Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
She got to the code panel and quickly typed in the code she remembered. The door opened and she stepped inside, then slammed her hand to the red button to close it. Dmitry had told her only she and he knew the code. No one else had access to it.
Putting Sofia down on the small bed in the corner, she cupped her face. Sofia cried.
“It’s okay, baby girl. It’s okay.” She pressed a kiss to the girl’s head. “You’re safe. Everything is fine.”
Sofia threw herself at Alix, wrapping her arms and legs around her. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.”
She lifted Sofia into her arms and turned toward the far panel. Dmitry had shown her how to access the computer to bring up the security cameras on each screen. Alix did that now, trying to stop her shaking hands.
She felt sick to her stomach. On one of the cameras, in the main hall, she saw three men down.
“Don’t look, baby girl. It’s okay.”
She moved through the cameras, hating how her hands shook. Going through the cameras, she came to a stop at the dining room. Dmitry was there. He was tied to a chair and there was a man she didn’t recognize, but one she did. George. Right there, in front of her eyes, she watched as the other man aimed his gun and fired at George. Her ex-husband had been shot in the head, and the man turned the gun toward Dmitry.
Alix didn’t know where his men were. She checked the other cameras and gritted her teeth. There was no way she could allow Dmitry to die.
Where were his men? Dmitry was completely defenseless.
You’re pregnant.
Not a fighter or a killer.
Turning toward the bed, she pulled Sofia off of her and placed her down. “Listen to me, Sofia, I need to leave.”
“No, please, don’t leave,” Sofia said.
“Look at me. I’m only going to be gone for a little while but your father needs me.” She pushed the girl’s hair back from her eyes. Her forehead was covered in sweat.
Alix took the ring off her finger. Sofia loved the ring. She loved playing with it. “You see this? This is going to keep you safe, because you know I’m coming back for you. I’m going to help your father, because he is going to marry me and I’m going to be your mother, and you and I, and your father are going to bring this little guy or girl into the world.” She nodded. “Isn’t that right?”
Sofia nodded but she did have tears falling down her cheeks.
“Do you trust me?” Alix asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Now, I want you to hold this ring, and I want you to count for me, and then once you have counted, I want you say the alphabet, and then once you do that, you’re to spell all of those words I taught you.” There was a notebook on the desk, and Alix grabbed it along with a pen. “Can you do that for me?”
Sofia nodded.
She kissed the girl and then pulled her in for a hug. “I love you, Sofia, and I’m going to go and help your father.”
Alix didn’t have a clue what she was doing. Stepping toward the panel, she slammed her palm to the button and the door opened. Typing in the code on the panel, the door closed, and now Alix was out in the open.
She found the secret tunnel to the main garage, and from there she made sure to take her movements slow. There was no one in the garage, and she was able to open the door to the main kitchen without a hitch. Her heart raced with every step she had taken.
She hadn’t thought this through. This was terrifying. Fear raced down her spine. This was not the cleverest thing to do.
The door to the dining room was open. She had only been in the kitchen a few times. Near the back door, she quickly covered her mouth as she saw a man with blood surrounding him. She didn’t recognize him and she heard Dmitry and the man she assumed was Angeloff.
“Do you really think they’ll listen to you? They will fall to you?” Dmitry asked.
“I have taken out the almighty Dmitry Balakin. The man who is supposed to be indestructible. Tonight I will kill you, I will kill your bride, and I will kill your little girl.”
Alix heard the threat, knew it was going to happen.
“Before I kill your bride, I might show her what a real man feels like.”
“A real man? Real men don’t rape,” Dmitry said.
There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh.
Alix looked around the kitchen and immediately spotted the knives. Her hands shook but she grabbed the blade and knew she couldn’t fuck this up. If she did, Dmitry, herself, and Sofia would die. She was not going to let that happen.