When two worlds collide Mafia romance

Chapter 30 - Lena

I tucked the knife I stole from the kitchen earlier today into the waist of my pants. The cold metal pressed against my skin. I looked at Bella who was observing me with her round, innocent eyes.

"I will be back, Bella. I promise." I whispered, kissing her silky head, "and if I am not... if... if something happens to me... please don't let them hurt you. Please." Tears slid down my cheeks, worried I might be seeing her for the last time, wishing I could show her how much she meant to me. How much I loved her.

I slowly pushed my bedroom door open and exited the room, closing it gently behind me. I looked around. Quiet. Silent. But I had to be careful, I knew the guards were still around.

I knew exactly where I needed to go. The floorplan of the second floor imprinted in my brain. I walked slowly, cautiously. A guard. I flattened myself against the wall, waiting for him to pass. His unhurried steps faded away. I moved forward, my heart racing, but my steps steady, determined.

The staircase to the first floor.

I looked around. No one I could see. Footsteps could be heard from the distance. I hurried down the stairs. My steps were silent, my movements quick. With a resolute hand, I pushed the door open, sliding inside.

It was a hallway. Dark and silent. I walked forward. A heavily tattooed man exited one of the rooms, he paused when he saw me, tilting his bold head. He wore a short sleeve shirt. His tattoos ran across his face, down his muscular arms. He smiled cruelly. The man was pure evil.

I ran down the hallway and entered a room to my left, I heard him running after me, so I didn't stop, I opened a second door and rushed into a room that reeked of smoke and alcohol, then through that one to another, smaller, room with a bar and glass bottles lining the back walls. There was nowhere to go from there. Two men, the bold tattooed one from before, and another shorter, stockier one, followed straight after me.

"Who do we have here, baby? Why are you running, hmm?" The bold one came straight at me, his thick hand grasping me by my hair, and slamming my head into the shelves behind me.

Sharp pain cut through my body. I screamed, falling to the ground when he released my hair. I scrambled backwards. My hand reached for the knife.

The two men laughed when I raised the knife in front of me. Laughed.

I stood up, pulling myself away from them, the knife held in front of me. I felt hot blood trickling down my cheek.

"Stay away!" I screamed, "Stay away!"

"You want to play with knives, sugar, huh?" the shorter man pulled a knife out of his belt, the metal catching the dim light, "two can play that game," he grinned, "let's see who plays it better." He stepped forward at the same time as the bold guy.

The door behind them flew open. Cold air entered the small room.

"What the hell is this?" Nikolai's low, deadly voice sliced through the atmosphere. I whimpered, pressing my body harder against the back wall. My attackers stilled, the one with the knife lowered it immediately, staring at Nikolai in horror.

Nikolai strode forward, fury danced across his dark, deadly features. He walked up to the man with the knife without a pause, he grasped him by his shirt, lifting him off the ground and crashing him against the wall. Bottles clattered to the ground. Liquid spilled everywhere.

"You touch her again, and I'll break every bone in your body," Nikolai hissed, his voice cold and lethal.

"Boss, I didn't know—" the shorter man mumbled,

"You didn't think, that's what you didn't do," Nikolai threw him across the room, like he weighed nothing at all. Bottles, glasses, treys fell to the ground.

The large, tattooed man started to say something, but Nikolai didn't wait for him to speak. His fist flew into his face with so much force that the enormous man fell onto the floor.

Nikolai's cold, angry eyes turned to look at me.

"Stay back," my voice was barely louder than a shaky whisper. The knife I held in my hand quaked uncontrollably.

Nikolai's fingers curled into fists. The veins that ran along his arms stood out as his muscles coiled like tightly wound rope, straining against his skin. Raw power radiated from his body.

"I'll—just stay back." I whispered.