Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
There was no time for her to text back, to ask him what to do, as the bedroom door swung open, and there stood Gustov. She saw blood pooling at the side of his head. The shot she had fired hit his ear, taking it clean off.
She had taken a chance, but now he held the gun on her.
“I can make this hurt, or I can end you quickly.”
Holding up her gun, she looked straight down the barrel at him. “Do you really think I’m going to let you take me out so easily?” she asked.
“You don’t have a choice. You’re going to die today, Anastasia, and you’re going to see your mommy.”
She hated him.
In that moment, she didn’t know who she hated more—Gustov for the lies he weaved around her mother, or her father for the life he could have given her but didn’t.
The cruelty of men.
“Fuck you,” she said. She couldn’t recall ever cussing at him. As long as she had known Gustov, she had been respectful. Her mother had asked her to be. Now, as she looked at him, she saw he had taken her mother for a fool. All this time, Gustov and her father had been working together.
Well, despite everything Gustov knew, there were a few things he didn’t know.
Looking down the barrel of that gun, she thought about her mother, and she didn’t even hesitate. She aimed and fired.
Gustov did not know that she had practiced whenever he wasn’t around. A single head shot was easy for her, because that was what she had practiced. Admittedly, she’d practiced in the hope of finally getting rid of her father.
Gustov, with a bullet wound in his head, fell to the floor, dying instantly.
Just as he collapsed, she heard the sound of the apartment door opening, along with the voice of her husband.
“Bogdan!” she screamed his name. She ran past Gustov’s body and met her husband as he came into the main corridor.
She didn’t even hesitate. As she threw herself into his arms, he grabbed hold of her.
“You’re alive,” he said.
“Gustov is not.” She pulled back and held onto his face. “He was working with my father.”
“I know. I know.”
“You do?”
“He’s gone,” Bogdan said. “I’ve taken care of it.”
She looked past Bogdan to see that Galkin had entered his apartment. “I killed Gustov,” she said. “I shot him in the head.”
Bogdan cupped her face and smiled at her. “I’m so proud of you.”
“There are not going to be any consequences?” she asked, suddenly realizing the full extent of her actions as she looked over at Galkin.
“Oh, there will be consequences,” Galkin said. “But not the kind you think. I have a feeling Bogdan’s wife is going to be just as feared as the man himself.”
From the look in Bogdan’s eye, she knew those were the consequences she would be happy to pay.
“I love you,” she said.
“And I love you. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For keeping yourself safe. I … couldn’t … I don’t want to live without you.”
She looked at him, and she knew this was the man for her, the love of her life.
And then, she kissed him.
Epilogue
Ten Years Later
Anastasia told everyone to be quiet as she heard the unmistakable sound of the car pulling into the driveway. Everything was perfect, or at least she had tried to make it as perfect as possible with four kids running around wanting to impress their dad. Three dogs, who seemed to want to go out for a walk every two minutes, and then of course, there was Galkin’s family who had also insisted on being part of the celebrations.
It was Bogdan’s forty-ninth birthday, and she intended it to be a special occasion.
She told Benjamin to be quiet, as he complained that it was taking too long. She saw Pierce in the corner, waiting to jump out and scare his dad. Then there were Molly and Evelyn, who were trying not to giggle. Their little family. They were going to try and keep the dogs in place, but their true master was Bogdan, and they followed his command.
The moment he walked in, if the dogs didn’t go to greet him, he would panic. There was an incident about a year ago, where she had taken the dogs for a walk, along with the kids. It started to rain, and the mud and dirt was everywhere. She had no choice but to take the dogs for a bath. Anyway, locking them in a bathroom with herself and four kids had been an experience. One that had lasted longer than the hour she hoped it would take.
Bogdan had stormed into the room, gun raised, and then had no choice but to pretend to turn it into a game for the kids.
No one had tried to attack their home, not for a long time.
Galkin had been right. Her reputation had grown. There had been a couple of attempted break-ins and she had been with Bogdan the whole way. Her training hadn’t stopped with Gustov. He’d been training her a lot more intensely for the last ten years, and she loved their training sessions. She truly believed it was through their sessions that they conceived Pierce, their eldest son.