I'm BACK! I'm so sorry for the delayed update! It's been crazy with study, moving, illness, and trying to rewrite Just Say Yes into an Original Story. ANyway, that's enough rambling- ENJOY THE CHAPTER My Pets! (See what I did there Harmony82) I hope this chapter makes up for making you wait. XOxo. Enjoy.

No Mercy

Dimitri Belikov

I had every intention of going after Victor Dashkov after I left my apartment and yet as I waited for the traffic lights to change I found myself thinking of Dr. Cassandra Wilkins. The M.E. who'd apparently been paid by Ivan to forge the DNA results that let everybody to believe that Rose was dead.

As the lights changed colour I decided a slight detour was in order. The last time I'd taken this particular route was 5 months ago- the day Dr. Wilkins had read the results that altered my life.

I pulled open the glass door to the building and stepped inside the cold and stagnant reception area. It was late afternoon and the receptionist had already left for the day- I wasn't sure where Dr. Wilkins office was located and I wasn't patient enough to wait for Dr. Wilkins to find me.

The halls of the morgue were deserted and the smell of bleach-hung heavy in the air. The smell combined with the surroundings reminded me of the last time I'd walked these same halls following Ibrahim and Janine towards the exam room where my Roza's lifeless corpse was laid out on display on a metal slab covered by a white sheet- only it wasn't my Roza.

I wondered down the halls until I came to an examination room with a single exam table in the center with a corpse covered by a white sheet. The room was identical to the one I'd stood in 5 months ago. I've had a recurring nightmare with this exact scenario a million times and just like in my nightmare I moved towards the cold steel slab.

I raised my hand to the white sheet and pulled it back- "What are you doing in here?" The nightmare shattered around me and I turned towards the unfamiliar voice to reveal a skinny nurse in grey scrubs with a clipboard held to her chest. "You cannot be in here."

"I'm sorry." I apologized clearing my throat as I glanced back down at the lifeless body on the slab. "I'm a little lost." Understatement of the century I chuckled bitterly before I turned back to the nurse. "I'm looking for Dr. Wilkins?"

"She's not here." The nurse stated stepping into the room. "Obviously."

"Do you know where I can find her?"

"Have you checked her office?" The nurse gestured impatiently towards the door. "Take a right at the end of the hall and follow it down until you reach a door that says Dr. C. Wilkins."

A few minutes later I arrived at the office of Dr. Cassandra Wilkins. The door was cracked open and I could see Dr. Wilkins sitting behind her desk typing away on her desktop. I knocked twice and stepped into the office not waiting for her to respond. "Dr. Wilkins."

Dr. Wilkins lifted her eyes from the screen and ran them over my body. "Hello." I fought the urge to roll my eyes as her eyes met mine. "Can I help you?" Dr. Wilkins questioned standing up from behind her desk walking towards me. "Do I know you?"

"We've met." I acknowledged.

Dr. Wilkins tilted her head. "Are you that guy from the dating website-?"

"No." My standards have been disturbingly low as of late but I'd never gone that low. "My name is Dimitri Belikov."

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

"It should." I chuckled approaching her casually. "I'd like to discuss the payment you received for forging DNA results for Rose Hathaway." At the mere mention of Rose's name Dr. Wilkins entire body went ridged as she reached for the phone on her desk. "At least you remember her." I whispered inches from her ear as I wrapped my hand around her throat. "Hang up the phone."

"I'll scream."

I smiled against her ear tightening my grip around her throat. "I'll snap your neck before you make a sound." I promised leaning back as I looked into her frightened tearful eyes. "Let's start with the simplest question- who hired you to forge the results?"

"I-I don't know his name." Dr. Wilkins gasped trying to pry my hand from her throat. "I can't even tell you where the money came from- nobody can- the account is untraceable! All I have is a paper copy of the bank statement."

"Get it." I snapped letting go of her throat. "Now." Dr. Wilkins stumbled towards her filing cabinet and ripped open a drawer shifting through papers trying to find the bank statement. "I don't have all day-" I'd barely finished speaking before a piece of crumpled paper was thrusted towards me.

I unfolded the creased paper and scanned the page- at first it just looked like an ordinary bank transaction from overseas until I saw the three-digit number that was hidden in the barcode at the bottom of the transaction receipt.

The three-digit number told me everything I needed to know… Jace wasn't lying, confused, or mistaken when he'd told me that Ivan was involved in Rose's murder/disappearance. I couldn't deny it anymore- Ivan really had betrayed me.

The money used to pay Dr. Wilkins didn't come from any account that Ivan owned- It came from an account that I'd setup to take care of my family and continue to care for them should anything happen to me. It'd been opened five years ago and only three people had access to the money: Ivan, Olena, and Myself.

My mother rarely accessed the account and when she did it was to pay for Vika and Paul's education at St. Basils or to pay for repairs to our home in Baia otherwise the account remained untouched.

Ivan was given access to the account as a precaution in case anything happened to Olena before she could make arrangements- I'd trusted Ivan to keep my family safe and make sure that their futures would be secure with the money and investments I'd made on their behalf and he'd taken that trust and money and used it to pay Dr. Wilkins to convince her family- to convince me- that the love of my life was dead.

Why? It pissed me off that I kept coming back to that question. A voice inside my head told me it didn't fucking matter and that I should postpone the search for Victor and catch the next flight to Vegas and find the traitorous bastard! As tempting as that thought was I needed more- I needed answers and then I'd kill Ivan Zeklos.

What was the point of all of this? Ivan went to that parking lot with Randall with the intent to kill Rose but was interrupted by Victor's team of assassins/retrieval team who'd been sent to kidnap Lissa but took a dying Rose instead. Father Travis aka the head of the retrieval team had said that the last time he'd seen Rose alive she'd been taken to a hospital. Meanwhile Ivan planned the cover-up that involved killing a girl and removed all traces of her identity and paid the M.E. to forge the DNA.

It wasn't pure luck that Dr. Wilkins was assigned to Rose's case – I'm convinced that Ivan and Dr. Wilkins had a prior connection but I'd yet to discover the truth behind it and I didn't necessarily have the time to question her about it either.

Another thing that bothered me was motive. I couldn't begin to comprehend Ivan's motives and that's what really bothered me. It was easy to figure out Victor's motives… The guy was senile and convinced that he was madly in-love with Lissa despite the fact that she was young enough to be his daughter and pregnant with another man's baby. It drove me crazy that I could explain away Victor's motives behind his actions and yet I couldn't figure out my best friend's motive.

I'd known Ivan Zeklos most of my life- I'd never had an issue reading the guy or sensing his motives. Ivan was predictable and a creature of habit and yet lately it was as if he was a total stranger to me which bothered me as much as trying to figure out his motives behind trying to kill my fiancée.

Dr. Wilkins screamed as I grabbed the back of her head as she tried to bolt towards the office door. I covered her mouth and spun her around throwing her up against her office door. "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

"I a-answered your questions." Dr. Wilkins sobbed her whole body trembling. "Please. Don't kill me. I've already been over this with that FBI guy- I don't know anything else other than what I've already told you!"

"And I don't believe you." I sneered tightening my grip around her neck watching as her pale face turned from red to purple. "What happened to my fiancée? And don't think about lying to me because I will not hesitate to kill you- and I'll enjoy it."

Dr. Wilkins eyes widened. "Your fiancée? I-I didn't know! Please, don't kill me!"

"I'm not going to kill you." I chuckled in amusement. "At least not today." I added enjoying the look of fear in her eyes. "Leave town." I held up my hand stopping her from speaking. "If you don't leave town immediately I will tell Ibrahim Mazur that you helped cover up his daughter's murder. If I ever see you again I will kill you just for the fun of it and if you're lucky there just might be a tooth left to identify you."

The Hospital …

I groaned at the persistent beeping sound from the hospital monitors surrounding me. I blinked staring up at the pasty white ceiling of my hospital room cringing at the harshness of the light- I raised my arm to shield my eyes before I dropped my arm as pain shot through my sides.

"Jesus Chris." I cursed balling my other hand into a fist.

The sound of a man chuckling next to me snapped me to attention. "You might want to remain still." Abe looked exhausted as he stared back at me. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was blown up." I lifted myself further up the bed despite Abe's earlier warning. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but what are you doing here?"

Abe tilted his head sideways. "What do you remember?"

Ivan paid Dr. Wilkins to forge the DNA results using the money meant to support my family. "The last thing I remember is leaving the morgue."

"What were you doing at the morgue?" Abe questioned curiosity written all over his face.

"It's a long story." I confessed deciding to focus on the wall behind Abe's head. I should've filled Abe in on what I'd discovered weeks ago but I hadn't been ready to face him- it was hard to see him now and not think of how similar he looked to Rose. I took a deep breath and filled Abe in on everything that I'd discovered from Victor's obsession with Lissa, Randall's betrayal, Victor's paid team of assassins who'd taken Rose and finally Ivan's role in the whole cover-up including the story of how Ivan had paid Dr. Wilkins to forge the DNA.

"You weren't kidding." Abe shifted back into the uncomfortable hospital chair. "Why didn't you contact me as soon as you discovered this information?"

Angry I met Abe's intense brown eyes. "I knew you'd try to shut me out- a misguided attempt to protect me- and I don't need protecting, Zmey." I closed my eyes taking a deep calming breath noting that it hurt to even breathe. "How did you find me?" When Abe didn't respond straight away I forced my eyes open and met Abe's gaze. "Abe?"

"She's alive." I blinked once, twice, staring at Abe in confusion. "Rose… Our Rose is a live." Abe clarified uneasily. "She's the reason we're both here… Rose killed Victor and Robert Dashkov. If you'd been any closer to the house when it exploded you'd have died- Rose was there and brought you to the hospital before ringing Janine to tell us where to find you."

"NO!" I heard a familiar voice scream in the distance right before the sound of a bomb exploding went off and I was flying backwards through the air- I hit something hard and I felt it shatter behind me before the world went black and I landed painfully on the gravel. "Open your eyes." I heard that same voice plead as I felt myself being lifted into her lap. "Please. Open your eyes, Comrade."

Roza? My heart raced painfully inside my chest at the sound of her voice- the feel of her trembling hands as they stroked my face- I fought to open my eyes but my eyelids felt inhumanly heavy. I ached to see her face again.

"I'm not leaving without him." My Roza snapped at somebody who'd spoken of leaving. Another voice began to say that I was dying and I wanted to punch him in the throat- I wasn't dying- was I? "Finish that sentence and I will kill you." Roza promised and the tone of her voice made me thankful I wasn't on the receiving end of it. "Comrade? Baby, if you can hear me, please don't die. Please. Don't die." Roza begged again before she loosened her grip on me. "Help me lift him." I felt myself being lifted but I couldn't do anything to protest or assist. The moment I felt her hand in my hair I relaxed and felt more alert as she began talking to me. "You cut your hair. It's nice."

Translation: I hate it.

"R-roza." It hurt to speak but I needed to know. "A-are you r-r-real? Roza?"

The sweetest sound of Roza's giggle filled my ears but when she spoke I could hear the bitterness and pain in her voice that ripped my heart from my chest. "It's funny." It didn't seem funny at all. "I'm usually the one questioning what is real and what isn't these days."

I wanted to ask her what that meant but instead I begged her to never leave me. "Don't leave me." I begged wanting nothing more than to wrap my arms around her and never let go but I'd settle for just being able to hold her hand. "I've missed you." I felt myself slipping away towards the end.

I felt her lips on my forehead. "Don't leave me."

My eyes shifted around the hospital room but it was empty besides the two of us. "Where is Rose?"

"We're not entirely sure." Abe confessed. "Rose disappeared with her friend- Leigh- after Thomas brought you into the ER."

Leigh? Thomas? "Who the hell are these people?"

"Thomas Campbell was Victor Dashkov's Guardian… Thomas is also Janine's younger half-brother. Rose's Uncle. Thomas helped Rose kill Victor and Robert. As for Leigh she's a mystery wrapped inside of another larger complicated mystery."

"Your daughter is back from the dead and run off with a mysterious girl and you're telling me that you know absolutely nothing about said mysterious girl? Are you fucking serious Zmey?"

Abe rolled his eyes at me. "I didn't say that we knew nothing- I simply said that the girl was a mystery- the girls met at Briarcliff."

"Briarcliff?" I couldn't hide my confusion. "Isn't that a mental asylum?"

"It is." Abe confirmed. "It's also a prison of sorts for both the clinically insane and dangerous criminals of the state."

"Abe." I squeezed my eyes shut. "Please don't tell me that's where Rose has been this whole time?" I pleaded opening my eyes and staring into Abe's pained ones. "Jesus Christ." I cursed shaking my head as I shifted my gaze to the ceiling. "She was alive this whole time… What do you know Zmey?"

"It's a long story." Abe rested his elbows on his knees refusing to meet my gaze.

I chuckled dryly. "We've got time."

Abe lifted his gaze to mine shaking his head. "Time is definitely something that we don't have."

"Abe." I don't think I'd ever seen Ibrahim 'Zmey' Mazur look quite so defeated. "What the hell happened while I was away?"

Abe chuckled lifting his gaze to mine. "A lot. Ivan was contacted by a man called 'A' also known as Alistair Hathaway, Janine's older brother. Zeke was hired by Alistair to kill Esma Mazur- my mother- and Rose when she was 9 years old. It was revenge- all of this is happening because of revenge- I killed his wife and children in a collateral twist after Doyle O'Malley sent an assassin to kill my fiancée Tatiana Ivashkov but instead shot Tatiana's Guardian. Janine Hathaway. Janine was pregnant with Rose at the time and it was afterwards in hospital that I found out that I was going to be a father- Doyle crossed a line by going after Tatiana and left me no other choice but to kill him."

"Alistair isn't going to stop is he?"

Abe raised an eyebrow at me. "If it was your family would you?"

"No."

"Alistair isn't going to stop until he's killed everybody I care about- Janine, the baby, Rose, you and anybody else who stands between his revenge and only when there is no one left in this world that I love will Alistair finally kill me."

"Not if we kill him first." It was easier said than done.

The door to my hospital suite opened and Pavel entered the room followed by two Guardian's and two younger guys who looked to be in their early 20's. "Boss. Belikov- I'm glad to see you're not dead."

"Pavel." I acknowledged. "What's with the entourage?"

"Guardian's Thomas Campbell and Sean Porter." Pavel introduced the two Guardians before introducing the other two guys. "Dominique Gomez and Quinton Torres… These two were helping Rose with her mission to hunt down and kill Victor Dashkov."

"Where is Rose?" I questioned the two men.

"The girls are in Vegas." Dominique answered. "The last contact I had with them was to give them the location of their next target."

"Vegas?" Abe questioned. "Whose their next target?"

I knew the answer before Dominique even opened his mouth to answer. "Ivan Zeklos." It still felt like a punch to the gut. "The girls will reach him in exactly 12 hours."

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Abe shouted jumping to his feet as I climbed out of bed ripping the IV from my hand. "Get back into bed!"

Ignoring the pain coursing through my body I forced myself to stand up. "I can't just sit back while she's out there-"

"Belikov." Pavel reached out grabbing my arm. "You can barely stand."

I ripped my arm from his grip and turned to glare at him. "If you're not going to help me then get the fuck out of my way!"

"Son." I paused at the sound of Abe's voice. "Please."

"She's vulnerable." I whispered closing my eyes drawing in a deep breath as I sat on the edge of the hospital bed. "If Alistair finds out that Roza is alive he'll send men to kill her."

"As far as the world knows Rose is dead." It was supposed to be comforting but it offered me little comfort. "She's been careful so far."

"I'm not staying here while she's out there." She's been alive this whole time? I felt sick to my stomach when I thought about the last 5 months. I'd been getting high and drinking myself numb with a whore on each finger- meanwhile Roza had been alive and imprisoned at an Asylum for violent criminals and the clinically insane patients.

I'd heard stories about Briarcliff and if there was even an ounce of truth to them there was no telling what kind of torture or hell Roza had lived through in the last 5 months.

"I'm going with or without you." I confessed. "It's your choice."

Abe released a frustrated sigh. "Pavel- I think it's time to wake the pilot."

"Yes sir." Pavel answered pulling out his phone.

No Mercy

Rose Hathaway

"How did you two meet?" Leigh questioned stuffing her face with fries. "God! These fries are amazing! Briarcliff really needs to upgrade the menu perhaps I'll get the suppliers name from the cook and write a recommendation. What do you think?"

I rolled my eyes picking at my own fries. "Eat your fries."

"Dimitri is older than I expected." Leigh carried on as if I hadn't spoken. "He's certainly pretty."

"Pretty?" I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face. "I'll admit- that is certainly not the word I'd use to describe a man like Dimitri Belikov…" I trailed off staring at the healing scars on my wrist as I thought of Dimitri's condition. It nearly killed me to leave him at the hospital but if I'd stayed it would've made things complicated and I wouldn't have been able to finish what was started in that parking lot when Ivan shot me. "Dimitri and I at 1 of Ivan's Parties almost a year ago."

"Ivan Zeklos and Dimitri are friends?"

"More like brothers." I corrected shifting my gaze to the passing traffic. "They've been friends since childhood." I looked at Leigh when she didn't respond straight away and found her staring at me. "What is it?"

"You're planning to kill your fiancés brother?"

"Yes."

"Killing Ivan will hurt Dimitri." I didn't respond choosing to remain silent. "Is that what you want? Do you want to hurt him? Punish him for not saving you or do you just want him to hate you so you don't have to hate yourself?"

I didn't have time to respond as our waitress approached the table chewing gum while tapping her pen on her notepad. "Can I get you gals anything else?"

"No." I said sliding out of the booth. "We're done here."

"Rose! Wait!" Leigh called out cursing as I made my way to the diners exit. I ignored Leigh and turned on the phone Dominique had given Leigh a few days ago to keep in contact with him.

Zmey & The Russian are on the move.

Ivan is staying at the Bellagio.
Act quickly.

Dom.

"Shit." I cursed kicking the wheel of some old rust bucket.

"Rose! What is it?"

"Abe and Dimitri are on they're way." I wasn't that surprised that Zmey was coming after me but Dimitri wasn't in any condition to travel across country- "Ivan is staying at the Bellagio."

"Rose- Let's talk about this for a minute."

Are you fucking kidding me! I wanted to scream in her face as I pulled my hand from hers. "Leigh." I warned. "This isn't up for discussion either you are with me or against me-"

"I'm with you." Leigh snapped angrily stepping into my path. "Don't ever fucking question that but don't talk to me like I'm some lackey either! I've got your back but don't think I won't drop you if you're asking for it- we're friends but even I have a limit."

"We're not friends." I regretted the words the moment I said them. "You think you know me! You don't know anything about who I am or who I was or who my family is. You're here because I saved your life! You mean nothing to me- less then nothing- deep down you know that but you stay because you're afraid to be alone despite having been alone your whole life."

"Is that all you've got?" Leigh asked chuckling as she held out her arms. "You're right. I don't know you but I do know that you're the only person who knows what I went through and vice versa. We don't have to be friends but I'd like to be and like it or not we're ride or die."

I rolled my eyes though I couldn't help but smile. "You're insane."

"Obviously! I did just escape the loony bin!" Leigh winked unlocking our new wheels. "Now get your ass in the truck before that redneck realizes that I swiped his keys on the way out." I chuckled and climbed into the truck shaking my head at the shit-eating grin on Leigh's face. "After we kill ourselves a Zeklos how about a round of black jack? I'm feeling lucky."

"Me too." I picked up the sunglasses from the floor sliding them on. "Hey Leigh?"

"Yeah Boo?" Leigh giggled pressing her foot on the gas. "Those are some ugly ass sunnies."

"Don't hate." I kicked up my feet on the dash. "I'm sorry about what I said-"

"Forget it." Leigh cut me off. "I know you didn't mean it."

"I really didn't." I whispered closing my eyes. "Ride or Die- It's that simple?"

"It's that simple…"

I looked around the expensive bathroom until I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I was only half dressed wearing a red lace bra and black skinny jeans with the buckle half done up. My hair was all over the place from being towel dried and my lips were swollen and pink from being kissed.

I stood in front of the mirror running a hand over my stomach- the diamond ring on my finger sparkled back at me reminding me of the night before but something felt off. My skin… It looked soft yet ripped and smooth but it didn't feel like that beneath my fingers.

"Roza." Dimitri growled against my ear sliding his arms around my waist.

"Don't get any ideas, Comrade." I winked at him in the mirror covering his hands with mine. "I'm already late- Lissa will kill me if we don't leave in the next 15 minutes."

"I'll be done in 10." I moaned at the feel of his teeth grazing my throat. "You're mine."

"I am." I moaned arching against his. "But I am also Lissa's Guardian- and Best Friend. I promised to spend the day with her."

Reluctantly Comrade released me. "Tonight."

"Tonight." I promised turning my head to look at him. "I promise." I whispered leaning up and pressing my lips to his- only as our lips touched pain shot through my chest and I launched forward screaming. "Comrade-! What's happening-"

I opened my eyes and staring back at me was a stranger- her skin was pale and covered in scars and old burns, her lips were cracked and grey opened in a silent scream of agony and her eyes were blank like those of a corpse void of all life and hope.

The room shifted until I stood in an abandoned parking lot facing Ivan Zeklos. "Ivan? What's happening to me?"

"It's not personal." Ivan lifted the gun and pointed it at me. "Dimitri will never know."

"Ivan- Stop! Please!" BANG. BANG. I stumbled back looking down at my chest- my knees buckled and I fell to my knees staring up at Ivan in disbelief as my surroundings begin to shift again until I was kneeling on the disgusting surface of my cell. "Calliope?"

From the darkness a sinister chuckle echoed. "Guess again…" No. No. It's not possible.

"I killed you."

"Did you?" Dr. Augustine questioned from the darkness. "Then why am I still here?"

"ROSE!" Calliope screamed from the darkness. "Help me!"

"You can't help her, Rose." Dr. Augustine laughed. "You can't even help yourself."

"Calliope!" I screamed trying to reach her. "Stop! She's just a kid!" Dr. Augustine laughed as Calliope's screams grew louder and louder.. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Calliope!"

"ROSE!"

"HELP ME!" Calliope screamed.

"ROSE! Wake UP! It's not real-!" Leigh yelled shaking me until I was able to focus. "Look at me." Leigh pleaded touching my face wiping away my tears. "Stay with me."

I covered my face as I began to sob uncontrollably. "It's never going to end."

"Shh." Leigh whispered stroking my hair. "It'll get better." A part of me knew that she was right- it does get better but it takes time- and time has never been on my side when it comes to things like this. "Just keep on breathing."

I'm not sure how long Leigh and I held onto each other in the front seat but I eventually pulled myself together and wiped away all my tears and snot. "Where are we?"

"We're here." Leigh leaned forward looking up at the hotel. "I parked a block back." Leigh reached into her pocket and held out a card. "While you slept I paid a visit to the hotel. I swiped a card from a cleaning lady and managed to get a sneak peak at the logbook- Ivan Zeklos is staying in a private suite on the 28th floor."

"What else did you find out?"

"The hotel is swarming with feds." Leigh explained grabbing a bag off the floor. "I picked you up a few things in case anybody was looking for you." I opened the bag and found a change of clothes and a red wig. "I don't suppose I can talk you into waiting for your old man."

"Leigh."

"You're planning to kill a man in a hotel full of federal agents."

"I'm not saying it's be without risk."

"At least let me come with you."

"Absolutely not." I stripped out of my clothes in the front seat. "If Ivan escapes I'm trusting you to make sure he doesn't get away."

20 Minutes Later …

Breathe. I reminded myself continuously as I made my way through the crowded hotel lobby- it wasn't easy with the amount of tourist running around the hotel lobby. I'd spotted several agents in the lobby as I kept my head down and made a beeline for the elevator.

I pressed the button for the 28th floor and leaned back against the wall. "Can you hear me?" I asked covering my mouth as if I was about to sneeze. "Leigh?"

"I'm here." Leigh's voice cracked through the earpiece. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." I rolled my eyes at the grunt I received in return. "Where are you?"

"I'm parked across the street."

The elevator doors opened and I stepped out onto empty floor… I stopped outside Ivan's door and knocked twice waiting for a response. "Who is it?" A female called from the other side followed by a giggle. "Who is it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Room Service."

"It's about time! I'm starving!" The door unlocked revealing a woman wearing only a G-string and a man's shirt opened the door. "You aren't room service."

Ivan stood frozen staring at me in disbelief. "Rose."

"Hello Ivan." I smirked. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

The half naked woman suddenly leaped towards me- I reacted immediately and grabbed the back of the woman's head smashing her face into the wall next to the door before I pulled her back and grabbed the knife out of her hand and slicing it across her throat before releasing my grip and letting her fall.

"That was rude." I told her before turning my gaze onto Ivan. "You should've hired better security."

"Listen Rose…"

"Oh, now you want to talk?"

"I didn't have a choice."

"Bullshit."

"I'm telling the truth!" Ivan shouted keeping distance between us. "It was either kill you or be responsible for Dimka's entire family being murdered! I know- I KNOW how Dimka feels about you but you're just 1 woman he'd eventually move on! And he did- it wasn't easy but I know my brother and losing his family would've killed him."

"You're lying-" Ivan rushed me pushing me into a wall- I cried out as my head hit the wall and Ivan tried to rush past me but I still held his 'security' guard's knife in my hand and I threw it hitting him in the shoulder.

"ARRH!" Ivan screamed slamming into the wall in the hallway.

I reached around to touch the back of my head- I barely felt the pain but when I pulled my hand back my fingers were covered in blood. "Son of a bitch." I cursed him stumbling my way into the hall following him down the hall but before I could get to him the fucker got onto the elevator.

"FREEZE! FBI." I heard a familiar voice shout from the other end of the hall. "Hands in the air! Now!" I cursed glancing to my side at the staircase. Yes? No? Suicide? "Turn around slowly."

The stairwell was 3 feet away- I could make it if the fed behind me was a shitty shot. 1. 2. 3. Go! I slammed myself against the door and slammed it shut behind me as the first gunshot echoed in the hall. I didn't wait to stall the door I bolted to down the staircase feeling a sense of déjà vu from escaping Briarcliff except this was a lot more dangerous.

"Ivan just jumped into a taxi."

"Follow him!" I ordered a little breathless as I came to a holt upon hearing footsteps on the steps below me. Shite. Shite. Shite. Instead of risking I ran back up to the last step and ran through the door and into a busy hall packed with a wedding party by the looks of it. I discarded the red wig into the trash and removed the leather jacket.

I followed the wedding party into the elevator relieved to have squeezed into the 1st group of people going down to the lobby. I held my breath and counted backwards from 100 until the elevator doors opened and everybody stepped out.

I'd just gotten to the strip when I heard somebody call out my name. "Rose?" I looked back over my shoulder and was shocked to find a fed standing less then 10 feet away from me. "Is it you."

"Do I know you?"

Confusion filled his pale blue eyes as he stared at me. "You don't remember me?"

"Don't take it personally I don't remember a lot of people." I heard shouting from back at the hotel and saw 3 feds running towards us- the friendly fed saw them too and looked torn as he looked back at me.

"You should probably go." The fed stepped towards me as if he was coming for me. "Get out of the city while you still can."

I didn't waste time arguing with him as I ran across the strip- I ran for several blocks until I reached the sports motorcycle that Leigh had stolen for me along with a bag of clothes. I stripped quickly into the skinny black jeans and singlet pulling on the leather jacket and helmet straddling the Yamaha YZF- R250 sports motorcycle.

The engine revved to life between my thighs and I tore out of the ally and into the strip. Luckily for me- Leigh had been giving directions of how to follow her through the earpiece and I'd managed to remember most of them.

"The taxi is dropping him off at a private runway- he's arguing with a guy about the upfront payment. What do you want me to do?"

"Do not let him leave!" I ordered swerving between cars on the highway.

When I arrived at the runway it was easy to spot the garage that she'd described. She'd taken Ivan and the pilot hostage and taken them into the garage- the pilot was whiter then paper as he knelt on the cold concrete floor pleading for his life while Ivan sat on his ass with his head in his hands.

Leigh sighed kneeling in front of the pilot. "For the love of GOD please shut the fuck up!"

The moment the pilot saw me relief flooded his features. "RUN! Get Help!" In less then a second Leigh was on her feet and had her gun aimed at my head. "RUN!"

"I could've killed you!" Leigh screeched dropping the gun looking back at the pilot. "Try that again and I'll cut out your tongue before I kill you."

"If it makes you feel better-" I paused catching Ivan's gaze. "-It's not personal."

"I have a wife! A family! I haven't done anything to you-!"

"None of that matters." Leigh told the pilot as I knelt in front of Ivan. "Bad shit happens whether you've got a family or not."

"Did you really think it'd be that easy?"

"No." Ivan admitted. "I'm sorry."

"I can't do shit with 'I'm sorry' Ivan." I spat at his feet and stood taking a step from him. "Get. Up." I ordered my gun pointed at him. "Now."

"Um- Rose." Leigh called out hesitantly. "We've got company- lots of it." Taking into consideration the lack of sirens and flashing lights my guess was that Zmey had finally arrived. "It's Thomas and your Russian."

My Russian- Ivan's eyes widened at something behind me. "Dimka."

"Roza?" I breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice.

"You shouldn't be here." I snapped keeping my eyes locked on Ivan.

"Neither of us should be here, Baby." Dimitri whispered stepping up behind me. "Please. Give me the gun- I'll deal with my brother."

No. "No." I repeated. "You don't understand."

"I do." Challenged Dimitri. "Please-"

"Don't touch me!" I snapped flinching away from Dimitri's touch when he'd tried to reach around and take the gun from my hand. "You do not fucking touch me!"

"Okay- Okay- I won't touch you." Dimitri promised. "Roza? Please."

"Please?" I laughed bitterly as I stared at Ivan. "Did you hear that Ivan? Dimitri is begging for me not to kill you- I wonder- Would he feel the same way if he knew the truth? Tell him, Ivan. Tell him what happened in the parking lot."

"Rose-" Ivan begged his eyes shifting between Dimitri and I. "-Please don't."

"Tell HIM!" I screamed pointing the gun at his right leg and pulling the trigger. Ivan fell to his knee screaming as the bullet ripped through the muscle. "Dimitri will never know? Isn't that what you said to me before you shot me?"

"I'm SORRY!"

"STOP APOLOGISING!" I shouted at him feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "TELL HIM THE TRUTH!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Ivan screamed tears rolling down his face. "Dimka! Please- Please. Understand. It was Roza or- Yeva, Olena, Karolina, Sonja, Vika, and the children! It was their lives or hers! I couldn't risk the family for 1 girl…"

"Tell him!" I was losing my patients. "Tell him what you did to me!"

"I SHOT YOU!" Ivan screamed spit flying from his mouth. "I shot her! Okay! I shot her! Are you happy now you crazy bitch!"

Yes. Yes. I was. Dimitri stepped out in front of me staring at his brother. "You could have come to me-You could have avoided all of this if you'd just asked for help."

"Dimka-"

"All this time-" Dimitri whispered. "-You knew there was a chance that Roza was alive and instead of telling me the truth you hid it from me."

"I was protecting you!" Ivan managed to regain his footing. "I was protecting our family!"

"YOU WERE PROTECTING YOURSELF!" Dimitri shouted reaching out and grabbing Ivan by the collar of his shirt. "You're nothing but a selfish bastard!"

"If it wasn't for my selfishness your entire family would be dead!"

"Enough." I snapped holding up my gun. "I'd like to kill you now."

"Roza-"

"Kiz- the boy is more valuable to us alive."

"Excuse me!" I spun in the direction of my father's voice. "No! That is not how this is going to work!" I didn't care if I was being unreasonable. "Ivan is MINE to kill! Mine! It is my choice when and how he dies- and I choose now."

"Ivan is my brother-" The Dimitri in my 'here not here' dreams wasn't as handsome as this Dimitri and his voice wasn't nearly as nice however the Dimitri in those dreams knew when to keep his mouth shut a trait that this Dimitri lacked. "-Roza- I understand-"

"You UNDERSTAND nothing!" My blood boiled and my finger twitched on the trigger. In this moment I'd happily kill them all- starting with Ivan. "You weren't there, Comrade." I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice. "None of you were." I locked eyes with each and every person in the garage except Leigh. "None of you know what happened- you can't even begin to imagine it- I'm glad you can't because it means the darkness hasn't touched you. It began with Ivan and it'll end with Ivan- and if you try to get in my way I will kill you all even if it means killing myself in the process."

"Rosemarie?" I looked at the stranger knowing he was my father- I remembered his voice. I'd heard it in my dreams and in that moment of clarity after coming back from death- it'd been his voice that'd given me the will to fight. "Little Girl- I'm so sorry." Abe apologized tears filling his brown eyes. "Ivan didn't start this, Sweetheart. I did. Everything that happened to you is my fault."

"Wait-" Leigh appeared next to me. "-You blackmailed Ivan to shoot your own daughter?"

My father stared at Leigh like she was an idiot. "Of course not… But the man who blackmailed Ivan to kill Rose is seeking revenge for the death of his family. 20 years ago I killed a man named Doyle O'Malley and his entire family: Doyle's wife and daughter and his 3 grandchildren. It was retaliation- Doyle sent a man to kill my fiancée and shot her Guardian instead- Janine. Your mother- it was in the hospital that I found out I was going to be a father. I could've lost Janine that day but she survived- and so did you, Little Girl."

"Are you okay?" Leigh whispered gripping my arm. "Rose?"

"I'm tired." I whispered struggling to keep my eyes opened as I looked at her. "I'm so tired."

"I know." Leigh whispered. "What do you want to do?" Leigh looked back at where Ivan and Dimitri stood waiting for a decision. "Rose? This is your decision."

This wasn't a part of the plan! Kill Dr. Augustine. Check. Kill Sister Fiona. Check. Kill Dr. Matheson. Check. Kill Victor Dashkov. Check. Kill Ivan Zeklos?

"Roza?"

"Little Girl?"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." It was as if Leigh could read my mind at times. "The next person to speak is getting shot in the leg."

I chuckled despite myself as I ran a hand through my hair. "What would you do?"

"Me?" Leigh questioned eyeing Ivan. "I'd kill him but that's me."

"This morning you were begging me to think rationally."

Leigh snorted. "I wanted you to have a plan."

"I did."

Leigh rolled her eyes at me. "That wasn't a plan, Rose. That was suicide."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Nobody died-" I paused cutting my gaze to Ivan. "-Correction. I didn't die and considering how many times I've died in the last 5 months I'd call it a success."

"Guardian Hathaway?" Leigh raised her gun to shoot but I caught her hand- I looked over towards the man standing behind my father. Pavel. I didn't remember everything- though I remembered enough.

"Guardian Pavel?"

The tiniest smile appeared on his lips before it disappeared. "In 7 minutes this runway is going to be swarming with Federal Agents- Is Mr. Zeklos leaving here unconscious or in a body bag?"

Ivan Zeklos

I jumped into the back of the taxi shouting directions at the driver. "Pen? Paper? Phone? I'll give you a hundred dollars to use your phone?" I reached into my pocket pulling out a roll of notes. Thank GOD I hadn't changed- "Next Exit."

I closed my eyes leaning back into the seat. "Hi! You've reached Karolina Belikova, if this is an emergency please call my mother's house on-" I pulled the phone away from my ear to give the driver more directions. "-Otherwise leave a message and I'll get back to you."

I waited for the beep before I began speaking in Russian. "I love you. I've loved you since I was 16 years old and despite all that I've done you've still managed to love me too. My biggest regret is that I didn't step up when you needed me too- I wish I could've been better for you, for our children Paul and Zoya. I was selfish, Baby. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry- I know it doesn't matter anymore and all that's left is to come clean, and I hope that you'll be able to forgive me. It was Roza or you, the family. Our family. I had to protect you, Karolina. I had to protect our children. I'm the 1 who shot Roza in the parking lot. I was supposed to have killed her but before I could finish the job these men came out of nowhere and loaded her body into the van. I was afraid of what'd happen if Roza's body didn't show up so I killed a girl to cover it up. It was the only way to protect you. I'm sorry-"

"Recording Ended."

Current Time …

I'd only ever seen that look once before and it was the night Mr Ivashkov raised his hand for the last time to hit Mama Olena. The brown colour in Dimka's eyes and the darkest black replaced them making him look like a monster- these eyes weren't the eyes of my brother- these were the eyes of a killer craving the warmth of blood on his hands and the crunch of bones beneath his hands. Zmey might have use for me but Dimitri and his daughter wanted nothing more than to kill me where I knelt on 1 knee bleeding to death. Okay, I wasn't bleeding to death but there was a lot of blood and the crazy bitch did shoot me!

Roza stood next to her mental sidekick and debated to kill me or not- Zmey was trying to speak and Dimka was siding with Zmey but not for the same reasons though I'm sure Zmey would definitely like to kill me as well.

I stared at Roza watching as her eyes skitted from 1 thing to another- The hand that held the gun was wrapped over her stomach and the other was stroking her temples which I'd seen were covered in burns- I couldn't see a lot of her skin just from the neck up and burns lined the edge of her hairline and neck- some were healed and a pale colour others were still slightly pink and healing- what the hell had happened to her?

Roza was still beautiful but her once flawless slightly tanned creamy skin was marred and disfigured.

"In 7 minutes this runway will be swarming with federal agents- Is Mr. Zeklos leaving unconscious or in a body bag?"

Roza turned around and looked me directly in the eye. The decision was made. "Do it."

At least it'd be quick.

The crazy sidekick actually smiled as she raised her gun. "See you in the next life."

BANG! I closed my eyes waiting for death except nothing happened until it did- Darkness wrapped itself around me and dragged me down further until reality was gone.

No Mercy

Natalie Dashkov

I watched from afar as Lissa and Christian followed the path across the park towards the picnic table by the bond where they'd feed breadcrumbs to the ducks. Grant and Serena lingered far enough away to give the couple the illusion of privacy while staying close.

My gritted my teeth watching as Christian knelt in front of Lissa at the picnic table. Lissa giggled covering her mouth as Christian leaned in close speaking to her swollen pregnant belly- Lissa leaned down cupping her 'new' husbands face as she pressed a kiss to his lips.

Christian and Lissa had eloped over the weekend at the courthouse with Grant and Serena as witnesses.

After I heard the news that they'd eloped I'd been furious! How dare she! This wasn't apart of the plan not that the 'plan' had worked out that great to begin with. Rose should've died in the parking lot and my men were supposed to retrieve Lissa and bring her to me!

I would've treated her a thousand times better then Christian Ozera ever would! I loved her, I always had, and Lissa and I were bound together on a deeper level. Nobody else understood my Lissa the way I did... I truly loved her and Christian was only using Lissa to advance his family name. Pig.

My fingers twitched around the gun in my lap as Christian returned Lissa's kiss before leaning down and pressing a kiss on her belly. It made me physically ill to see him touching her like that. Lissa was mine! Nobody understood Lissa the way I did. Nobody. Not Rose and definitely not Christian Ozera! Nobody. Just me.

I lifted the ultrasound photo of my unborn baby and let myself dream of a future with Lissa and our little girl. It wasn't going to be easy but eventually it'd be as if neither Christian nor Rose ever existed. Lissa would learn to live without Christian just as she'd learned to live without Rose. It'd hurt at first but it'd get better and we'd move on together and be the perfect family.

Lissa will love me.

"It won't be long now."

... Till Next Time ...

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and that it lived up to expectations! As you might have read above I am re-writing Just Say Yes, I'm hoping to turn it into a 2 book series and publish. I'm after a reliable beta/editer who can fix all those annoying little mistakes and give me constructive feedback. If you'd like to read the original 1st chapter of Just Say Yes let me know and I'll post it on the FB Page. I'd love to hear your thoughts on new characters, names, and the backgrounds given to the characters.

No Mercy is coming to an end but I've yet to decide how many chapters it'll take before it comes to an end. I begin studying again in 10 days- It'll be a hectic time but if you guys like I'm going to start updating with short pov chapters from other characters. Example: I've got a steamy idea involving Thomas that I can't wait for you guys to read!

ANYWAY! Let me know what you thought of the chapter - Also, is there anything you guys would like to see happen before No Mercy comes to an end? A character you'd like to hear from? Let me know.