The Pretty Psycho (St. Vasili’s Academy #2)

8. Vega

8

VEGA

I was in the middle of an earthquake.

Or at least it felt like an earthquake as I slowly peeled my eyes open, seeing Yolanda's panicked face right in front of mine.

"Oh, thank fucking God," she wheezed out, her hands still firmly holding my shoulders. "I've been trying to wake you up forever." It sure didn't feel like it.

After Adrian left the room, leaving me with Arseniy, I all but collapsed in the bed, suddenly feeling every little ache in my body, and I just wanted to sleep. I guess the medicine the nurse gave me was stronger than I thought.

"What time is it?" I croaked out, lifting myself slowly. Every part of me hurt, and I tried ignoring the ache between my legs and the bruises on my thighs that became visible as Yolanda ripped the blanket off of me. "Hey!"

"It's time to go." She dashed inside the bathroom within seconds, leaving me with a reeling mind and more confusion than ever.

"What's going on?" I called out, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and trying to get my body to cooperate with the fact that we apparently had to get up. "Is the building on fire?"

"No," she said as she came out, bringing me clothes I hadn’t seen before. "But it might as well be."

"What are you talking about?" I asked again, taking a good look at her.

She seemed frazzled, panicked, and something told me it wasn't for nothing. "Yolanda?"

"Look," she stopped, turning toward me with a black sweater and a pair of leggings. "I don't want to alarm you, especially not so soon after you woke up."

"But?"

Yolanda took a deep breath, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "We're under attack." Those blue eyes flew open just as the words tumbled over her lips, and I knew her well enough to see the fear swirling in those blue depths. "We're under a massive attack. The Acad…" she stammered. "The Academy is basically a no-man's-land right now. Adrian is there with Dante and Jax, but… It's bad, Vega. It's really fucking bad."

I hated the way my heart started beating faster at the mere mention of Adrian's name, or the fact that it filled with fear because he was over there and I was here. I had no idea what was happening, who was attacking us, but I had a good idea. Arseniy said as much after Adrian left and before the nurse came in to give me my meds.

Several of his warehouses had been attacked in the past two weeks, and they knew it was Adrian's father. There was not enough time for him to tell me everything, but I could read between the lines—we were in the middle of a war with Adrian's father, and between him and The Schatten I had no idea which one was worse.

At least I knew how Heinrich operated, how The Schatten operatives worked, and how they attacked. I didn't know Adrian's father. I never had to face anyone from the Zylla Empire, not until Adrian, and judging by the moves he had, they were well trained. Maybe even too well.

"Arseniy is arranging for a car, but we need to hurry." She came closer to the bed and threw the clothes on the bed. "Get dressed. Your boots are in the bathroom as well."

"Do we know who's attacking us?" I asked slowly, carefully, because I didn't want to spook her even more.

Yolanda might have been a part of this world since her birth, but that didn't mean she had any exposure to this kind of thing before the Academy.

"No." Her lower lip wobbled, her eyes filling with tears. "I mean, we kind of do, or at least suspect, but I don't know for sure. Dimitri came to me fifteen minutes ago, telling me we had to go, now. He didn't exactly share any of the details before he ran off, leaving me to deal with you." She plopped down on the sofa placed under the window, resting her elbows on her knees. "I didn't sign up for this," she continued. "I hate this. This violence, this uncertainty, all these things. I don't know how to fight, Vega," she said, looking straight at me. "Jax showed me some things but—" Ah, there we were. So she was definitely spending time with Jax. "—I'm not you. I can do some things, but if they come after me?—"

"They won't come after you," I said, stopping her rambling. I pushed myself off of the bed, wincing as my feet connected with the ice-cold floor. "And if they do, I'll fight them."

"How!" she shrieked. "No offense, but you're kinda, uh?—"

"Beaten up?" I asked, turning toward her with a smirk. "I might not be at a hundred percent, but trust me." I walked away from the bed, rounding it slowly toward the other side, until I stood in front of her. "I can still kick some ass."

Her tear-filled eyes looked up at me, hope overtaking the fear swirling in the depths of her soul, and something broke inside of me at the sight. I was too busy dealing with my own shit to start that training I'd promised her, and even if she wasn't the heiress of one of the mafia families, she should know how to fight.

I grabbed the clothes from the bed and bent down, urging her to keep looking at me. "Look, it's gonna take me at least a couple of days to recover, but once I do we will start that training I've promised you."

"If we get out of here alive," she sputtered.

"We're getting out of here alive, trust me," I gritted out. "I'm gonna change. Give me just a minute."

Her small nod was all I got before I started wobbling on unsteady feet toward the bathroom, closing the door behind me as soon as I reached it. I'd failed to see myself before now in the mirror. I've avoided the cursed object since I woke up, but as I stood there in the middle of the small bathroom adjacent to my room, I stared at the person in the mirror, barely recognizing myself.

My hair was a tangled mess, in dire need of washing and brushing plus at least ten more procedures that only a hairdresser could do. But my hair was the least of my concerns, and taking care of that would have to wait, especially since I could see the bandage at my nape, covering the cut made by Tyler. My hand lifted up toward the bandage, my fingers softly going over the plush surface, and I fucking hated the thundering of my heart as image after image rushed through my head.

I didn't have time for this. I didn't have the strength to think about those three days he kept me, raped me, hurt me, cutting through more than just my skin, but my heart. My eyes flew open, narrowing at my own reflection in the mirror. The slash over my cheek bothered me, twisting my insides with its presence, no matter how much I hated paying attention to it. Perhaps it was because it was so visible, so… there. The rest of my scars would heal, but this one—this one would forever be a reminder to everyone around me that something had happened.

"This will not break you," I whispered to myself, feeling that same old anger rushing to the surface. My skin heated, my veins filling with a fiery rage only one thing could extinguish, while I boxed all these other emotions in the far back of my mind, ignoring them just how I ignored everything else I didn't want to deal with.

My fingers wrapped around the bottom of the hospital gown I had on, lifting it slowly over my head, and as the blue fabric fell down by my feet, I saw every naked inch of my skin in the mirror, finally seeing what that monster did to me.

Half of my face was bruised, with that cut running across my cheek, but it was the bruises on my ribs that made breathing just a little bit harder. It was the sight of his fingers etched in my skin that made me wish I could carve it out with the first knife I could get my hands on.

But most of all, it was the sight of the deep slashes on my left hip in the form of his initials that made me want to burn down the world just to appease the monster thirsting for blood living in my veins. With shaky fingers I pressed against the red, angry marks, refusing to wince as the first shock of pain ricocheted through my body, because I refused to give him that. I refused to give him my pain.

I refused to be a victim.

I wanted revenge. I wanted him to pay for what he did.

I wanted to look him in the eye and know that my face would be the last one he sees before descending into the deepest pits of hell. I could mourn the memories I had, but I gave up on mourning the people who only wanted to hurt me.

My heart could no longer take the heartbreaks. There were far too many scars slashed all over that organ to withstand another one, so I let it go. I let Tyler as I knew him go, because it was obvious that the memories I had were just figments of my childish imagination.

The brother I thought I had was just a predator, biding his time and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

My life, my body, my fucking choices belonged to me. Not to him, not to them, and I refused to give him more power than he already had.

He managed to scar me, to hit me, to make me feel like I wanted to die, but I would be the one who would show him the true meaning of pain. He had no idea what he did when he took me into that cave. He had no idea the hell I would bring him.

"Vega!" Yolanda called out from outside the door. "We have a problem!" She screeched loud enough for me to drop the sinister thoughts and continue putting on the clothes she brought me. I stumbled, cursing to myself as I slowly pulled on the leggings, hating the fact that my injured hand was almost useless at this point.

I felt useless.

The sweater felt too tight on my bruised skin, but it would have to do. The leggings were my size, and I tried ignoring the feeling of the fabric on the places he touched. I located the boots quickly, my face scrunching as my bare feet slid into them. "It's only temporary. You're gonna get some socks soon." There were not many things I hated, but wearing any kind of closed shoes without socks was definitely on top of that list.

"Vega!"

"I'm coming!"

Kicking the hospital gown to the corner, I opened the door, coming face to face with Yolanda's tearstained face as she bit her nails. I opened my mouth, the words just at the tip of my tongue, when a crash from outside the room made both of us jump.

My eyes moved toward the door, which was now barricaded with a chair I assumed Yolanda had placed. I looked at her, my eyebrow arching. "Don't look at me like that," she sniffed. "I had to do something. They're coming."

I wasn't going to say anything, but the way her mind worked was completely different than mine. I would've found a weapon, any kind of weapon, because I knew the chair could only hold them for a couple of minutes, even with the doors locked.

My legs carried me toward the IV stand just as the sound of someone jiggling the doorknob filled the room.

"Oh God," Yolanda whispered, taking a step closer to the bathroom. We were trapped in here and whoever was behind that door knew that.

With no time to spare, I picked up the half-empty bag of IV fluids and threw it on the bed, lifting the pole in my hands. The adrenaline kicked through me, making me feel stronger than I actually was, but I would take it. I had to.

One look at Yolanda told me everything I needed to know—she would be no match for those coming to attack us.

The chair shook as the unmistakable sound of someone slamming into the door echoed around us, and within seconds, the chair flew away from the door, which opened with a crash, slamming into the wall.

Two men stood at the threshold, their ugly fucking mugs grinning sinisterly at me just as they stepped inside. Both had full black tactical uniforms on them, with knives strapped to their thick thighs. They were bigger and definitely stronger than me, but I didn't go through all that training for nothing.

I didn't leave my blood, sweat, and tears on the tatami in the training rooms just to cower in front of these two. In any other situation I'd be a hundred percent sure I could take them both, but when the second one plastered his eyes to Yolanda who just kept standing there, crying with her little sobs filling the room, I knew I had to act fast.

There was no time to spare, no time to think, and as they pushed farther inside, I acted.

The cast on my hand stopped me from grabbing the pole properly, but it would have to do. I slid over the floor, the leggings I wore proving to be perfect for this, aiming for the first one’s legs. His eyes widened, eyebrows skyrocketing as my boot-clad foot connected with his knee, making him tumble down momentarily.

"Fuck!" the man grunted, trying to lift himself up, but I knew I had to finish this fast.

If he had a chance to get up and gain momentum, I was as good as dead. All I had right now was the surprise factor and nothing else.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and as he lifted his head up to look at me, I struck, putting all my strength into the hit right over his head. The clang that reverberated around us as the metallic rod connected with the side of his head would've been funny had we not been in this situation in the first place.

"Bitch!" His hand shot out, grabbing the pole I held on to, and with one of my hands practically out of service, he managed to shake me off, getting me to drop the thing. A wicked smile shone on his face before he slammed into me, lifting me up from the floor and throwing me onto the bed.

I thrashed against him as he wrapped his hands around my throat, his weight pushing down on me, reminding me of… No. Fuck no!

I was not a victim.

I was powerful.

I was Vega fucking Konstantinova.

Yolanda's scream tore through my head, through the panic slowly rising in my chest, and as the man on top of me put more pressure into the grip he had on me, I fought. I fought like a fucking wildcat, wrapping my hands around his throat, pushing my fingers into the indents between his esophagus and the muscles in his throat. He started coughing, but he never relented.

He wasn't letting go.

Black spots danced around his head, a clear sign that the air I was getting was nowhere near enough, and it was getting worse and worse. "They told us you were a fighter, but I thought they were joking." His filthy grin closed that sentence. "I'll enjoy breaking you."

"You. Will. Not," I pushed out as my hand connected with the needle attached to the IV bag. The other man was laughing, taunting Yolanda, playing with her as he probably cornered her.

My fingers wrapped around the thin needle, and before the man on top of me could blink, I lifted it up, pushing it through his eye. The shocked expression on his face was almost comical as I pulled the needle out and then stabbed him again and again and fucking again, until he pulled back, his hands trying to hold in the blood coming out of his wounds, covering his eyes.

I jumped up and pushed him down on the floor, my hands shaking, my mind reeling from what almost happened.

I was kidnapped, raped, and almost killed, all in the span of a week, now this fucker thought he could break me?

"You still think you could play with me?" I spat out, pulling out the knife he had strapped to his thigh. There was an undercurrent of fury swirling in my bones, begging to be let out. And as my hand wrapped around the handle of the knife, my fingers tightening, I struck.

The knife lodged to the hilt in his temple, the light in his eyes fading out, those amber irises filled with the fear I felt mere seconds ago. I knew he was dead. I knew he couldn't hurt me anymore, but I couldn't stop.

I pulled the knife out and stabbed him again and again and again… "Vega!"

Yolanda's panicked voice pushed through the fog in my mind and as I turned around, I saw the other man had her in his arms, keeping her back plastered to his front. The dark, gleaming metal shone underneath the yellow overhead light, while his eyes kept a hold of mine, taunting me, maiming me.

He pressed the barrel of his gun to Yolanda's temple, while she cried harder and harder, his arm wrapped around her neck. "I'll shoot her!" he thundered, his eyes wild. "I swear I'll shoot her!"

"Do it." I smirked. We both knew he wouldn't do it. He needed us, and the more leverage he had, the better it was.

"W-What?" Yolanda sputtered. "Vega?"

"Come on," I mocked him, slowly getting up. "We both know you won't do it. We both know you need to bring us in alive."

"I need to bring you alive, but not her." He smirked darkly, pulling the safety off. "She would just be collateral damage."

"Really?" I smiled, canting my head. "And what makes you think the moment you kill her I won't kill you?"

"I-I," he stammered. "I'll?—"

"What?" I laughed, positioning myself for what was about to come. "Kill me? You know you can't do that. You. Need. Me." I enunciated every word. "If you go back to your boss without me, he will probably kill you."

"No, he wouldn't." But he didn't look so sure of that.

He was too busy holding Yolanda and thinking about what I just said to pay attention to what I was doing. My finger pressed over the safety on the gun I lifted off of the dead man lying behind my feet, which his partner failed to see.

"You know they will kill you." I chuckled. "And they would make it painful. You need me alive and you can't go back there without me in tow."

His eyes flickered from me to the door, then back to Yolanda, and we both knew we weren't trapped in here with him anymore —he was trapped with us. He was the prey now, a dead man walking, and I couldn't wait to see his body at my feet, as life slowly dripped out from the bullet wound I was about to gift him with.

Whoever had sent these people didn't give them a proper briefing, because I had no intentions of ever being captured again. I had no intention of ever giving anyone else any sort of control over me. Had they known, they wouldn't be losing their lives today.

"How about you let her go and we discuss this as two adults?" I said, moving slowly with my hands behind my back. "You don't need her."

Yolanda sobbed, and I just hoped she'd be able to follow my instructions, because her life depended on it.

His grip on her was waning, and both Yolanda and I could see it, feel it.

The barrel of his gun pulled slightly back from Yolanda's temple, and it was now or never.

"Now!" I yelled out, praying to the gods, to anything celestial that would listen that Yolanda would understand what she had to do.

Yolanda ducked down, covering her head with her hands as I lifted up the gun hidden behind my back, aiming it at his head. "Sayonara, asshole." The sound of the shot being fired rang in my ears even in the seconds after he fell with a hole in the center of his forehead, tumbling on top of a screaming Yolanda.

I could hear my heart beating in my ears, feel it thundering in my chest, and when the new sound of footsteps right outside the door pushed through the sounds taking over my body, I turned around, aiming the gun straight at a shocked-looking Dimitri. "Whoa, whoa," he put his arms up in the air. "I come in peace."

" A u kurac ," I cursed, almost shooting him. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't sneak up on people holding guns?"

"Uh, yeah," he murmured, looking at the men on the floor. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't be able to kill two grown-ass men in your condition?"

I shrugged. "I guess I didn't get the memo."

Silence enveloped us when all of a sudden Dimitri started laughing, cackling, really, and shaking his head at me. "You're definitely something else, Vega."

"I am definitely pissed off right now," I remarked. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I'll explain everything on the way," he answered, looking past me at Yolanda. "Is she okay?"

I turned around, seeing her still underneath that man, shaking from head to toe. "Yo," I murmured, approaching her slowly and tucking the gun into the waistband of my leggings. "Yolanda?" But there was no answer. I pushed the man off of her, pulling her to her knees, but it was no use. Her eyes were firmly plastered to the floor and the blood spattered on the white marble, right next to the body of the man that had attacked us. "Fuck my life," I groaned, crouching down in front of her.

"Yo." I placed my hand on her shoulder, hoping it would pull her out of this catatonic state. "Yolanda?"

"H-He's dead." Her teeth chattered, and the shaking only increased. "They're all dead."

"I think she's in shock," came from Dimitri, who was now in the center of the room. "I don't think it's a good ide—" I slapped her cheek before he could finish the sentence. "Never mind."

She yelped, her hand flying to her cheek and those blue eyes filling with anger. "What the fuck was that for?"

"You're welcome." I chuckled. "Come on." I stood up, ignoring the vertigo in my head. "We gotta go."

"Like, now," Dimitri added, and I could see the confusion swirling all over her face as she took in the scene around her.

"Oh my God," she gasped, seeing the dead man right next to her. She jumped up, almost tumbling over her feet. "Y-You…"

"Yeah, I killed him. You screamed then kinda went into shock. Come on. We can rehash the entire thing later on." Because I had a feeling the adrenaline coursing through me wouldn't last much longer. "We're not safe here."

"Come on, ladies," Dimitri called out, already moving toward the door. "Arseniy is waiting for us in the car." He didn't wait for us before he left the room, and I knew by the hurried steps he took that we were in deep shit.

"Yolanda." I looked at her. "Can you walk?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Let's go then." I wrapped my fingers around her upper arm and started pulling her out of the room and into the hallway. I was surprised to see that none of the nurses or doctors were in the vicinity, since I guess we weren't as quiet as I hoped we would be. So, unless we got the fuck out of here as fast as possible, we wouldn't only have to deal with the assassins sent for us, but also law enforcement. And I really wasn't in the mood to deal with the German police.

Not today.

I dragged Yolanda all the way to the elevators where Dimitri now stood holding it open for us, pulling her in and taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart. "Are you okay?" Dimitri asked as we started descending, and as my eyes looked at the panel, I saw that we were going to the basement.

"I've been better." And I had been, but this weakness would pass eventually. It fucking had to.

This feeling, this anger, all of this would pass. I just had to push through the rest of the day and sleep. Just fucking sleep.

But as we exited the elevator and I saw Arseniy behind the wheel of a black Audi A7, I had a feeling that sleep would be the last thing I'd be able to get once we arrived at the Academy.

So much for me getting away.