Page 104 of Brutal Vows

I still have no clue what she planned to happen here, but she’s doing damage control now. If she really was unhinged and wanted Annushka for herself, she wouldn’t have gone through all of this, would she? Waiting until now⁠—

“Give this woman the fucking baby so we can deal with you.” The man pokes me again, making me fall over my feet and almost bump into Masha.

Masha laughs. “And what are you going to do with me, you fucking loser? Try something that hasn’t been tried before?” She lowers her hood and peels off her scarf, revealing the full extent of the Bratva’s horrific retribution on her face.

“Masha.” Luca’s voice comes from the side, cold. “Shut the fuck up. Give Lana the baby before we all get killed.”

He steps forward, and the barrel is gone from my back. Luca winces, buckles, and falls to his knees just as the sound rips past me.

“Luca!” I want to run over to him, but the barrel presses back in my side. God help us. It’s all out of control.

“Tell him to shut up too,” my Russian hisses over Annushka’s increasing screaming. “Or I shut him up permanently.”

“Fuck.” Luca chuckles, putting up a brave face. “Told you they’ll shoot without asking questions.” He’s clutching at his thigh, blood seeping through his jeans onto his fingers.

“You American? What the fuck? Why you in Russia?” my Russian says, his accent heavy.

“More like Italian,” Luca says, grinning up at him.

The Russians share glances, and I have no idea what it means.

“Italian?” the man who hasn’t spoken much repeats.

Luca rattles off a long sentence in Italian nobody understands.

“We go inside. We talk. We ask questions,” my Russian says in English, but then spits out in Russian, “For fuck’s sakes, take the baby and stop her crying. There were wolves here two days ago.”

“I–” I glance to the car. “I need the baby bag with her things. It’s in the car.”

The man nods, and I can’t afford to take chances. I might have to shoot that gun tonight. I retrieve the bag, then step up to Masha, not able to look her in the eye. I help her unstrap Annushka from the baby carrier with cold, dumb fingers and lift her out. Masha’s tears flow, quiet, but not desperate.

“It’s going to be okay, malysh, I’m still here,” she whispers to Annushka as she gives me a nod and lets her go.

Has she lost her fucking mind or what? I’m numb with rage, with fear and dread. In what world does she think what’s happening here is actually going to turn out with all of us leaving this place alive?

As soon as Annushka is in my arms, it’s as if the worlds shifts. It quiets. She quiets. My heart breaks for Masha because her one eye is hollowed out with a motherly pain I’ve lived with for months. She loves this baby like her own. I bite my lip hard, not wanting to give the intensity of the moment away.

The man scoots us forward with the gun.

“Let me help him,” Masha says as she steps out of line to Luca. She holds out her hand to him and helps him up.

They are dripping blood, and I want to take care of both of them. The Russians say nothing and herd us into the log cabin, Luca limping but not taking Masha’s offered arm.

As soon as we’re inside, I quickly take stock. It’s still the same as years ago but worn and decayed with more than age. Nobody has really been here for years, and it’s slowly going to pieces. But a fire is dancing in the giant hearth, and at least we’re out of the cold as the Russians stomp the snow off their boots without taking an eye off us.

They split us up. One man takes me and Annushka to the room that used to be a bedroom, now stripped of all furniture.

“You stay here while we talk to your Italian. Don’t try anything stupid. Both your Italian’s and Masha’s lives are in the balance. And just for the record, I won’t think twice about killing her too.”

He points the gun at Annushka, and I cower as his words constrict me like a thousand snakes, choking me up. I don’t need any more demonstrations of how they just shoot for no reason.

“Masha has no life,” I say. “They call her a witch. I wouldn’t mess with her if I were you.”

“Nice try,” he says and laughs in my face. “I don’t believe in that shit.”

He strolls out, closing the door behind him, leaving me in no doubt that they know exactly who she is, but have no clue who I am. There’s no lock, and I slowly lower the baby bag to the floor, clinging tighter to Annushka.

I sway with her in my arms, kissing her head, letting my tears stream down. I try to keep her calm and find my own equilibrium. I’m alone with my baby—finally, my tiny girl in my arms—but this isn’t how I envisioned any of this going. I want to walk back, help Luca, get him out of here.