We needed these back at the mansion. Perhaps I’d suggest it when Artur returned from war.
I was told that even the ventilation shafts were too narrow for someone to crawl through. It was fitted with motion sensors and grates.
The place that looked like a cabin in the middle of the woods turned out to be a vault dressed as a shelter. This was quiet and peaceful.
Out here, time seemed to move more slowly. Or maybe it was just my mind because I couldn’t stop worrying about my husband. I felt trapped in this fortress, unable to do anything to help Artur.
Knowing he was out there fighting for a world safe to raise our baby had me worried. He was up against the worst of the worst. And last I heard, the Bratva had refused to lend him a helping hand.
With each passing day, my anxiety grew, worried about his safety. Every time I closed my eyes, it was hard not to imagine him lying lifeless on the ground. And even my dreams at night weren’t helping.
For the past three nights, I’d been having the same nightmare, one in which he was killed in battle. I always told myself that it was just my fears manifesting as a dream. Yet I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
He said he was going to come get me within a few days. A few days was already turning into a week, and fear was gradually becoming my companion.
I spent most of my time in the garden at the back, praying for my husband’s safe return. I wasn’t religious. But these were desperate times, and all I could do at the moment was pray.
Just yesterday, I learned from Ilya that Artur was working with a man named Sergei Smirnov. According to him, Sergei was a cunning bastard, and the two men had been at loggerheads for years.
The fact that they were working together didn’t sit well with me at all. I understood that they had a mutual enemy, and it would be easier to take him down together. But enemies were enemies for a reason.
And with what I heard about Sergei Smirnov, the chances of him turning on Artur were quite high. However, knowing my husband, he wouldn’t have gotten in bed with a man like that without a plan.
I just wished that I were there to help him out in ways that I could.
Another man was also on their team: Anatoli Petrov. I’d been trying to recall where I’d heard that name before, but I hadn’t been able to remember.
Until now.
Anatoli was one of the men I met at the gala months ago. He was the short man with a sense of humor—the one I thought was a nice guy.
I didn’t know much about him, nor did Ilya, so it was hard to tell whether he could be trusted or not.
Regardless, trust was a dangerous luxury in this world. Artur knew that for sure.
To get my mind off my mental and emotional stress, I found a new hobby. Writing. Every day, I would sit in the garden for hours, writing him letters I couldn’t send. In those letters were the emotions and feelings I couldn’t express, the words I never found the courage to say.
“Dear Artur, this is the fifteenth letter I’ve written to you in just three days. Yeah, that’s how jobless and bored I am.
I know I’ve never said this before, but…I miss you. I miss your touch, your kisses, and simply being around you.
In case a part of you is worried about me, I want you to know I’m fine. We both are. The guards here are good people, and they’ve been kind to me.
I don’t even know what to say anymore. Just be careful out there and make sure you come back to us.
From your wife, Celine, with love.
Kisses.”
Chapter 24 – Artur
The war dragged on for weeks, as neither side was willing to surrender. Sergei had been on his best behavior this entire time. No neat tricks. Nothing to hint at a potential betrayal.
All I saw in his eyes was hatred. He wanted Rocco dead as much as I did. The two of us, together with Anatoli, had built an army strong enough to challenge the enemies. On several occasions, the battle was so fierce that they fled for their lives.
Sometimes, it was us who ran away so we’d live to fight another day. The longer we fought, the more the bastard recruited more people on his side. Rocco was a coward, one who depended on external help to win against me.
He knew that without all those people on his side, he was nothing. That’s why he chose to buy their loyalty with money.