The Bratva’s Bounty (Volkov Bratva #3)

34. Lev

Chapter 34

Lev

A painful cough forced itself out of my scratchy throat from the hard punch to the gut from Igor.

His hand buried itself into the top of my hair, yanking my head back. "I should just feed you to the sharks," he seethed inches from my face. "Better yet, I should send you back to your family in pieces."

Pooling up the blood in my mouth, I spat it at him with a challenging smirk. "Do it, and you'll get your sister back in pieces the same way." Letting my smugness come out, I slackened my body. "If they don't decide to let Angel torture her. And you better hope Angel doesn't get her hands on Natalia."

Dealing with Angel in the torture chamber was worse than a death sentence, in my opinion. "She'll probably start off by sticking needles under Natalia's nails before ripping them off with pliers and then slowly chopping her fingers off by the joint until there's nothing but nubs left." I shouldn't open my mouth and make my dire situation worse, but if I was gonna die here, then I might as well have some fun. "Imagine how many days worth of mail that'll be to you." I cackled madly before a punch to the face shut me up.

Throwing my bound body off the chair, Igor kicked my midsection until I hacked up blood all over the dirty floor. I was hauled back up into the chair before my heavy head was wrenched back at a painful angle. "I am going to fuck your stupid whore over your grave every damn day after I make her my wife."

A wave of fury heated my body for a split second before an amused laugh barked out of me. "If your words held any promise, then I might take you seriously and snap at you." Deep down, I was furious, but I knew for a damn fact he would never get his hands on Nicole if I were to die.

The deep-seated rage quickly surfaced despite my efforts to keep a lid on it. My heart pounded in my chest while my bound hands clenched into tight fists behind my back. Every seething breath burned as it entered and exited my body through my flared nostrils until it felt like I constantly breathed fire and smoke. "I am going to make you pay for what you did to her once I am free, and if I die, then I will come back and drag you down to Hell and torment you for all of eternity." It wasn't a threat—it was a promise.

Sneering, Igor threw my head and punched me across the face before stepping back. "You're fucking delusional if you think you're going to make it out of this alive."

Mocking him with a sneer of my own, I set my eyes on him in a death glare. "And you're delusional for thinking you'll have any success when you have nothing."

Igor's prideful laugh filled the room, throwing me for a loop. "I have everything I need to overthrow you Volkovs." Slowly, he paced back and forth in front of me. "I've taken more than half of your allies, who have helped me gather a vast amount of wealth to sustain."

A crazed grin inched itself onto his face as he continued to spew shit from the garbage can he called a mouth, "You Volkovs got too cocky and comfortable with the merge that you failed to realize how many were actually against you. I mean, for crying out loud, I got your whore's parents on my side, and it's thanks to them that I am going to be successful in taking you and your stupid brothers down."

Maybe he was a tad out of touch with reality, or stupid… or ignorant… Or all the above. From the sounds of it, he might actually be unaware of the fact that what he prattled about was gone .

My brothers and I had little to no trouble with tracking down and taking care of the traitors on our payroll. We thought taking care of the trash would be difficult, but we didn't struggle one bit because Nicole and Bao took little to no time tracking everyone down. It didn't take much for us to compile a complete list of people either; a lot of the people we captured initially were more than eager to spill with some false promises.

Needless to say, we removed all the rotting bits. Granted, there would always be the risk of someone turning on us in the future, but that was a problem for later when or if it arose. For now, we regained control and respect.

Of course, Igor didn't need to know about any of that. If he didn't notice before, then that was on him for being an ignorant little shit. Besides, if I burst his bubble right now, then he might actually kill me when his perfect little plan imploded on him.

I have no idea what Igor went on about as he continued to run his mouth; I stopped listening long ago. His voice was also very annoying, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for anyone who had to put up with him for more than five minutes.

I didn't bother zoning back in until he stopped midsentence. I had to know what made him shut up. Much to my disappointment, it was his phone. I was about to zone back out until I noticed how his face twisted with confusion momentarily before it stretched out in surprise. A string of curses flew out of his mouth when he let his smoking phone fall from his hand and clatter against the ground.

What the hell is going on?

Then, it hit.

" BLYAT' !"

Deafening booms popped my eardrums and caused a constant ringing to echo in my head. The place was instantly filled with dust and debris as the building slowly came apart from the seemingly endless explosions.

Was this an earthquake? The whole place shook and trembled like it was caught in one, and maybe the explosion was from some generator going off because of the earthquake .

The inclination of this being an earthquake crumbled away when the ceiling gave in, and flashes of light tore through the place. I felt myself getting winded by the force of the explosions that ended up knocking me over with the chair.

Despite my broken and aching body protesting, I forced myself to worm away behind a slab of metal that had fallen against the wall and made a nice little tent—one I barely managed to fit my fat ass into.

Tucking myself up as much as possible, I silently laid there praying to whoever was in the sky that I'd survive this. This attack couldn't have been from my brothers; they weren't this destructive, nor would they risk my life like this. Nicole did cross my mind for a split second, but the explosives came too close to me, and I doubt she was that insane for gambling with my livelihood like so.

My chest ached from how I struggled and strained to contain my coughs as I breathed in the dusty air around me. If I had an option, then I wouldn't breathe at all because everything fucking hurt like hell. Also, I was pretty sure a few of my ribs were busted up—bad. If I was lucky, then maybe I'd make it out of this without a punctured lung.

Big if.

My internal bleeding would probably get to me before my brothers would.

Letting out a deep breath, I let myself slump fully against the wall. I was so exhausted. The only thing that fueled me this far was my rage against Igor, hope to see my brothers again, a want to see my first nephews, and my hope and dreams to see Nicole again. To be able to hold my empress in my arms, kiss her heavenly lips, feel her soft body, and have a whole life full of wonder and joy with her.

I wish I could say it'd be fine because I would finally be able to see my mother, but there was no way I'd end up in Heaven with the life I have lived.

God, how did I fuck up so badly this time?

If I had paid more attention when we were escaping, I wouldn't be in this mess. I should've noticed the enemy, and I would've if I hadn't let my guard down. The enemy wouldn't have been able to sneak up on me and get enough of a hold on me to yank me out of the car if I had been more attentive .

Squeezing my stinging eyes shut, I let the stray tears escape down my face. No one was around to see me cry, so screw it. Besides, maybe it was the dust and not my emotions. Also, if this was it, then who the hell cares?

I'm so sorry for being a little shithead, Kolya. Sorry, I couldn't have done more, Stepan. Arseny, fuck you, for one, but I hope Mia knocks some sense into you and you two find your peace. Alexei, you fucking psychopath, I don't know what to say to you besides I hope you find your heart again.

I shouldn't be so pessimistic, but it really did feel like this was it for me. So, might as well say what I needed and not leave with any regrets or unspoken things.

Exhaling slowly, I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids every time I blinked. A nap really sounded good right about now, though.

…Just a few seconds won't hurt…

I love you, Nicole… Maybe I'll dream of you.

I couldn't fight the darkness anymore. My eyes refused to open with my last blink, and the bog of slumber swallowed my mind.

Endless peace beckoned me away from the fading world around me, but a faint voice made me turn my head.

"… Want… Body… For…" The distant and muffled voice sounded familiar, but who was it? "… Lev…!"

Nikolai… He didn't sound angry at me, so I wasn't in trouble… Right?

A sharp screech made me scrunch my face up as it felt like a knife into my ear. "Here!" Not Nikolai… Stepan?

There was a lot of shuffling in my direction before I felt an immense amount of pain shoot through my body, making me wince. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to get my eyes to open. Well, at least I could peep them, even if it was just a crack, and for less than a second.

"Shit!" A sharp sting landed on my cheek, followed by one of the twin's hissing. "Damn it, Lev, don't go to sleep." My brain rattled in my head from someone shaking it. "Wake up, stay with us," my younger brother pleaded—I still didn't know which one.

Nikolai threatened me with a pleading playfulness, "Lev, I swear, if you don't stay with us, and we end up dragging your dead body out of this damn place, I will tell them everything that's supposed to be a secret between us." The hope in his voice, hope for me to snap back at him, cracked at his voice. It was almost as if he was begging me to open my eyes and glare at him.

I mean, I would if I could, but it felt like someone stitched my eyes shut after supergluing them.

"Lev, come on, don't do this to us." It was Stepan this time. "Don't you dare fucking die on us." I could hear his emotions cracking through as well. "This isn't some damn blaze of glory, so you can't fucking die on us."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but please don't die." It was one of the twins again. "You know I can't go to an actual therapist. Otherwise, I'm going to end up in maximum lockdown at a mental prison." Arseny; it was Arseny because he was the only one who ever referred to me as his therapist. Also, he was the only one of the twins to actually converse a lot with me.

"Alexei, anything?" Nikolai inquired.

I assumed the sigh I heard was from Alexei. "Can't say for sure until we get him back home and I properly examine him." Always the oh-so-careful doctor—this asshole. "But I still feel a pulse. It's really thready, but it's there."

It wasn't long until my lungs screamed with happiness as a natural warmth blanketed my body.

Fresh fucking air, thank God.

Forcing my chest to expand—bad fucking idea—I took in as much oxygen as possible. My whole body convulsed with my violent coughs as I hacked, what felt like, my life out; I couldn't stop no matter how hard I tried to tighten my torn muscles to suppress my coughing.

At least the stark pain shot my eyes wide open.

Spitting out the pooled blood in my mouth, I weakly looked at my brothers with the best smile I could muster up in my state. "… I fu..cking…love…you…all…" I could die on the way home for all I knew, so it was better to get it out now, just in case.

"Hey, hey, hey." Alexei's hands grabbed my falling face, holding it up. "Do not close your eyes! I don't care what you do or say but do not fall asleep. You understand me?"

I wanted to roll my eyes at him for ordering me around, but I was afraid that if I did, then I'd pull my eyelids down. "Fu…ck…y…ou…" I garbled out, causing some more blood that had pooled again in my mouth to spill over.

The four of them practically ran to the nearest vehicle and threw me into the back with the twins. "Kolya, you better drive like your wife's in fucking labor," Stepan joked in a serious voice as he slid into the passenger seat.

"No, I was planning on going twenty under the speed limit," Nikolai snarked at Stepan with a sneer. "Just shut up and hold on tight."

"Oh, this is going to be a ride from Hell," Arseny commented as he held my body down with Alexei.

"Or a ride to Hell," Alexei muttered.

Oh boy, this might be my last car ride if things went as I thought.

Fuck me.

My fucking head.

God, someone shut that beeping up.

Groaning, I strained out a few coughs as I tried to turn my broken body, only to be stopped by a set of hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no, do not do that." God, never thought I'd be so happy to hear Angel scold me. "You need to stay on your back. Otherwise, you're going to pop your stitches and compromise your breathing."

Taking a slow and painful breath, I forced out a weak chuckle. "Well sh…it… That…" Fucking hell, I couldn't even finish a short quip back at Angel.

A soft whirring sound buzzed in my ear, and my upper body was lifted up into a half-sitting position. Thank fucking God because that made breathing so much easier and better.

Lulling my head to the side, I looked at Angel with grateful eyes. "Thank you." I barely managed to get the two words out above a whisper.

Smiling happily at me, Angel leaned in and hugged me very carefully. "I'm so glad you're alive." Her voice shook with relief as she clung to me for a bit.

Her happy smile straightened out sternly after she pulled away. "Try not to move too much yet. I still have to secure your dressings and give you an abdominal binder and a rib belt." And there was nurse Angel—great. "If you bust a stitch and we have to put you together again, I will feed you Nicole's chicken noodle soup."

Grimacing a smile, I strained out a chuckle. "I think I'd rather spend an hour in the torture chamber with you than have a lick of my Nicole's food." At least I wouldn't end up with food poisoning with Angel.

"Hey! That's just rude!" And there she was. "Move!" Nicole practically ran up to Angel and playfully nudged her away to throw herself all over me.

"Hey," Angel scolded Nicole, smacking her on the back. "Careful, he's injured! You're going to make him worse!"

"Nikolai, your wife is putting too much stress on the babies by yelling at me!" Nicole shouted toward the door before looking at Angel and flipping her off.

Everyone filtered into the cramped room within seconds of Nicole shouting. I swear, it was as if they were all waiting by the door or something. "Get off of Lev, Nicole." Alexei chided with a sigh as he elbowed himself through everyone to my bedside. "Angel is right. His condition isn't fully stable yet, so you could do some damage to him." He proceeded to carefully pry Nicole away from me.

Letting my head fall back against my pillow, I slowly turned it around to look at everyone in the room with appreciative eyes. "You all have no idea how fucking happy I am to see you all." I wasn't an emotional person by any means, but fuck, I couldn't hold my tears back.

"Think you gave him too much pain meds, Alexei." Stepan cracked a soft laugh with his joke.

Everyone held it in much better than me, but I could see it in their eyes. They were all relieved and elated that I was up and talking. Although, I could see some puffiness around their eyes that weren't bags.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I twitched my hand in Alexei's direction when he pressed against my stomach. "Son of a… A warning would have been appreciated…!" I hissed through gritted teeth. "Fuck…"

Squeezing my eyes shut, I breathed deeply. "What even happened anyway? And what's the damage to my body?" I could still feel and move everything, so that had to be a good sign… Right?

Taking a deep breath, Alexei stuffed his hands into his jacket, then listed off everything wrong with me, like some grocery list. "Slight concussion, busted eardrums, right dislocated shoulder, bilateral fractures to your ulna and radius, a few broken ribs, some bruised ribs, left lung puncture, mild internal bleed, right fractured tibia, and the rest of your body is scattered with various scrapes, cuts, and lacerations." It creeped me out a little at how nonchalant he sounded, but I knew he cared because of the little warmth and worry in his eyes when he looked at me.

Blowing out a heavy breath, I tried to lighten the dense air with a chuckle. "Well, that would explain why I feel like I've been mauled by a hippo." At least my awkward joke got a few chuckles.

With my condition out of the way, all that was left was, "So, what happened then?"

Immediately, everyone's head turned to Nicole accusingly, who returned all the gazes with an offended scoff. "You were all taking too long, and they could have killed Lev by the time you got to him," she defended herself with her chin held high.

Groaning from the growing headache, I brought a hand up to rub my aching temples. " Zhizn moya , what did you do?" I already sounded fed up and ready for the chaos that would come from her mouth.

Don't get me wrong; I wasn't upset or angry. I just knew it wouldn't be anything good given everyone's deathly glares, and given how she was as a person.

Giving me a lopsided smile, she chuckled very nervously. "I uhh might have gotten a little impatient with waiting for your rescue mission to get under way… Sooooo I uhh…" Her eyes slowly trailed around the room as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I might have gone a little crazy with the explosives…"

"A little?" Arseny questioned while looking at her with calculating eyes as if he was trying to figure out whether or not she was sane. "You blew up a whole fucking building until it was dust after turning everyone's phones into bombs."

"Well, it took care of everyone faster than you guys would have," Nicole retorted smugly.

"You could have hit Lev, or he could have been caught in a blast," Stepan interjected with his own worries.

Deadpanning at Stepan, Nicole loosely crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him. "Seriously? You think I'm that careless?" she asked with mock offense. "I might have only had thermal to go off of, but I guessed right and avoided the right person."

If I had a drink in my mouth, then it would have ended up all over everyone in the room. "You what?" Maybe I misheard?

"Well, who else would look like they're bound and in one spot?" Nicole tried to defend herself with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "And, I mean, I was careful not to drop any bombs close enough to actually do real damage… Maybe just a popped eardrum or smack to the gut…"

I had to take a minute to accept the fact that Nicole really gambled with my life. There was no doubt that she was mindful of where she dropped the bombs, but there was no way she could have known the exact results of the damage. Stunned, I stammered out, "You dropped bombs close to me without being a hundred percent sure that I would survive?" My question came out closer to a statement rather than a question.

"Woman, you are fucking psycho." I had to take a moment to really look at her and recollect myself.

Waving her closer, I waited until she was within reach before grabbing her and pulling her into my lap with a pained groan. "And I fucking love it." Grabbing her face, I pushed through the pain of my screaming body and planted a hard one on her lips. "But please don't do something like that again."

An awkward chill weighed the air around the bed down, making me look around at everyone who eyed me like I was some alien.

"What? Don't act like you haven't kissed your woman in front of me."