Phoenix's Revenge

21.

Nikolai POV

The pain in my chest is almost unbearable. The tightening of my lungs, the burning sensation that threatens to pull me under.

I hear someone by my bed and I reach out to them. Nothing happens. My hand doesn't seem to have moved and they don't notice.

"Hey!" I croak out.

Nothing.

"Still stable, no signs of brain damage, I'm not sure why he's not waking up."

Panic flares through my body.

This can't be happening.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Phoenix POV

"Uncle Calen!" I say as I bound towards him. I through myself at him and he catches me with ease. He holds me close to him, rubbing my back in soothing circles.

"Hey princess."

He sets me down as I wipe tears from my eyes.

I missed him.

He watches me do this and moves closer, bringing his own hand up to wipe the stray tears.

"Don't cry. I'm here now. We'll figure this out."

Tommy stalks out of the the manor and reaches his hand out.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Tommy. The brother."

They shake hands and immediately head inside to talk out the plan. My brain can't handle anymore of this, so I walk down to the frozen lake that sits below the property. I stare out into the frozen lake and finally let myself go.

I sink to my knees in the soft snow and sob. It seems as if the past few days wrack through my body at warp speed. The snow around me swallows the sounds I make, so I let out a scream. I scream for Nikolai, at Limp Wrist, at the Italians, at everything.

At everything that was done to me.

To him.

The snow around me acts as a buffer between me and the rest of the world. The pure, white fluff gathers around me. It's a cruel reminder of what I'll never be again. Clean. Innocent.

I kneel in the snow and send out silent prayer after silent prayer, begging a god I never believed in to bring him back. Let him live.

The snow crunches behind me and I'm instantly slammed back to reality. I whip my head around hand see Mr. Petrov's bruised face. It looks out of place against the stark white back drop. I quickly stand and wipe my eyes.

"Do you need something?" I snap at him.

He just stares at me with a blank expression but his hands twitch by his side giving away his plans. In an instant, he's lunging towards me with surprising speed and agility my back hits the ground while his knees keep me pinned there. I struggle and try every move under the sun to push him off, but he doesn't budge. He grabs my face and forces me to look at him.

"Do not come between me and my boys." He spits out. "Remember, you are just a piece of ass. Disposable and replaceable." His words send shivers down my spine. He finally releases me and walks back up to the house.

I brush myself off as a realization slams into my head.

Those words.

They've been said before in that exact way.

By the Italians.

My head spins at the information as I start to question everything in rapid succession. How did he know? How did the Italians know where we were? And that we'd be gone?

Mr. Petrov. Always, Mr. Petrov.

We are all in danger.

I have to play this the exact right way if I'm going to save us. No one can suspect a thing. If he catches wind that I caught on, we'd be dead before we hit the ground.

I guess we're fighting a fucking war on 3 fronts now.

I head back up the hill in a daze.

I need evidence.