<b>Chapter </b><b>179 </b>


    Elena’s POV:


    5 vouchers


    He was here. He’d actually arrived so quickly? I had expected him toe, but not so soon. Right, I had given away Niki’s phone to Lazar, but I still held Sergei’s. The one he’d given me, the one I rarely used, was inside my jacket pocket, zipped up.


    My n, if you could even call it that, had been to buy time, to wait for Sergei’s men to track the phone and arrive as ast resort. But he was here already, standing on the edge of therge, open construction site.


    The man’s hand was gripping my bicep, painfully.


    My head turned to look at Lazar, but he didn’t look shocked. He just smiled, a grin, as he looked at Sergei.


    The man let go of me and my legs wobbled as I fell forward. I was grateful for the relief but then a bullet shot right next to me, only inches away from my leg, kicking up a spray of dirt and gravel. I let out an involuntary


    scream.


    “You really should have. Would have saved us all a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it?” Lazar’s voice was a low, mocking whisper, a sadistic sound that was meant to break my spirit. “But you didn’t… and now your daughter’s life is in my hand.” He sneered, and I saw three of his men’s guns, cold, dark barrels, aimed directly


    at me.


    I was frozen, sitting on the cold, unforgiving floor, my mind nk. Unaware of what to do. My eyes turned to look at Sergei. But his gaze was trained on Lazar with such a fierce, a primal venom that if looks could kill, Lazar would be dead five times over.


    “What… do you want?” He finally asked, his voice low, his jaw so clenched that I could see the muscles in his cheek twitching from this far.


    Lazar smiled, a slow, triumphant thing. “Finally asking the right questions, aren’t you?” The atmosphere turned silent, a tense, terrifying quiet. Even a pin drop could be heard.


    “I… want you to make a choice.” Lazar finally began, his voice a low, chilling whisper. He started walking forward slowly, his boots crunching on the gravel. He bent down towards me, gripping my chin and pulling it <ol><li>up. </li></ol>


    I could feel the sharp, calloused tips of his fingers against my skin. I red at him, pulling myself away from him.


    He didn’t move forward and let go, his eyes glimmering with a sick, perverse satisfaction. “You want your daughter, don’t you? Then all you have to do is shoot him.” He said, his gazending on Niki, a cruel, a vicious proposal. My heart jolted, a sudden, painful spasm that was a raw, physical terror. The world went silent for a second, the air sucked out of my lungs, and all I could hear was the frantic pounding of my heart.


    “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I screamed, a raw, furious sound. Pushing up, I grabbed his cor, the fabric rough against my palms, and pulled my hand back. I punched him with all my strength, a wild, desperate blow that was all my rage, all my fear.


    My knuckles connected with his face, a sharp, satisfying crunch, and his head snapped back. He stumbled, the surprise a brief flicker in his cold eyes. I only stopped when another gunshot resounded, a sharp crack that echoed off the high walls of the construction site. My head shot to the side. This time the shot hadnded


    <b>12:06 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>4 </b>


    5 vouchers


    inches next to Niki’s chair. A warning.


    I looked back at Lazar, who was still smiling, his lips a thin, cruel line, with blood dripping down his nose, a single, dark stream that stained his shirt. “Didn’t I tell you to be obedient and I’ll let him go?” He questioned, his voice low and menacing. I red at him, wanting to punch him again, wanting to wipe that smug, hateful expression off his face, but afraid this time his men would actually shoot Niki.


    “Or… if you don’t, then I’ll shoot her and Niki can walk free.” He finished, a casual, terrifying ultimatum<b>. </b>My gut clenched, a cold, painful twist of pure terror.


    I knew it. I had expected this. He’d want my life in exchange for Niki’s. But what I hadn’t expected was that he’d ask Sergei to choose instead of me. If that was the case, then calling Sergei here had been a huge mistake. I had just shot myself in the foot. I had walked into a trap, and I had brought my father with me.


    I pulled back, trying to run to Niki. My mind was a whirlwind of frantic, desperate thoughts. Sergei and Niki might have gotten on better terms, a truce between two bitter enemies, but there was no way he’d choose Niki over me. And I would rather take the bullet myself than to let him shoot Niki.


    Only, I was too weak. Lazar’s men, grabbed my arms and pulled me back, their grip like an iron vise. I sneered at him, “Let me go! Just shoot me, damn it!” <b>I </b>screamed, my voice cracking. And “No! Elena!” Niki called out.


    He looked so helpless. Damn it. Why was I so useless? My body, my mind, my strength, it was all failing me. I was reduced to nothing but a bargaining chip, an object to be used, to be bartered.


    Another shot rang out then, a sharp, clean sound that cut through the chaos. But this time instead of Lazar, it was from Sergei’s side, a shot from his men, a silent answer to Lazar’s threats. My heart dropped, a cold, sick feeling, afraid to see what he’d done. Only the next second, I felt the arm around me loosen, the iron grip on me suddenly gone, and I realized he’d shot the guard holding me back.


    Not Niki. A single, perfect shot.


    Without another nce, I ran forward, a desperate, frantic blur, towards Niki. My only goal was to get to him, to be with him. “Wouldn’t the better solution be to just shoot you instead?” Sergei called out. Hope blossomed in my heart, as I stood in front of Niki, moving my hands to try to undo his chains.


    Only another shot rang out then, a sharp, painful sound, and Niki groaned. My eyes widened, my heart jolted, and I looked down to see that someone had shot his leg. It wasn’t a fatal shot, but it was a cruel, vicious


    warning.


    One of Lazar’s men. However, that was it. Two shots rang out, a volley of fire, and the war began. One after the other, the sounds of gunshots and screaming filled the air. My hands trembled in fear as I tried to undo the chains, but there was no way.


    I couldn’t. They were locked and way too big, too thick. The next idea that came to me was to drag his chair. A foolish, desperate n, but it was all I had.


    I knew Sergei was covering for me at this point. Only one bullet had shot near Niki. I could feel the warmth of the blood on his leg. But then I bent down, my heart fell as I realized that the metal chair was bound to the floor with chains as well. Almost like Lazar had nned everything in advance.


    There was a loud shout then, a desperate, pained cry. “Boss!” I turned to see Sergei’s men holding him up,


    <b>12:06 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>4 </b>


    5 vouchers


    and my eyes widened when I saw that he’d been shot. He was kneeling on the floor, his knee bloody.


    That only enraged their side as they began shooting at Lazar and his men with more fervor, more <b>rage</b>. With more than three dozen men in this whole ce shooting at each other, and my cover now gone, I couldn’t think of anything. Nothing. What do I do? What the fuck do I do?! The question was a frantic, terrifying scream in my mind.


    That’s when an idea dawned on me. A foolish, reckless, and dangerous idea. My eyes darted from the gunfight to him. However, I didn’t give the idea another thought; I just moved, my body reacting on pure instinct. I climbed on top of him, straddling hisp.


    “Elena?” Niki said, his voice a shocked, disbelieving whisper. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close, till his head was nuzzled into my neck.


    This was the best way I could shield his vital organs. It was a stupid, suicidal thing to do, but it was all I had.


    “Elena, what the fuck are you doing? Get off me!” He yelled, his voice a raw, furious roar. He tried to pull away, to push me off, but for the first time ever, I used all my strength, not letting him move. I could feel a tear roll down my cheek. I was going to protect him. I was going to save him. Just like he had done for me.


    “You’re going to get shot, Elena-” His next words were left unspoken when I jolted, a gasp escaping me as I felt the pain blossom onto my back. A sharp, searing pain, like a burning poker against my skin. I could feel the warmth of the blood seeping into my clothes, hot and sticky.


    “Elena!” He yelled, his body wracking with a fresh wave of panic, trying to pull away. But I didn’t budge. “Please, Niki,” I tried to calm him down, my voice broken. I could feel his heart beat, a frantic, pounding drum against me as my ears rang, a high, buzzing sound that masked the chaos around me. But I kept my hold strong. I couldn’t lose consciousness now. Not until the bullets around me stopped. Not until one side lost.


    I didn’t know how long that would take as I breathed and pushed myself through the pain, breathing shallowly, each inhale a sharp, searing pain. I tried ignoring his screams to get off him. Only this time, he didn’t scream. And I gasped as I felt him bite into my neck. Not soft. Not hard. But animalistically, like he was trying to push me away, hurting me to push me away.


    I shuddered, a full–body tremor. “Niko. Don’t.” It really hurt. I felt dark spots fill my vision, a creeping ckness that threatened to swallow me whole. But then I bit into my lips, a sharp, angry pain, blood seeping out as I tried to keep myself conscious and sane. Only I didn’t need to cause myself more pain, because then another bullet shot, this onending right on my shoulder. Too much, too near Niki’s head forfort. That’s when I finally heard it. His body wracking with sobs as he begged. “Please get down. Malishka. Please…. don’t do this.”


    He was… crying.


    I wanted to tell him not to cry. To wipe his tears, to tell him that everything would be okay. But the pain was way too much. How had he done this? How had he taken a bullet for me that easily? Like it was no problem, a simple, everyday thing.


    Another hit then, and I finally felt my hands slipping, the strength leaving my body. Please stop. That’s enough, isn’t it? How long would thisst? I can’t hold on any longer. My ears were buzzing with a ringing that masked any noise from the outside. ck spots nowpletely covered my vision, and I felt myself drifting.


    <b>12:06 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b>Sep 4


    “Please…” I whispered and prayed. Please let him be alright.


    田


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