Four Broken Pieces ✓

Fifty

  The so-called angels, as I'd identified them seconds ago were just ordinary men who'd pledged to be on Ivan's side. Ivan's father looked genuinely shocked but quickly regained his composure and steadied the gun to face my mother once more. My instinct was to bat the gun out of his hand and it distracted him for a split second that would cost him and save a life.

A man tackled him onto the ground before he had the chance to pull the trigger. They both crashed onto the ground and I turned and ran away from them before Ivan's father shot the man and turned to me once more. My mind was in a haze, but somehow my body was still working. Blindly running now, I suddenly felt a hand clasp my wrist. I was just about to shake it off before I realized who it was by the familiar shivers that went up my arm. I turned in his arms to face Mikhail, who had a few tears dripping down his face as he pulled me into a desperate hug and buried his face into my neck with evident joy and relief. His hand gently traced over my hair to comfort me as he clung to me for dear life like he was afraid I'd slip away. He was so desperate, so worried. For some reason I couldn't muster the same emotion. There was relief that decreased my burden slightly but that numbness still existed. It was like something had irrevocably shattered moments ago, something I'd never noticed but had always been there. A light of some kind that this day had blown out, and something new had emerged.

Now I just felt empty and cold and I didn't know how to fight it as it slowly took over my mind. Mikhail drew back and traced his finger across the line of my cheekbone with relief before taking my hand in his once again. Why wasn't I feeling overwhelming joy and relief that he was here, alive and safe in front of me once more? For some reason I wanted to shake off his hold. My hands were tainted with an innocent's blood and he was pure. I didn't deserve this touch.

"We need to get out of here. Ivan's helping them fight," he said to me. Sure enough, I saw Ivan's form weave through his father's men with effortless grace and skill I'd seen the first time we'd met. For a second I was taken back to that moment once again. What I'd give to be frozen in that moment forever? To be happy and young? To be just an ordinary couple? For a second I couldn't help but think how different things would be if I'd never spoken to them in the first place. Perhaps I would have never found love, but was love really worth what I was feeling now? My chilled heart and senseless veins that carried the blood of a dead, beating heart?

Ivan's face was a brutal mask of cold rage and wrath as he fought not to defend, but to hurt for all the pain they'd caused him. He was a demon unleashed and his fire could burn this room to cinders. It couldn't warm my frigidity though. Revenge, hatred and anger didn't call to me anymore.

"Alexei's over there." Mikhail pointed him out in the corner of the room. Alexei was standing there with a gun in his hand as he tried to detect exactly what was happening around him. His face was a mask of confusion as he looked rapidly left to right and kept the gun steadily in front of him. Mikhail grabbed my hand and we weaved through the crowd to get to him. His hand tightened on the trigger as we got nearer but Mikhail shouted before he shot a bullet at us.

I wouldn't have minded if he had shot.

God what was wrong with me? What had happened back there? Why did I feel like I was having an out of body experience as I glanced at my two boys, who I'd thought I'd lost and almost crumpled over just this morning? My heart wasn't feeling anything. I was drowning. I was drowning and not even Mikhail could see it.

"Roe let's go. We need to get you to a hospital." Alexei grabbed my hand this time and I let him yank me forward. I didn't have any fight to resist. We were almost outside when I heard a female scream.