𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 • 14 || ❝𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥❞

>𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃

· ·•◦───────·✧·──────◦•· ·

𝐌 𝐈 𝐋 𝐀 • 𝐎 𝐑 𝐋 𝐎 𝐕

With each day that passes, it's a day closer to the wedding. I'm staring at myself in the long mirror, I've tried on three other dresses and yet all of them look horrendous. Even with Kristian's no spending limit.

The dress I'm currently wearing drapes across the whole of my body leaving the spaghetti straps to hold up the heavy fabric. The chest part of the dress is embroidered with sequins, making the white sparkle under the light. The rest of the dress flows out slightly until it touches the floor. I open the curtain and watch as Elias' eyes are still drawn to his phone screen.

I fake cough, attempting to get his attention. Elias releases a deep, fed-up sigh and stares at me. "Happy?" He questions, but I find myself shrugging my shoulders. I turn back to the mirror, the last time I went dress shopping was with Nikita when we went to look for our perfect dresses for the perfect occasion. The exhibition. The first night Kristian met me, and the first time I met Kristian face to face.

I use my palms to smooth down my dress and turn back to Elias. "What do you think?" I ask, wondering why I'm really asking, because I don't value his opinion. I don't value anyone's but my own.

"It's fine Mila." He attempts not to show his boredom but any man who isn't the groom would be bored out of their mind watching a woman find a dress, let alone a wedding dress. I close the curtain and unzip the dress slowly, trying not to grunt in struggle. There was no way I was asking Elias to strip my zip down. In the mob world that was like asking another man to bed.

I slide my leggings and plain sweater back over my body, covering my skin and hanging the wedding dress back onto the hanger. It doesn't take long for me to find Elias standing and waiting for me. "Ready?" I enquire before he does. He nods and we pay for the dress and prepare to make our exit.

The sudden screams after I tap the card onto the machine causes me to jolt. I never jolt to gunshots or screams. But I don't have the time to retaliate. A body slams into me by surprise and knocks the wind out of me. "Get off me!" I exclaim to Elias, feeling his weight push against my body. He puts his finger to his lips and tells me to be quiet. I don't know what happens but I obey.

Muffled screams fill the wedding boutique, I hope that everyone has escaped. But Elias and I are still under a table. There are multiple accents that fill the room, Russian is the one I notice in particular.

"We're going to make a move when I say now, do you understand? We'll go out back to where my car is." I nod.

A few quiet moments later I hear Elias' voice rip through the silence. "Now." We both make a run for it; Elias stays close behind me while I make my way to the back of the boutique with the bag in my hand containing my new dress.

We run, making it closer and closer to the back door. Once we're through Elias slams the door shut and we race to the Mercedes.

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We begin to drive quick, taking different turns to get far away from the boutique. Elias has probably already warned Kristian about the attack, it's only moments before Kristian will be riding next to us. I stare out of the window in the passenger seat, attempting not to think about the attack, although, I seem to be failing at it.

The sudden swerve takes my mind away from what I was previously talking about, the car is no longer in the road but facing trees and has rolled down a slope. I hold on tight just in case we move further, I look around and find Elias sat up with his eyes closed.

"Elias?" I question while worry rips through my veins. I shake him, "Elias!" Once I notice I gain no response I put my fingers against his pulse, I find one but it's weak. I don't understand, how could he have a weak pulse? I undo my seat belt and examine Elias' body, realising that the blood stained to his top is coming from his stomach.

I quickly dig for Elias' phone and phone Kristian's number.

"Kristian?" He answers straight away, knowing that Elias is my bodyguard and for him to call Kristian it would mean that something serious has happened.

I give a brief explanation to what's happened and Kristian puts the phone down and tells me that he's on his way, and quite frankly I've never felt so happy to receive reassurance from a man before.

𝐊 𝐑 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓 𝐈 𝐀 𝐍 • 𝐏 𝐄 𝐓 𝐑 𝐎 𝐕

The moment I received Elias' call I was curious to know what it was. I didn't think it was anything serious, but now who could be sure?

I face Jace who looks at me with exhaustion, he's barely slept with a noisy Nadia. Rosalie has been so busy with work that Jace has had to take over with childcare, although she is his child and he'd want nothing more. I can imagine looking after a one-year-old is challenging. I know I wouldn't want to do it.

"I want them dead." I state. "They tried to kill Mila, and they've nearly killed Elias." Luckily Elias has come out of surgery now, a bullet skimmed his stomach, causing agonising pain. If either one of them had died I'd be one angry man, angrier than I am now.

Jace comes over to me and puts his palm onto my shoulder. "We'll get whoever it is Kristian. We always do." He reassures me but I don't know if it's working. The sweat is beading on my forehead with aggression. Words can't explain how angry I am.

With those wise words spoken by Jace, both Dimitry and Leonid enter the room. They scan my face for frustration and clench their jaw. "Go find the man who shot at them!" I exclaim. They both walk back out with their head held high.

Once I made peace with the situation and managed to keep my anger low, I decide it's best to go and see Elias. Whether he's awake or not is another story. I make my way to the ward on the bottom floor not far from the basement and find the door open ajar.

I take a small look and find Elias in the hospital looking bed, wires strapped to every part of his body and a droplet of blood seeping through his bandage. He's bare chested, and I know full well Elias would've hated to be out on show for anyone to see. The curls on his chest bounce with every breath he takes, but that isn't the only thing that catches my attention.

Turning to look at the end of his bed I find a chair with a small frame sat on it. Mila. I don't want to startle just yet; I take the time to admire each of her features. Again, her eyes are red raw and swollen from the side, no doubt she's been crying. Since Mila has been trapped in these walls hers seem to have fallen, with each passing day she seems to open herself up more to the reality there is no getting out of this. Mila wasn't one to show emotions, but why now?

I clear my throat to make my presence known, her eyes instantly dart to mine. She sighs. "I was just leaving." She states and I nod. I let her go without uttering a single word to her.

Walking towards the bed I decide to take Mila's spot and take a seat on the chair. Watching Elias look so peaceful was peculiar. Out of all my men, Elias is the only one who keeps his walls up. We know so much about him, yet he refuses to discuss any of it. From his family to his current personal adventures around the world. It was obvious he'd be busy while doing spy work in other countries, letting loose a bit to fit in. But he'd never discuss it.

"When will you stop acting as if I'm dead?" A gruff sound penetrates my silence. I look over and find Elias chuckling with the wires attached to his nostrils and chest to monitor his heart.

"I didn't think you were dead." I promise. Elias gives me the look, trying to work out it I'm lying or not. But Elias is one of our toughest men. He's been so much through his life, if his life ever ended, I'd be surprised more than upset.

"Did you catch them?" He asks, attempting to sit himself up but instead groans in agony.

"Keep yourself down." I order. "Not yet, we have no leads, do you remember much about the attack?" I enquire, trying to squeeze every ounce of information I could get as if he was an orange.

"Everything is a bit hazy." He sighs, "Maybe Mila knows something?" He questions, not painting her with a rat brush, but with a victim one.

Thinking of it, I haven't even spoken to Mila. She's more than likely going to remember something "Maybe."

"Thank you for your service out there Elias, and protecting her." The words slide out, I don't care about Mila. This marriage was a punishment for her in one way, what was she getting out of it now that she knew her dad was an arse?

· ·•◦───────·✧·──────◦•· ·

The conversation with Elias only lasted ten minutes before I allowed him to get some more rest. Now, I was on the hunt for Mila, I just didn't know where she was. "Maxim." I demand. He turns to stare at me with eager eyes. "Have you seen Mila?" He points to the gym which is opposite his post. He knows full well if I saw him standing in there, watching her workout.

I walk into the gym and find Mila opposite the boxing bag, forcing out her punches as if she's been holding them in all day. I don't doubt she has.

"Mila." I gain her attention; she holds the bag still and removes the bandages away from her wrists. "Can we talk?" She nods and takes a seat on the bench, waiting for me to start.

"Did you see what any of the men looked like? Or how many there where?" I ask. She shakes her head.

She sighs and looks at the floor, playing with the bandages in her hand. "Elias shoved his body against mine way before I could see anybody." So, that's why she feels like rubbish. He saved her, which I had no doubt he'd do. Elias is one of my most trusted men, plus it is his duty.

"Was there anything about them that was out of the ordinary? Anything is better than nothing Mila, remember that." I try not to use the tone of authority with her and demand who these people were. But both Elias and her could've died today.

"There were multiple men, from multiple places. They all had accents...one was even Russian." The blood suddenly becomes warm in my body, I clench my jaw and ball up my fists, attempting not to lose my shit. The last Russian betrayal we had was Mila's father. We really didn't want one of our own fighting against the Bratva. Plus, without knowing...The majority of my men were suspects, potential rats for intel.

I thank Mila and get to work, things between us are still awkward, she's avoiding me so I think it's best if I give her some space, although, how much space would one woman need? It's our wedding soon and we have to look real.

But in the meantime, I need to catch these Russians and play pretend.