It was dark that night. Ivan surveyed the surroundings one last time. He wanted to make sure no one had followed him. No one should know that he was here.
The front door to the little apartment complex opened. A weary mother of two toddler twin boys dragged her children out of the place. Ivan hurried to hold the door open for her. She turned around to thank him but was frozen silent.
Ivan had seen this look before. He tried his best to put on a smile. It was small enough that it wouldn't qualify as creepy but sincere enough not to seem cruel. Creepy and cruel attracted unneeded attention. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, everybody ran the other way without another word. Well, there was always one special exception.
Since Ivan still had the door open, he wouldn't have to call up to have someone open it. He made his way through the lobby and up the stairs as inconspicuously as possible. He was actually pretty successful at this despite his size. He was 6'6" and not exactly a beanpole. He had actually gotten quite good at sneaking up on people.
He made sure his feet didn't make a sound as he went through the hallway. When he got to the door, he did his best not to let his keys jingle as he fished out the spare one he had made. He had almost got it in the lock when the door to the apartment opened.
"Nice try, big guy. You're late."
She stood in her doorway staring at Ivan. Her hand rested on her hip. She took a bite of a half wrapped cheeseburger in her hand. Ivan straightened up and couldn't help but smile.
"Hello, Amelia," he said.
Amy reached up and pulled on the collar of his shirt. She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed her boyfriend, her own special ketchup flavored way of saying hello.
"I got you food. Let's get this night started!" she said as she pulled Ivan into her apartment.
They sat together on her couch in front of the TV. Ivan wrapped his arm around her, and she nestled into him. She placed the fast food bag on his lap.
"What's the matter?" she asked. Ivan looked down at her as she took another bite of her burger. "You're not eating."
"I'm not hungry," Ivan said.
"Bullshit," she said. She waved her burger in front of his face. Ivan didn't take the bait. She sighed and placed her hand at the back of his neck. She pulled themselves together for another kiss. "You worry too much."
"I don't worry enough," Ivan said.
"I don't want you to worry at all," she insisted.
Ivan kissed her back longer than she had kissed him.
"Not tonight," she continued. "Tonight is sacred. I need you here with me for movie night. No worrying allowed."
Ivan sighed. There was no way he could not worry. Ivan was a dangerous guy. His family was very dangerous. He didn't want to be dangerous, and he sure as hell didn't want Amy to get dragged into that danger. Amy knew about it. He had told her everything. She said she didn't care. She said she loved him regardless. She said she knew that he wasn't the danger.
"What are we going to watch?" he asked.
Amy smiled and nestled back into him. "The new Star Trek movie. You're going to love it!" She picked up the remote and pressed play. The movie started in the dark room. Ivan turned his head and kissed Amy's amber colored hair.
She turned her head towards him once she had felt the pressure of his lips. She popped her mouth wide open comically. She got a chuckle out of her boyfriend. Ivan dug his hand into the bag and pulled out a single golden fry. He stuck it in her mouth, and she chomped on it happily.
The credits were rolling in the black once the movie was over. Ivan looked down. The various fast food wrappers littered the immediate area. He looked over to Amy. Her half closed eyelids fluttered.
"You asleep?" Ivan asked quietly. Amy always got a little too comfortable around him. This wouldn't be the first time that she had fallen asleep in his arms, but Ivan didn't mind. He was prepared to carry back to her bedroom if she didn't respond.
"Nah," she said. She looked sleepily up to him. "I'm awake. Did you like the movie?"
Ivan nodded. "I liked all the spacey stuff." Amy had always made sure to play a sci-fy movie whenever he came to visit. They were always movies they both liked to watch.
"I liked Chekov," Amy said with a smile.
Ivan rolled his eyes at her. "You would."
"What?! He's cute! And Russian!"
"You know, I can't ever be a Chekov," Ivan said.
"I know," Amy answered. She twisted around in her spot and brought her knees up to the couch. She supported herself on them and leaned over to Ivan. She wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders. She pressed her lips on his jawline near his ear. "But you are Russian."
"My family's from Russia," Ivan amended.
Amy's soft laugh flicked across Ivan's skin. "And you are cute."
She continued to kiss his face. She ran her hand across his chest as she brought them to the shoulder closest to her. She felt down the muscles in his arm as she moved to grip his hand. She maneuvered said hand to her breast.
"Amy..."
"Oh, don't pretend you're not as excited to see me as I am to see you. We haven't been with each other in forever," she seduced him.
Her hand curved from his outer thigh inward. She let out a satisfied and smug "ah ha!" when she felt something hard. She had a surprised and confused look on her face when Ivan scooted gently away and removed his hand from her chest. The outline in his pants wasn't at all what she thought it would be.
"Amy..." Ivan started again. This isn't exactly how he planned this would go, but he had learned with Amy to expect the unexpected. Ivan got up from the couch and stood right in front of her. She flopped down on her butt as Ivan got down on one knee.
Out of his pocket, Ivan produced a small black ring box. Amy used her hands to cover her face.
"Amy, do you remember the first time we met? You knew way deep down in your very soul that you hated my guts?"
Amy nodded.
"Well, that was the day that I knew I could never get enough of you," Ivan said.
"You followed me around like a creepy stalker," she clarified.
Ivan nodded and laughed. "I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to do with myself. I had never felt like that about anyone before. All I knew was that I wanted to know more about you. One day, you caught me and said..."
"Listen up, if I let you ask me out, would you leave me the alone?" Amy played her part. "And you just stood there grinning like an idiot."
"I was happy that you wanted to go out with me!" Ivan defended.
"That wasn't the point! The point was..." Amy shut herself up. "Anyway, moving on. I already know all that stuff. I was there the entire time. Same as you."
There was silence for a bit.
"Ivan..." Amy whined. The suspense was killing her. She snuck a peek between her fingers to see Ivan with that same stupid smile that she had grown to love.
"Amelia Faith Jones, you made me the happiest man in the world the moment I saw you. I know times are sometimes difficult between us. Neither one of us are very easy to put up with."
Amy laughed at that.
"But I love you, and I won't ever stop loving you. You give my life meaning and warmth. I can't imagine my life for even a second without you in it. What I'm saying is..." Ivan opened up the box to reveal the diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"
Ivan really didn't have any idea what her answer would be. Amy had always been proud that she was a free spirit, and marrying Ivan wasn't exactly a very good choice considering his family.
"Yes, already! Yes!" Amy slapped her hands to her legs. "I'll marry you, and I love you so freakin' much right now! Now can you get up here, so we can get back to business?" she asked.
Amy's face was flushed pink. She was trying hard to cry. She didn't want Ivan to think she was weak or over-emotional even now when she was so happy.
Ivan took her left hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger. He scooted his body closer to her until it touched the couch. Amy took that ring hand and knotted it into Ivan's gray-blond hair. She leaned down and kissed him fiercely.
Ivan matched and surpassed her intensity. The race was on. Each kiss was a competition between them. Ivan reached up and kneaded his strong fingers deeply into the denim at the back of Amy's shorts. Amy moaned involuntarily. She angrily kissed her way through Ivan's half-formed smug smile.
Ivan pulled Amy closer to him like so that their bodies would touch. Amy took it a step further and whipped her legs out one by one. She wrapped them firmly around Ivan's torso, pressing her warmth into Ivan.
Ivan groaned, and Amy laughed once in triumph. Ivan moved his kisses and nibbled gently on her neck. Amy gasped but sought no form of payback. She simply clutched his face tighter to her.
Ivan got up slowly. Both parties kept a firm grip on each other. Ivan made his way over to Amy's bedroom, knocking into the walls a couple of times. When he got within distance, he threw Amy on the bed. Amy adjusted herself on the sheets. Ivan's hands were busy pulling the shirt over his head. He hastily threw it to the ground and ripped off the Velcro straps on his bulletproof vest. The vest went to the floor with a heavy thump.
Ivan crawled over to his fiancée. He got his hands to pull Amy out of the shirt she was wearing. Amy pulled Ivan down to her. Ivan wrapped his arm around her bare back. They met somewhere in between. Their bodies weaved and undulated together as they synchronized in their passion.
Amy looked up at her hand. The morning light glittered off her ring. Jewelry wasn't typically her style, but if it was for Ivan...
There was a sudden ringing in the room. Amy remembered putting her phone on vibrate the night before, so it must have been Ivan's. She motioned to push her sheets off her but immediately retreated. The morning was a bit too cool to be stark naked. She looked over to Ivan. He hadn't moved an inch. She held the sheet close to her body and took it with her when she went on search for the phone. Doing so caused the sheets to get thrown off of Ivan. He had always been a bit more resilient to the cold than she was.
She shuffled to the foot of her bed where she found the pants she had so happily discarded last night. She dug into his left pocket and then his right until she found the little sucker. She looked back to Ivan when she heard the sheets rustle. He was finally starting to wake up.
"It's your phone," Amy said. Ivan mumbled something incoherent. "Deal with it."
She threw the cell phone to his bare chest. Ivan groaned but eventually answered it.
"Da?" Ivan answered groggily.
Amy shuffled back to her side.
"I'm fine." There was slight irritation in his voice.
Amy flopped back on the bed. The sheet she took with her was wrapped and bunched around her.
"I said I'm fine! More than fine actually." Ivan ran his fingers down Amy's bare arms and clasped her hand. "And yes. I'm somewhere safe."
"You can tell him I don't give a damn what he thinks." He circled his thumb on the back of her hand. "And frankly, it's none of his business what I do at night."
Ivan sighed. "Yeah. I know. Bye." Ivan turned towards Amy and hung up his phone.
Amy smiled excitedly. This was all happening. "Mrs. Ivan Braginski. Mrs. Amelia Braginski."
"Sorry about the name," Ivan commented.
"I kind of like it. Rolls off the tongue." Amy clicked her tongue at the end of her sentence.
Ivan smiled as well. He shortened the distance between them and kissed her sweetly.
"You know we're probably going to have to elope," Ivan said.
"Perfect!" Amy said. "I'd rather not have to fight off your sister in some obnoxious white dress." Ivan wrapped her up in his arms. He really did love this woman. "Where would you want to go?" she asked.
"Somewhere far from here," Ivan answered. Somewhere where people didn't even know what a Braginski was.
"I was thinking Kansas," she said. Ivan gave her a confused look. "A place where nothing happens, and we can spend our days doing nothing but watching the sunflowers grow."
Ivan laughed. A place like that hardly seemed possible after this kind of life.
Amy elbowed him in the stomach. "I'm not kidding. No one would ever think to look for us there."
Ivan kissed her and kissed her again. "I love you," he cooed. "I love you so much."
"Don't think I'm going to let you get away with laughing at me." Ivan kissed her again. "In fact, I don't think I can ever let you get away."
Ivan grinned and started to kiss her with more intention. He pulled down her sheet, exposing her breasts. He cupped one of them in his large warm hand and tenderly massaged it with his palm and fingers.
"Mmm!" Amy hummed into their kiss. She suddenly broke away. Ivan's hold on her loosened, and she pushed herself away. "I forgot about the condoms in my car!"
"Can't it wait?" Ivan asked. Amy got out of the sheet and ran around her room. Having Amy parade around like that in search of her clothes only made Ivan want her more.
"I got them special for last night. You distracted me, so we never got to try them out. They say you can hardly feel them," she said. She finished clasping her bra and got back in the clothes she wore last night.
"If you don't want it to feel like it's there, why use one at all?" Ivan asked. She gave him a look, leaned over the bed, and kissed Ivan quickly.
"I'll just be a minute. I'll make it up to you when I come back," she promised.
"You can make it up to me now if you want, sweetheart," Ivan said.
"Who are you calling sweetheart? I wear the pants in this relationship," Amy teased right back.
"Not for long," Ivan growled. He reached for Amy's shorts, but she leaped out of his way.
"One minute!" she giggled and ran out of the room.
Ivan sighed and threw his hands behind his head. He loved these nights and mornings with Amy. Amy was definitely the place he came home to. She was the family that mattered.
"Ivan!" A muffled high pitched scream filled the air.
Ivan jumped out of bed. That had come from outside. He went to the window. Amy was kicking and screaming as she struggled against three grown men in the way to the parking lot. One of them let one arm go of her leg and punched her in the face. It looked like she was knocked unconscious.
Ivan was running on instinct and pure adrenaline. He only managed to slip on his pants before he flew out of Amy's apartment. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. All he knew was he'd get Amy back and make sure those bastards wish they had never been born.
"Move, move, move!" he shouted as he tried to make his way outside. There were way too many people blocking his way. He pushed his way outside but it was too late. The car, the men, and Amy were gone.
"Damn it!" Ivan screamed. He felt like his insides were being ripped apart. He pushed through the pain and started to run. He couldn't process what had just happened. He wanted to throw up, but he was pathetic enough as it was without shoes or a shirt. He couldn't go back to the apartment even if he wanted to. Ivan was out on the streets searching for anything that looked like the car.
A black car with tinted windows squealed up to him on the street. Ivan knew right away it wasn't the car he was looking for, but he hated it all the same.
"Get in, sir." The passenger door flew open in front of Ivan. Ivan gritted his teeth and got in. He slammed the door behind him.
"I thought we were friends, Toby," Ivan said through his barred teeth.
"I am your employee, sir. Don't confuse employment with friendship," Toby responded.
His long brown hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. The road rushing by was reflected in his dark sunglasses. Toby tapped the ashes from his cigarette out the open window.
"Where the hell were you?" Ivan hissed.
"Looking for you, sir," Toby said.
"Were you looking for me because of my father, or were you looking for me because you knew what was going to happen?" Ivan asked.
There was silence from Toby's end.
"God damn it, Toby!" Ivan shouted. He pounded against the dashboard. "You called me five fucking minutes before it happened!"
"And I verified that you were in fact safe, sir," Toby said simply.
"They weren't after me, Toby! They were after...they were after..." Ivan couldn't finish his sentence. His mind was too full of rage and despair and...
"Amy was not my liability as you constantly remind me that I should have nothing to do with your private life, sir," Toby said.
"Toby, I swear, I am this close to beating you within an inch of your life. If you value anything, I suggest you tell me something I can work with. License plate numbers. Anything," Ivan said.
"The plate numbers were untraceable, sir."
"But you have an idea of who's behind this." A trace of sinister hope was in Ivan's voice.
"Sir, I am ordered to take you directly to your father," Toby replied.
"Son of a bitch..." Ivan muttered. Toby was ultimately employed by Ivan's father but had watched over Ivan for a greater part of Ivan's life. Toby had kept a lot of things about Ivan from his boss. Ivan knew that if Toby was kept quiet on this, his father was up to something worse than usual.
Ivan fumed in silence all the way to the Braginski residence. He entered it in a storm as he made his way to his father's office.
"Sir, your father is..." One of Ivan's father' men said as he passed by.
"Does it looks like I care?" Ivan shouted.
Ivan knew the way by heart. This wasn't the first time he had gone to interrupt his father. The twisting hallways passed by in a blur.
Suddenly, his back was slammed against the wall. A slim strong arm had his shoulders pinned.
"Brother dearest, have you come to seduce me?"
Ivan's sister was quite a bit shorter than her brother. Her hair was a lighter shade of blonde and fell to the middle of her back. Her blue eyes looked over her brother's bare chest. Her pale pink lips trailed up in a cruel smile.
"Natasha, get your hands off me," Ivan said angrily.
"You don't scare me, brother dear." Natasha's fingers walked up to Ivan's neck. "I can't be scared of the man I love."
"For the last time, Natasha, I do not..."
"Oh, I don't care that you don't love me back," Natasha said. "I just need you to marry me. Unions like ours aren't unheard of after all. Keep the Braginski line strong... I'll even let you keep that Amy slut as a plaything while I'm busy running the family business."
Ivan slammed his little sister against the wall. He was livid at this point.
"Ooh, Ivan," Natasha softly moaned. "I like it when you play rough. If you want to continue this little love fest, I know just the place."
"What did you do to her?" Ivan growled.
"I haven't done anything to her, brother dearest," Natasha said innocently. "Why would I do anything to hurt my beloved future husband?"
He pushed her aside and continued his pursuit. He ignored his father's secretary and made his way into his father's meeting room.
A man with steely eyes looked up at him. His once blond hair had aged to a stark white. He sat at the end of a long table. The table was filled with men in black suits. Ivan had met quite a few of them before. He didn't like them.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. I do believe my heir has important business to discuss with me," the man at the end of the table said.
The men chuckled. They passed by Ivan as they exited the room.
"Well, are you happy now?" Ivan fumed when everyone was gone.
"Quite so. My favorite son has come to see me, but I infer you're referring to something specific." Ivan's father leaned back in his chair.
"Where. Is. Amy," Ivan said slowly.
"Amy, Amy, Amy...now who would that be?"
"MY AMY! AMELIA JONES! Where the fuck is she, and don't pretend you don't know," Ivan shouted.
"Contrary to your belief, I don't actually know where your little...Amy is nor do I care. I only know who has her," he said.
"Then who has her? Who has Amy?"
"I don't think I'm going to tell you," Ivan father said after a moment.
"You can't..."
"I don't believe in disadvantages, Ivan." Ivan's father got up from the table and walked toward him. "I believe they become advantages for something else. I built this business from doing things others wouldn't dream possible. Unconventional things. Things beyond beyond people's nightmares."
Ivan's father got up in Ivan's face. "Don't you dare tell me what I can and cannot do."
Ivan stood his ground. He had inherited his stubbornness from his father.
"You are my son whether you like it or not. It's high time you started acting like it," Ivan's father said. "Figure it out yourself." He left his son alone in the room, closing the door behind him.
Ivan started screaming then. Ivan knew full well that the walls were soundproof. No one could hear him. He flipped the chairs from the table one by one. He'd flip a chair on one side then switch to the other in an energy-wasting, time-consuming, childish display.
He got to his father's chair. He stopped screaming. He collected himself into a silent anger. He sat down. He looked down the table and the disarray. He rested his chin in his intertwined fingers. This was the perspective of power. A dark power he had promised himself he would never control. But this was for Amy. Would he do it for Amy?
For the next few days, Ivan was a wreck at best. He couldn't sleep. He'd lie awake in his bed. He'd yearn for her soft warmth and the way she slept beside him. He'd see her curves as they arose from the sheets. He'd feel her soft breath on his skin. The sweet disturbance as she would shift positions in the night. He couldn't eat. The heavy emptiness consumed everything except pain like a black hole.
There had been no signs. The kidnapers had't even left a note of ransom. Ivan had been keeping a lookout. No activity of that nature from any of the major Braginski enemies that he had known about. No activity of any nature for that matter. The black market world had been oddly and inconveniently quiet. Usually, there were people begging to sell their secrets. They were all scared stiff.
Ivan took another swig from his water bottle full of vodka. No one paid notice. Ivan could take it just like water. The burning sensation as it traveled down his throat was a much milder fire than what he had been dealing with. The resulting numbness was the payoff.
His breath condensed in front of him. He proceeded to walk through the neighborhood. It was the kind of neighborhood that made people quicken their step and lower their gaze. It was the kind of neighborhood that hailed the origins of urban legends and other modern scary stories. Ivan headed through without a flinch. He was living through much worse. Yet, despite all the promised horror, there was nothing. Nothing was all Ivan could expect.
He made long walk back to the Braginski house. His father wanted him to sit in on another meeting where nothing significant would be said. A meeting he was already running late for.
No one tried to stop him as he went to the meeting room this time. He opened the doors to find the meeting hadn't even started. His father was standing behind his chair.
"Ivan, there you are. Have a seat," he said, indicating to his own.
Ivan didn't take any moment to question the situation. He took his father's seat and charge of the meeting.
"Don't waste my time. Carefully assess your reports and keep it short," Ivan said.
Most of the reports went as normal. Successful transaction. Appropriate disciplinary action.
"We found something."
Ivan looked up at that. This was something new.
"Excuse me?" Ivan asked.
"We found something," the henchman repeated. He leaned in from the other end of the table. "A small package addressed to the Braginski family. I took the liberty to..."
"What did I say about not wasting my time?" Ivan asked sternly.
"But sir..."
"If it's addressed to Braginski, you give it directly to me. Is that understood?" Ivan's voice raised.
The henchman's eyes shifted in fear from Ivan to his father.
Ivan stood up. "As long as I am in this position, I am Braginski. You answer to me! Now, go get that package!" he shouted.
The henchman scrambled to get out his phone. He muttered a few quick words. Just a few seconds later, there was a small opening at the door. The henchman got up and exchanged a few words. A tiny brown package was deposited in his hand. The henchman then proceeded to make the long trip down the table to give the package to Ivan.
Ivan didn't even look at him. All of his attention was drawn to the package. It was tiny and slightly rectangular. The brown wrapping and twine covered the box neatly. Scrawled out on the paper was his name. He immediately tore through it. He opened it to find the unspeakable.
"Everyone get out." Ivan's words choked him.
Nobody moved.
"OUT!" Ivan shouted.
They hastily got out of the room. Ivan reopened the box. Nestled inside between insulation and stuffing was a note. A note that said it was finally time to do business and an address. Attached to that note was a ring. A diamond ring. Attached to that ring was a finger. A beaten and battered and cut and chipped finger.
"It's time Ivan." Ivan's father hadn't left the room. Ivan's father came out from behind the chair. "It's finally time for you to bear the responsibility of this business."
"Fuck. You," Ivan said. The tears on his face were a mixture of grief and a weird sense of tragic relief. "Fuck you and this entire family. I'm through."
"It's too late, Ivan. You are the heir to this family," Ivan's father said.
"Don't you fucking say it's too late," Ivan said. "This was all some sort of twisted plan to make me run your business' wasn't it?"
"This family needs you, Ivan!"
"Amy needs me! It was your fucking fault that got she's in this situation!" Ivan got up from the chair. "I'm not going to be the head of the family business. Not now. Not ever. Let Natasha be head. She actually wants to do it."
"Ivan!" Ivan's father said. Ivan was already halfway out the door when his father placed his hand on his shoulder. Ivan's father hardly ever touched him. This wasn't a sign of affection. "Don't you realize what you're doing? You'll get nothing from us. Nothing, understand! Once you're gone, you're gone for good."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Ivan said just as harshly. He brushed the hand off and left that place forever.
A ten miles outside of town was an abandoned warehouse. It was one of the places that the Braginski family had their transactions. Not that that was relevant to Ivan anymore.
There would be people expecting him. The shadows of the night hid him well. Despite how overwhelmingly outnumbered he was, he took out the guards outside one by one. Ivan knew it was a trap before he opened the door, but none of it mattered anymore. There was one industrial light highlighting the only thing that mattered. Amy was bound by her hands and feet to a wall.
He approached Amy slowly and carefully. He could hardly believe it. The closer he got the more the damage became apparent. Bruised and battered as she was, Ivan couldn't help but find her beautiful. His heart ached for her. Her clothes were torn and bloody. One of her eyes was bruised and swollen shut. There was a cut just above her brow. Dried blood covered her other eyelid. Her lips were purple and swollen from bruising. Her hair was matted and dark with blood. He was almost afraid to touch her. His hand was hesitant and shaking.
"Nice try, big guy." Her voice was weary and crackled. She tried her best to open her eyes. One side of her mouth curled up in a sad smile. "You're late."
"Amy..." Ivan choked out.
"Seems cruel, doesn't it?" An unfamiliar voice called out. Three men emerged from the darkness. Two of them were henchmen dressed in black. One was an old man pushed around in his wheelchair. "To see the meaning in your life broken in front of you."
Ivan straightened and stared down the old man. "Let her go. She has nothing to do with your problems with the Braginskis. Neither of us do."
"Oh? You're telling me Ivan Braginski, heir to the Braginski mob, has nothing to do with the Braginskis? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, especially since you took out some of my highly trained men right before you came to introduce yourself."
"I didn't kill them," Ivan said.
"I didn't kill her," the old man countered.
"Please, just let her go," Ivan begged. "She had absolutely nothing to do with this."
"Do you think my son had anything to do with this? His wife? She was pregnant!" the old man shouted. He had a coughing attack.
There were gunshots then. It came from none of the men in the light. Ivan hit the floor. The henchmen shouted and fired blindly at the unknown assailant. The old man rolled off into the shadows.
Ivan crawled his way to Amy. It wasn't safe there. His fingers struggled as he untied the tight knots at her ankles. His finger tips lightly trailed up her legs, trying to will away her wounds.
"Long time no see, baby," Amy joked among the chaos.
"Shh, don't speak. Please!" Ivan said. He was so close to having her in his arms again. He would finally feel whole again.
As soon as he untied her right hand, she was touching every part of him she could. She let her eyes and breaths get heavy. She had been fighting for far too long.
Ivan untied her left and she collapsed in his arms. He held her to him as closely and gently as he could.
"You have no idea how much I missed you," Ivan whispered into her skin.
"Ha! Bet I missed you more," Amy said. "You look like death."
"I feel like it." Ivan gently kissed a part of her skin that wasn't stained purple. "I love you, Amy."
"Guess that makes us a couple of necrophiliacs, huh? ...Ivan?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you kiss me?" Amy asked.
Ivan kissed her skin again.
"Uh huh, don't get me wrong. That felt amazing and all, but would you really kiss me?"
Ivan frowned. He didn't want to hurt her. Her face looked like it got the most damage after all. He slowly closed the distance until thier lips barely touched.
Amy smushed herself closer to him, trying to deepen the kiss. Ivan obliged out of habit and instantly regretted it. Amy's face squished up in pain.
Ivan broke it off immediately. "Amy!"
"Ouch, that hurt like hell! Let's do it again!" Amy said enthusiastically.
"Amy, please! We've got to get you to a hospital. We can worry about catching up later," Ivan pleaded.
"Sir!" A voice called out. Ivan whipped around with Amy in his arms. The voice was familiar. Toby stepped into the light and put out his cigarette on the concrete floor.
"Toby?" Ivan said in confusion. Toby must have been the one who showed up and started shooting everybody. "Why are you here? Go away."
"Seeing as you are no longer a Braginski, sir, I am no longer under your employment. I have no obligation to do what you tell me."
"I don't trust you," Ivan said curtly.
"As you shouldn't, sir," Toby said.
There was a moment of silence. "Did you bring a car?" Ivan asked. He didn't know if he could carry Amy all the way to the hospital.
"I'll bring it around now, sir," Toby said. He made his way briskly out of the building.
Ivan sat Amy on the ground. A small smile came over his face. "I believe I have something of yours." He exhumed the ring from his pocket.
Amy didn't have much of a reaction. She let Ivan slip it on her left middle finger. Right next to the wrapped up nub of what she had.
"I guess you found my finger," she said solemnly.
Ivan nodded. Maybe this wasn't the best time to bring it up, but he really didn't want to wait and take any more chances.
"Did you give it a proper burial?" Amy asked.
Ivan shook his head. "Not yet."
Amy nodded. "I'll probably have to say a few words," she said with a slight hint of a chuckle. Ivan gripped her hand.
"Are you..." Amy started. "Are you sure you still want to marry me?" Amy asked tentatively.
Ivan kissed her forehead. "Now more than anything."
Amy smiled. "We can go through one of those drive-through wedding chapels on the way to the hospital if you're really that impatient.
Ivan grinned back. "Sounds perfect."
A loud crack in the air signaled another gunshot. Ivan threw his arms around Amy, trying to cover as much as her as possible. There was a crack of another gun. Toby had returned. A wheelchair wheeled slightly into the light. The old mad fumbled over dead.
"Amy..." Amy was limp in his arms. "Amy!"
"Ivan," she breathed.
Ivan laid her down gently. Warm, fresh blood seeped onto him and the floor from the source on Amy's right side. Her breathing became haggard as she struggled to live.
"No, no, Amy no!" Ivan begged. His eyes were stinging. He could barely breath. "I can't leave! I just got you back!"
"I'm afraid," Amy said weakly. "We're going to have to disagree there."
"Amy no! You of all people can't give up!" He pressed into her side, trying to stop the flow.
"Toby! Go get help!" Ivan shouted. Toby obeyed.
"Ivan..."
"What am I supposed to do without you, Amy?" Ivan pleaded. He reached for the old man's gun. He gripped it in Amy's hand and pointed it at his own forehead. "You give up; I give up too."
"Ivan..." Amy said sadly. Both Ivan's and her tears fell on her face. "I couldn't do that even if I wanted to."
Both of their hands were shaking. Ivan let the gun fall to her side. He pressed her hand to his cheek and cried.
"I'll tell you what you're going to do," Amy said. "First, you're going to kiss me goodbye."
"No..."
"Please?" Amy asked weakly.
Ivan caved and placed one long soft kiss on her lips. They were quivering.
"Next, you're going to get out of here. Somewhere far away. Remember the sunflowers we talked about?"
Ivan nodded. This was getting to be too much.
"Then, you're going to live and be happy. That's all I ask, Ivan."
"Amy, I don't think I can do that without you..."
"Ivan, if I meet you again in the afterlife and you're not old and wrinkly, I'm never going to forgive you," she said. "Got it?"
Ivan nodded.
"Okay, now hold me close. I'm trying to get to sleep. I'm so tired."
Ivan scooped her up gently in his arms. He held her a bit more tightly than he should. He held and rocked gently until she finally went to sleep.
Ivan woke with a start. He had fallen asleep on the couch again. The newspaper covered his face. The doorbell rang again.
"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" he said crankily.
He had dreamed of her again. After forty years, he still dreamed of his Amelia. It was his curse at first, but now it seemed like his only memory. Time was cruel and numbing in that way.
His back ached as he got up off the couch. He wasn't quite as young as he used to be. His joints creaked along with the floorboards as he made his way to the door.
"What do you want?" he clipped. He could see a young woman and a child both with straight long dark hair.
"Excuse me, Mr. Jones," the mother began. "But my daughter has an apology she'd like to make." She pushed her daughter slightly forward.
"I'm sowwy," she said. Her cheeks were stained with tears after being scolded by her mother. "Your sunflowers were pwetty, so I picked one." She tried to hide the big bright bloom behind her back.
Ivan smiled at that. "I don't blame you. She is very pretty."
The little girl cocked her head. "She?"
"Yes, she," Ivan explained. "Her name is Amelia. I think she feels very special to have been picked out by you."
"Really?" The little girl's eyes went bright.
"Yes. You can take her home if you like, but you have to love her and take good care of her for me. She won't last forever, so enjoy her every possible moment."
"I will!" she said enthusiastically.
"Thank you, Mr. Jones," the mother said.
Ivan watched as the pair and another one of his Amys left. He had gotten a house in Kansas and surrounded it with sunflowers just as Amy wanted. Their warmth and strength reminded him a lot of Amy. Year after year, people would come to his house because of the flowers. He liked to think of it as Amy's special way of looking out for him. He smiled once for her and settled back down in his chair. A soft wind blew through the window screen and trickled across Ivan's face like one of her soft laughs.
"I love you, too, Amy."