Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
This was not the time nor the place, and she might not even make it to be able to worry about what was going to happen to her, if anything was going to happen. This was all crazy.
She found the access to the basement, and she didn’t like how easy this was going. It made her doubt Jack a little more.
Dmitriy would be coming in soon. His plan of attack was to come full force. He had loaded up his weapons, and they needed to trust that Jack was about to take out the cameras. He was only going to do that once she had gotten to Nikolai.
She found the basement, and there was no guard, no bolt, nothing. Pulling on the door, she was a little taken aback by how easy this was. This was not good.
With each step she took, and the plan seemed to be going without a hitch, she knew it was going to get worse. She would rather things go to shit right now, than later on.
She quickly rushed down the steps, and there was a small beam of light coming from the ceiling.
“Mr. Gnesin?” she asked.
She attempted to whisper the word. “Nikolai.”
And then, Nikolai Gnesin was at the bars of the cage.
“Who are you?” he asked.
The anger in his eyes was clear to see, along with the growth of his beard. He looked a little gaunt, as he had lost a considerable amount of weight. Nikolai Gnesin had been full of muscle, and had a little belly as he did like his food. At least, that is what she remembered, but that was gone.
“Dmitriy is going to try and get you out,” she said.
She didn’t know if she should tell him her name. What if it angered him?
“So, Dmitriy finally figured it out.” He smiled. “And they didn’t kill him.” There was a smile on his face.
She saw he had fading bruises. The clothes he wore looked dirty. He had nothing on his feet, and there was a chain around his ankle that tied him to the bed. Anastasia looked toward the cage, and of course it was held with a key.
“The guard keeps the key on him at all times,” Gnesin said. “You’re committing a fool’s errand.”
“No, this is not foolish.”
“They killed all my men,” Gnesin said. “No one knows I’ve been gone. Even Dmitriy didn’t realize I was gone.”
She looked at the bars of the cage, and then toward Gnesin. “But he did figure it out, and trust me on this, he is coming for you. Did you order the ... death of my parents?”
Gnesin looked at her. “I should have known you were the Babkin girl.”
“Why should you have known?”
“Do you think I don’t keep an eye on everyone?” he asked. “The way Dmitriy looked at you.” He sighed. “Yeah, I should have known he wouldn’t kill you.”
“Does that mean you didn’t send him, or did?”
Gnesin looked at her, but he wasn’t angry, nor sad. “I didn’t send Dmitriy, but I would have. Your parents got greedy, Anastasia. They wanted more reward, more power, which is why I’m in my cage. They set me up.”
“How?”
“By making me react to a false warning. I sent my soldiers to them.” Gnesin shook his head. “As I came here, this is where they were waiting. We didn’t stand a chance. They had already gotten in, killed my staff and the soldiers I left here. It didn’t take them long to remove the men that were protecting me. They disarmed me, threw me in this cage, and have been feeding me like a favored dog.”
“Surely you have a backup?” Anastasia asked. “You’re Nikolai Gnesin. The feared leader of the Gnesin Bratva, who always seems to have a backup.”
“Without proof of life, there is nothing we can do.”
She gripped the handlebars and growled in frustration. “Dmitriy is coming,” she said. “He’s coming to get you, and there is no way we’re going to let the Gambinos take you, or continue killing people.”
“Your parents betrayed me,” Nikolai said.
“In case you didn’t notice, I’m not my parents, and I’m not going to sit back and let this happen to you. The guards that have the key ... how many come down here?” she asked.
“There’s only ever one.”
She looked into his cage. “Is your bed made of wood or metal, because either way, you’re getting out of here, whether you like it or not.”
Nikolai looked at her, and then smirked. “I can see why he likes you.”
She didn’t have time for guessing games right now, she needed to get Nikolai out of there. She couldn’t believe her parents would do that, yet at the same time, of course they would. It was one of their many arguments. They had always wanted more wealth, more power, more status. Her brothers always had to be the best they could be. Her father had wanted to marry her off to one of the most powerful men in the Bratva.