Chapter 13 Sienna
Sienna
I’m stacking jars of ingredients when the bell above the bakery door jingles.
I glare because I’ve told Benedikt’s men and their boots a million times to wait outside.
I have to mop every time they come inside.
Turning on my heels, I’m not above tossing a pack of flour at one of them when I discover who’s really walked inside my bakery, and it’s not any of them.
“Evening, Sienna. I was hoping we’d get a private little chat.”
My stomach drops straight to my toes.
Nikolai stands in the middle of the floor, grinning in a way that makes my skin crawl.
He’s dressed in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, not looking the role of mob boss but instead, someone who’s out for an evening stroll.
“What are you doing here?” I feel every hair on my body stand on end.
“Checking in,” he deadpans. “I’m disappointed, Sienna.”
“About.”
“Your car accident.”
“What about it?”
He chuckles softly, stepping closer. “It didn’t work. Obviously.”
The room is suddenly impossibly small. My pulse hammers in my ears as every instinct screams at me to run, but fear has me frozen to my spot.
“You…tried…”
He smirks, reaching behind him and dragging a gun from the waistband of his pants.
My stomach lurches. “What are you doing?”
He doesn’t answer right away, just stares at the weapon as if mesmerized. “You know… I thought maybe you’d be smarter. Maybe you’d have stayed down when I gave you the chance.”
“He found me.”
“I told you to come to me if you needed something.”
A small scoff escapes my lips. “You think it would’ve been that easy?”
Nikolai shrugs. “Bat your eyelashes. Spread your legs. When I thought you could’ve been a tool, you ended up being just a waste of my time.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He looks up, almost amused. “Sure, you do. You’re the reason my brother’s walking around thinking he can have something to love. You’re the weakness that didn’t fucking work. So, now I have to fix it.”
I want to ask how, but I don’t need to.
He’s holding a gun, and I’m pregnant. It’s pretty obvious what he’s going to do.
“Nikolai, I’m not involved in this,” I force out. “I just want to be left alone.”
“I understand,” he said evenly, “but I’m sure my brother has told you about liabilities.”
“Leave.” I wish my voice were stronger as I issue the command.
“I will,” he says, “when I’m done.”
“No,” I grind out, looking around for something to defend myself.
Where are Ben’s men?
Dread fills my veins again, because this isn’t right. He shouldn’t have been able to walk in here without someone seeing him.
He just came in through the front door.
“Looking for someone?” he asks, trying to sound curious but mocking me.
“No,” I reply, “I just need you to leave.”
“I will,” he concedes, “but you have to die first.”
He raises the gun, and my breath ceases. The world around me stills, and my knees threaten to buckle under the weight of the bullet waiting for me.
“I promise a clean shot,” Nikolai emits. “I’ll do the rest later.”
“The rest?”
“Pictures. To send to Benedikt. Your lifeless body, beautifully splayed on the floor with crimson blood crowning your head. A trophy. You’ll look perfect.”
I’m going to puke.
“Please,” I whisper.
He laughs. “Please what? Please make it easy for me? Please beg?” He moves closer until he’s a step away, and his odor fills my nostrils. “Look at you. All brave until the gun comes out.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I manage.
My skin prickles like static. My mind scrambles for a plan that isn’t more screaming and pleading.
I flinch as he raises the barrel, pointing it at my forehead.
“Don’t worry,” he mutters. “It won’t hurt long.”
A single shot cracks the air, and my eyes squeeze shut. I don’t realize I’m screaming until the sound rips from my throat. I touch my stomach, waiting for my body to collapse, but it never does.
Instead, I hear a metallic clatter and a growl of rage in front of me.
I crack open my eyes to see Nikolai clutching his right hand, and Artem stepping out from the shadow of the storeroom, his face painted with business-as-usual calm.
“You okay?” he asks me, but it’s not for show. He actually cares if I’m standing.
“I’m fin—”
“You think shooting me will fix this?” Nikolai forces out, glowering at Artem. “You’re dead in thirty seconds.”
“By whom?” Artem inquires. “I’m hoping you’re not referring to the six men outside we’ve already killed.”
Nikolai staggers back. “Good thing I have backup.”
“Can’t wait to meet ’em.”
“You want to die over this bitch?”
“Why don’t you save the talking for your brother?”
“He’s not coming,” Nikolai sneers. “He’s downtown. Trying to finish a deal with the Italians—”
“You sure about that?” A low voice cuts through the air behind Artem, stealing my attention.
Ben steps out from behind his right-hand man. I can’t help but gape at him and how terrifyingly calm he is. He’s already decided how this is going to end.
“You okay, princess?” he asks casually, though I can hear the tension in his voice.
“I… I think so.” I’m still frozen to my spot.
“Come here.”
A muscle in my leg twitches, then another. I move like that, one step at a time, like a deer trying not to draw a predator’s eye.
Ben doesn’t look at me, but I feel his awareness lock on with every inch I cover.
Artem shifts just enough to give me space, and when I reach them, Ben puts out his hand, steady, but firm.
He curls his fingers around my arm, grounding me like an anchor, before shifting his focus back to his brother.
“You really shouldn’t have come here, Nik,” he says. “You’ve crossed a line you don’t get to uncross.”
Nikolai laughs bitterly, still clutching his injured hand. “You think you’re the one who decides that? You kill me, and Father will make sure you regret it for the rest of your miserable fucking life.”
“What father?” Ben asks evenly. “You don’t mean the one I already killed, right?”
Something flashes across Nikolai’s face—confusion, then disbelief. “You’re lying.”
“Buried him myself.”
Nikolai’s face drains of color, his facial expression trapped halfway between acceptance and fury. “Didn’t think you had it in you.”
“I’m full of surprises, Nik.”
“Well, that leaves us in a pickle now, doesn’t it?”
“Not sure how,” Ben says evenly. “I never lost what was mine.”
Nikolai perks a brow. “I think you did when I exiled and took my legacy.”
“The one I built.”
“No, the one you babysat for me. You have a sick sense of humor if you believe our men will follow you once they discover you killed our father.”
“He was dead the moment he chose you.”
That’s when it happens.
One second, Nikolai’s smug and angry.
Then, Ben pulls out his own gun.
The single shot is deafening in the quiet bakery, echoing off the walls and into my bones. Nikolai drops with a sound escaping him that’s more breath than voice, then nothing.
Ben doesn’t look at him before holstering his weapon and slicing his gaze to Artem. “Handle it.”
His attention shifts back to me, and he takes my hand to guide me out of the bakery. My shoes scrape the floor, and my body is numb as the world narrows to the sound of Artem moving around behind us.
Outside, the frigid night air hits like a slap. I don’t know if it’s shock or relief that’s making me shake, but Ben’s grip never wavers.
By the time we reach the SUV parked out front, I feel like I’ve run a marathon. He turns then and cups my face in his hands, his palms warm against my heated skin.
For the first time tonight, he hesitates. His blue eyes search my face like he’s trying to make sure I’m still here and real. Then, he leans in to kiss me.
Another kiss follows, this one slower and almost like an apology.
When he pulls back, he stays close, his breath brushing my mouth as he says quietly, “I love you, princess. You and the baby are safe now. My family won’t touch you again.” He glances back at the bakery, then meets my eyes. “I’m going to buy you a new one.
“And I want you to marry me. Tonight.”