Chapter 41 Luka
Luka
Ascreech of the brakes buzzes in my ears as I park in front of the club and slam my door on the way out.
I’m so fucking pissed that I don’t even lift my head before barging through the entrance door. It’s empty. The bar that should be filled with drunken patrons and questionable decisions is completely vacant.
My stomach drops as dread constricts my throat.
Metal rasps as I draw the gun out of the holster and head toward the dungeon.
My heartbeat thuds against my ribcage, loud enough I’m afraid someone will hear it.
Smooth steps down the stairs. I hear commotion on the other side of the door.
Loud voices. My vision reddens. Taking a step back to get a running start, I run through the door, knocking it off its hinges.
A sharp pain shoots through my right shoulder, but I shake it off, raising my weapon to focus on the scene in front of me.
Sophie has a gun pointed at Uncle Toma, her eyes widened at me, but her hand steady. He, on the other hand, has a bloodied face and what seems to be wet pants.
“Luka, hvala Bogu da si tu!” Thank God you’re here, he mutters out.
I don’t know what I expected when I barged in here. I was scared to even put the thought out into the universe. But this certainly wasn’t it.
“You’re good?” I half-ask, half-say, my eyes connecting to Sophie’s.
Now that she has recovered from the shock of seeing me, she looks determined. She snaps her gaze back to Uncle, her brows furrowing.
“I know you must be mad I left. And you’re right, I shouldn’t have. I should have stayed here and told you exactly how I feel,” I say, and she glances at me, her hand unwavering. “Lower the gun, mila.”
“He made a deal. To get rid of you and your brother,” she says.
Sooner than her words register in my brain, Toma starts pleading. “Don’t listen to her, Luka. She’s just trying to protect herself. So that you don’t find out she has a deal with the Russians.”
Sophie lets out a huff, and I lift a single eyebrow. Uncle mistakenly reads my expression as support because a tear runs down his cheek, as his eyes widen with childlike glee.
“Lower the gun. Slide it over.”
This time, she lets out a loud, frustrated groan before pointing the gun at me. “You can’t be serious. You probably think I’m crazy for falling in love with someone who kidnapped me. But you can’t seriously believe him.”
Even though I’m staring down the barrel of a gun, the corner of my mouth hooks. She’s frustrated, angry, but she doesn’t seem scared. She seems fearless, and for a woman who lived in fear for so long, I couldn’t be prouder.
Her eye twitches, noticing my smile.
“If you’re crazy, what does that make me?
I’m the one who fell in love with a girl I kidnapped.
” Her mouth parts on an ‘oh.’ “Of course, I believe you, mila. I don’t even care what he wanted to do with me, but he obviously upset you.
And that is not something I’m going to tolerate.
” I make a step forward, pointing a gun at my uncle.
“But you can lower your gun, baby. It’s not your battle to fight. ”
“I disagree. You protected me so far.” She shoots me a warm smile before turning back to Toma. “Now it’s time for me to return the favor.”
I take another step toward her, but the gun fires.
Instinctively, I duck, the bang deafening my ears.
My gaze picks up just in time to see Toma’s body drop to the floor with a giant hole in his face.
The thud of it barely breaks the buzz in my head.
The second thud draws my gaze to Sophie. She dropped the gun.
In one smooth motion, I reach her, wrapping her in my arms.
She just killed a man.
My skin rises with goosebumps. I don’t give a fuck about seeing a dead body, even when it’s my uncle. But she just killed a man.
I feel the frantic beat of her heart, and my chest tightens. Just another memory to haunt her. And, once again, it’s my fucking fault.
“You should have let me do it.” I shake my head, wishing I could rewind the last few minutes.
“Luka…” She withdraws an inch, enough to bring her eyes to mine. “I’m fine.”
I press my lips to hers, breathing her in. They’re soft and warm, and not nearly close enough for me to be. My tongue invades her mouth, trying to fuse the two of us together.
A vision of her sobbing in her sleep invades my mind. The feel of her scars under my fingertips. I pull away, my eyes filing with tears. “You should have let me fucking do it.”
“Luka.” This time, her voice is louder, more resolved. “Seriously, I’m fine.”
“What do you mean? Look at the way your heart is going.” I press a hand to her chest.
“Well, adrenaline’s a bitch. My ears also ring like hell.” She shoots me a pointed look. “But I’m fine.”
“But y-you…” I start, but she places a finger on my lips to shut me up. It smells faintly of gunpowder.
“I took control of my destiny. Something I should’ve done a long time ago. I need to handle myself. You won’t always be around to save me.” She gives me a sad smile.
“Of course, I will. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
She shakes her head, taking a step back.
“What happened, mila. Did he hurt you?”
“He offered me freedom. He told me he made a deal with the Russians to get me out.”
“And you didn’t take it?”
“I figured out the price of it.” Her eyes bore into mine, and I realize she put my safety before her freedom.
I swallow. “How did you know what his plan was?”
“He wanted to brag to one of his men. He spoke to him in Croatian and I… I understood.”
“Fuck, Sophie,” I say, grabbing the back of my neck. I don’t know why I’m surprised. She’s a fucking genius.
“He made a deal with the Russians that if he brings me back, they will get rid of you and your brother.”
“What a dick…” Somehow, I’m not surprised by what he did. It’s not like I expected it, but in the back of my mind, I always knew there was a possibility of him two-timing us.
“Yeah, I guess he really wanted to be the boss.”
I huff out a laugh, drawing her face closer again. Our lips brush softly, barely touching. The room is filled with death, but her hair smells like coconuts. Her eyes close, but I can’t look away.
Finally, her eyes flutter open and her throat bobs with a nervous swallow. “I should go,” she whispers like a secret.
“What do you mean?” I’m still intoxicated by her scent and her words aren’t making any sense.
“This’ll be a mess, and you know it. You have your brother to think of; your family business.”
I cross my arms in front of my chest.
She continues, “I’ll leave. I’ll run away and you’ll stay to fight the Russians and get your family back.”
My brow lifts before a dry laugh escapes me. She’s serious. She seriously thinks I will let her get away. “Fuck the business. And fuck my brother while we’re at it. I’m not leaving you.”
“So what? You’ll say you’re responsible for your uncle’s death? Or that your girlfriend killed him?” Her voice turns louder, clearly showing her frustration, but I’m still stuck on her calling herself my girlfriend. “You’ll start a full-on war amongst your people.”
“You think I care? The world can burn the fuck down for all I care.”
“You care about the people, Luka. You care about your brother. You care about Ivan and Andre. This would put them in danger.”
My shoulders drop. She’s right. Of course she is. “Then we’ll run away together. We’ll run away until Leon takes care of everything and the dust settles.”
“And what if it doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll stay away.” I tip her chin up with my hand.
Her head draws back, shock visible on her face. “You really mean that? You’d really leave it all behind?”
“Mila, I’d lock myself in this fucking room with you for the rest of my life.”
Her gaze drops to the side. For someone as smart as she is, her current surprise is downright stupid. How can she not know? How can she not see?
How can she be a grandmaster at chess and understand Croatian from a few random words but not see how I feel about her?
“Sophie, look at me.” Slowly, her eyes lift to mine. “I love you. You lived in fear all these years and I…” I sigh, my eyes growing misty. “I just want to be the one to see you happy.”