk up behind him. My dad is saying don’t shoot. It doesn’t occur to me that he means me. I point the gun at the back of the guy’s head and pull the trigger.
I remember the look of terror on my dad’s face as he rushed forward to catch Lili. The other man groaned behind me and started to get up, so I turned around and shot him, too.”
I try to hide the shock ricocheting through my soul. Baron’s voice has taken on a deadened quality now. Like he went numb in the moment, and he’s numb telling me about it, too.
“I missed, so I got closer and kept shooting. I emptied the chamber into the guy and still kept firing until Maykl took the gun out of my hand and pulled me into a hug.”
Tears form in the corners of my eyes.
Gospodi, he was just a kid. He watched his housekeeper die and still believes it was his fault. He had to kill two men to save his sister’s life. No wonder he tries to control every aspect of his life now to keep everyone he loves safe.
I wrap my arms around him and press my face into his neck. “I’m so sorry, Ben. That shouldn’t have happened to you.”
He pulls me tight, nearly squeezing the breath out of me.
“It wasn’t your fault.” I pull my face away to catch his eye. “If you’re thinking you got Valentina killed, you didn’t.”
A muscle jumps in Baron’s cheek. “I’m the one–”
“Nyet.” I interrupt. “You didn’t tell those men to come and shoot her. You had nothing to do with that. If your father wasn’t a bratva boss, then going to the beach to get ice cream would’ve been a normal activity. You were denied that normalcy by his actions, not yours. None of it was your fault.”
“I could’ve killed Lili.” Baron’s voice sounds tight.
“What? How?”
“When I shot the guy holding her, the gun could’ve gone off and killed her. That’s why my dad was saying don’t shoot.”
Anger flushes through me. “Fuck your dad! Did he tell you that you could’ve killed Lili? You saved Lili. You saved Lili, Ben.” I use his real name, trying to make sure his younger self hears me. “It was your dad’s fault, not yours.”