“No,” my voice was flat. I fought so hard to be a normal girl but truthfully there hadn’t been anything normal about me since that day when Mom and I were kidnapped. “My grandfather’s security guard taught me safety with an unloaded gun. I just never actually fired one with bullets before today.”
The voices of men and the sound of their feet hitting the ground as they ran towards us. Nikolai and Sergei came too, although Sergei was barely standing on his feet.
“Sergei, I told you not to overdo it,” I scolded him, aware that all of the men were watching me warily. I might have officially reached the point of snapping or insanity. Maybe those two things were one and the same in my case?
“We heard a gunshot,” he retorted in disbelief, his eyes going from my face to my hand where I gripped the handgun.
“Anastasia learned to fire a gun at the target,” Dimitry answered in my stead.
In unison, the men’s eyes went to the target and their wariness turned into a look of awe.
“You hit the bullseye on the first try?” Nikolai asked in disbelief.
Handing the gun back to Dimitry, I answered, “I used to do archery.” There were no emotions in my voice… disappointment, sadness, anger at the cruelty of the world, all squeezed my chest but my voice and face held none of it.
“Woman, you could give me a hard on,” Sergei cackled teasingly. “If I wasn’t in this much pain, I would be so turned on.”
Normally, I would have laughed, teased back but all I could do now was stare at the three men. I needed a plan, but nothing came to mind. My family had men protecting me and worrying about security details. It wasn’t something I had to concern myself with before.
Now I wished I had been involved. What would the first step be in determining how to go about finding Scarlett or helping Olivia? I had to stop relying on my family to keep me safe. I was way past the helpless little girl stage. I wasn’t a fucking damsel in distress… I shouldn’t be.
Jogging always helped me clear my head, and it was when I could think in peace. But I hadn’t gone for a jog since the morning of our nightclub outing. Currently, the only thing I was aware of was that I was useless when it came to being tough.
Fucking damsel in distress!
Dimitry ordered something in Russian, and all men cleared out except for Nikolai, Sergei, Dimitry, and me. None of us moved from our spot. I almost wished all three of them would leave too so I could break down. I wanted to cry, curse, kick, and scream at the unfairness of it all. I didn’t even bother asking him to translate what he said.
“I want to go home.” I dropped the bomb and waited for the explosive reaction from the three men. But I got nothing. “Let me rephrase,” I stated with confidence I didn’t feel. “I am going home. I’m not staying here.”
“And what do you plan on doing then?” Dimitry’s voice was frigid, and the undertones of that question hit home. His arms crossed on his chest, he looked patronizing. He was a badass hotty and I was a woman used to her family’s protection.
I raised my chin in defiance. “I will work that out on my flight home.”
“You hit a target and you think you can fight now?” I was surprised that it came from Sergei.
“I don’t think that. But I won’t be hiding here while my best friends-” I swallowed hard, taking a calming breath. I didn’t want to sound hysterical. “You three couldn’t possibly get it,” I shook my head, both my hands pulled through my hair, gripping to it. “I can’t hide here, safe while one of my friends has been kidnapped because of me and the other is forced to marry a narcissistic psychopath who will torture her for the rest of her life.” With each spoken word, hysteria took a stronger hold of me.
“Calm down, Anastasia,” Dimitry’s voice was firm, unwavering but the panic within me kept rising. His strength made my weaknesses so glaring to me. “I know how you feel. My brothers and I would do the same for each other. But if you get yourself killed, you won’t be able to help them.”
Scarlett and Olivia were basically my sisters, a part of my family. Not doing anything was not an option, regardless of how out of my element I was.
“The three of you... nobody can touch you,” I continued speaking while pacing. “Just one look at you and I bet people run scared. This is your world, not mine, nor Scarlett’s, nor Olivia’s.” My mind was in overdrive. A bitter laugh escaped me. “We were supposed to have a summer to remember and we sure got it.”
“You are not leaving,” Dimitry's voice was a command and it flared my anger.
“You can’t hold me against my will,” I retorted. “My dad hired you, not the other way around.”
Yes, that was shitty. It was the wrong thing to say. His expression was cold and threatening, although he still didn’t scare me. I knew he had my safety in mind… maybe that’s why I wasn’t scared of him.
There was no further comment but it was all the answer I needed. My eyes traveled to Sergei and Nikolai but I knew there was no help coming from them. All three of them stood there like overbearing statues.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I went back home?” The question left my lips, my eyes locked on Dimitry. “You get your business legalized since you delivered me safely and my family can take it from there.”
“Your father asked me to keep you safe under my terms,” Dimitry finally commented. “And that's what we’ll do. Even if it’s against your will.”
I took a step towards him before I thought better of it and pointed my finger into his chest. “I’m a grown woman. You have no jurisdiction over me, regardless of how well you kiss. You can tell my father he has no say of what I will or won’t do either.” Admittedly, I sounded a bit bratty but there was no way in hell I’d hide away while my best friends were going through hell right now.
Sergei tried to soothe the situation. “Anastasia, how about if we help?”