Indebted to the Mafia King

Tatiana

How the hell am I supposed to escape this place when I have no fucking idea where I am? Running toward the back of the chapel seemed to make the most sense to me since the fighting is all happening at the front-at least for now-so I sprint toward the door the priest likely used and pray it's unlocked.

Thankfully, it is. I slam through it, looking around to ascertain if there's any danger here. I see the priest huddled in the corner and almost roll my eyes. Hiking my skirt up, I take off toward a door I believe has to be an exit.

"You shouldn't do that!" he shouts. "They're out there, too!"

But my momentum carries me through the door before I can think, and I nearly run into a couple of Oleg's men who are defending the back entryway against what appears to be another syndicate, one of the many groups of enemies Oleg has accumulated over the years, no doubt.

"How the fuck did they find us?" one of the men in front of me shouts to the other in a thick Russian accent. I just have time to hide behind a marble column before they see

me..

"This is the Saints we're talking about, man," the other one replies, his breathing erratic. "They were probably waiting to attack as soon as they thought we were distracted"

Another barrage of gunfire has them occupied enough that I decide it's time to make a break for it. I have no idea where I am or where I'm even going, but at this point, I have no choice but to run. I pull my dress up so it doesn't trip me as I run in the only direction that seems to lead away from the onslaught. There might be a route to a different part of the garden, somewhere I can disappear from view until I can get my bearings.

Oleg will realize I'm gone soon, and he'll have his capos after me in the blink of an eye. I don't stand a chance against them, especially unarmed and unfamiliar with my surroundings, so I'm at a complete disadvantage here. If I'm going to take advantage of this situation, I have to get as far away from here as possible while his attention is on the Saints.

I have no fucking idea who the Saints are, but at the moment, they're my new best friends.

If Oleg survives this and I hope he doesn't, but I'm certain he will-I have to keep running. Hiding under his nose might sound like a good idea, but he'll have the entire chapel turned upside down to find me.

As I sprint across the open ground, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, hoping no one is after me. So far, I don't see anybody. It's so fucking hard to run in these shoes, but at this point, my feet are numb, so at least I don't feel them biting into my heels. My heart is in my throat, beating so hard it's about to break free. And this goddamn dress has to weigh at least three hundred pounds.

In front of me, I see what looks like a small wooded area. I have no idea how many of these places are left this close to the city, but I can't imagine there are many. Maybe I'll get lucky and this will lead to a park or some other place where I might be able to get help.

As I take off for the trees, I ponder kicking my heels off, but running barefoot in the forest might not be a good idea either. The last thing I need is to step on something sharp that will leave me a sitting duck.

I rush between trees, dodging what look like thorny bushes, and cut through a pile of leaves, nearly tripping over an exposed root. I gather my dress again and move toward a grove of cedars. My foot catches on something buried in fallen pine needles, and down I go.

"Fuck!" I catch myself with my hands, but a pain in my calf reminds me that I'm not completely unarmed. Ever since the day I stole that knife from Oleg's kitchen, I've been carrying it around with me, just in case I have an opportunity to use it. Now, despite the fact that I wrapped it carefully before securing it to my leg, it seems to have scraped me. I can't think about it now. I pull myself up from the ground and start running again.

The screams and gunshots behind me get quieter as I distance myself from the chapel. However, I hear a few muffled noises in front of me that sound like panicked people doing the same thing I am-trying to get away. I'll have to steer clear of them, just in case they decide to sell me out, but it's hard to be quiet in this fucking get up as I traipse through the forest, running for my life.

I see sunlight up ahead and realize I'm almost through the woods. Without looking too closely where I'm going, I rush forward. A snapping sound and another rough fall later, I realize I've broken the heel off one of the designer torture devices on my feet. "Fucking A!" I shout, pawing at my gown to pull it out of the way so I can see. I take the shoes off as quickly as I can and toss them into the bushes, hoping they won't be easily spotted when Oleg comes looking for me.

On my feet again, I take off running only to see another obstacle in my way.

I step out of the woods and am met with an iron fence that apparently runs around the entire forest, maybe the whole property.

"Are you shitting me?"

"The gate's over here!" someone shouts from my left. I know he's not talking to me, but that's good to know. Quickly, I dash back into the trees, trying to use the larger trunks as shelter so that whoever else is in the woods doesn't see me. In the distance, I see a couple of men dressed as waiters and a maid scrambling through an unlocked gate.

"Thank God," I mutter. As soon as they are out of sight and I don't hear anyone else nearby, I take my shot.

One by one, they squat down and crawl out from under fence, and one passes, I count a minute in my head before I follow them.

the las

Now that I have an opportunity to break free, I'm in such a rush I'm not being as careful as I should be. My dress is so wide,I have trouble clearing the opening, and the back of my dress snags on what appears to be a rusty shard of fence that's let go from the main column. I tug at it, using all my strength to detach myself, but these layers refuse to rip.

I'm fucking stuck!

I look around, assessing any threats and  consider what to do. Standing still, I feel more of my injuries than I did while running, and my calf begins to throb. Oh, yes! The knife! With a wicked laugh, I reach down and grab it from its hiding spot and use it to hack through the stuck material. Once I'm free, I attempt to tug the telltale fabric off the fence, but it won't budge-and i can't stand here all fucking day.

Deciding it's not worth it to continue to struggle, I lift up what's left of my skirts with one hand and keep the knife at the ready in the other, just in case.

In front of me, I see a narrow path and decide to take it. I still have no idea where I am, but any place is better than that chapel or Oleg's prison.

The path leads through another wooded area, and I realize the chapel must've been on another one of Oleg's various estates. We have to be close to the city because we didn't drive far to get here, but we are far enough away that I can't hear the sounds of congestion or smell the smog.

Trees line the side of the path. I rush down it, hoping it takes me to some public place. Rounding a corner, I think I see another open area in the distance.

And that's when I'm knocked to the ground.

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"Fuck!" I fall hard, rolling a few times, but managing to keep my grip on my knife. The sound of laughter to my left has me scrambling to my feet.

A man in a suit grins at me, the pistol in his hand pointed right at my chest. Where the fuck did he come from?

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," he says in an American accent. I know he's not one of Oleg's men because I don't recognize him, and most of them are Russian, but the fact that he's pointing a gun at me tells me he must work for one of Oleg's allies.noveldrama

"Let me go,” I say in as calm a tone as I can muster. I hope he doesn't notice the hand I'm holding the knife in is trembling just a bit.

"I don't think so, sweetheart," he says. "You think I don't know who the fuck you are?"

"I'm not a part of this," I tell him. "I'm not part of the Romina Empire."

"I don't give a fuck. You're the bride. You gotta be worth something." He takes a step toward me. "Now, be a nice little princess and drop the knife."

Instead of tossing it aside, I raise it higher, pointing it at him. It seems I have, indeed, brought a knife to a gunfight, but Lev taught me what to do in this situation. Granted, that was years ago, and I've never once had to use any of the combat skills he taught me in real-life, but the muscle movement should still be there-I hope.

If not, well, I'm fucking screwed.

"Fuck off," I tell him.

His eyes widen slightly in shock, but then, he laughs again and takes a few steps toward me. I anticipate his move as he goes to grab me, knowing he won't shoot me outright because my uncle would kill him. I dodge to the left, twisting around to grab the arm that holds the gun. I completely take him by surprise and manage to wrench the gun from his hand. He raises his other fist to hit me, but I'm still holding the knife. With a quick slice, he's pulling back, screaming. Blood squirts everywhere-covering his suite, spraying me in the face and all over the front of my hideous gown.

Well, it's not puke, but it might still be an upgrade.

"You fucking bitch!" he shouts, holding his arm. I must've hit a pretty good artery because that's a hell of a lot of blood.

With him distracted and bleeding, I grab the gun off the ground and point it at him. "You were saying?"

Clearly, he's not the tough guy he's been pretending to be. With his arm bleeding profusely and his own weapon pointed at him, he takes a few steps back toward the tree he was hiding behind. I guess he was put here to secure the perimeter during the wedding. He's done a miserable job.

Still keeping my eye on him, I take a few steps backward, debating whether or not it would be a good idea to shoot him in the leg so he can't follow me. But the gun doesn't have a silencer, and I don't need to announce to my uncle that something's happening in the woods right now. When I'm satisfied he's not going to chase me, I turn around and run as fast as I can toward the path, my knife in one hand, his gun in the other.

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Above me, the sun beats down, causing beads of perspiration to sting my eyes. I can't pause to wipe them away, though. At least the wedding wasn't a night event. While it would make it easier to hide,I wouldn't be able to see a fucking thing out here. I probably would've broken an ankle-or worse, my neck. Eventually, the path ends in an enormous green space dotted with a few trees, some flowers, and what appears to be a little pond off in the distance.

"Holy fuck," I mutter. "This is a park."

Glancing around, I see a few people here and there, but no one near me. On the other side of the park I see a parking lot and what appears to be some baseball diamonds. I don't see any buildings right away, but they have to be close by. Maybe there's a neighborhood. But then... where the fuck do I think I'm going? Am I just going to waltz in the police station and tell them I've been kidnapped by the Russian mob?

No, that's not a good idea.

Fuck. I'm still screwed.

I start walking down a trail that seems to lead to the parking lot, though it's a winding

path that goes out of my way before it returns to a straight shot to where a few cars are parked. I round a corner and come eye-to-eye with a woman about my age dressed in athletic clothes with her earbuds in.

Her eyes widen in horror as she takes me in.

"Shit," I mumble. I can't blame her for looking at me. I must look worse than the Bride

of Frankenstein wearing this dirty, torn gown with a huge blood smear across the front.

Not to mention I'm barefoot and have twigs in my hair.

She says nothing and takes off running again. I'm thankful she didn't scream, honestly.

With nothing else to do, I continue to walk, praying that my uncle isn't already coming after me.

Even if he's not yet, he will be soon.

Another jogger sees me, turns around, and sprints the other direction.

Glancing down, I realize there's a whole lotta blood on this fucking dress.

I have to get rid of it. Now.