Chapter 16 Naomi #2
Daniil doesn't stop or slow down. He pulls me against him, shielding me with his own body as we surge downward. I can feel the heat radiating from him. Lex covers us from behind, his weapon barking repeatedly as he holds off our pursuers.
By the time we hit the ground floor, my legs feel like jelly.
Every muscle in my body aches from the tension and exertion.
We crash through the emergency exit into the street.
The late afternoon sun is obscured by thick black smoke.
Flames lick hungrily from a burning car, the heat intense even from a distance.
The smell of burning rubber and gasoline fills the air.
Civilians scream and scatter in all directions, some running blindly, others crouched behind whatever cover they can find.
A woman in a business suit stumbles past us, her face streaked with soot, her eyes wide with shock.
A man helps an elderly woman who has fallen, both moving as quickly as they can away from the chaos.
Sirens wail in the distance, growing louder, but still too far away to help.
A black SUV screeches up beside us, its tires smoking from the sudden stop.
Lex wrenches the door open, gesturing for us to get in quickly.
But before we can move, another SUV swerves into place, blocking our path.
I can see immediately that it doesn't belong to us.
Men spill from it, their weapons drawn and faces hard with determination.
And then Viktor steps out.
Even in the middle of a war zone, he looks immaculate.
His tailored suit doesn't have a wrinkle, and not a hair is out of place.
The chaos around him might as well be a stage performance for all the effect it has on his composure.
His smile is slow and cruel as his eyes find me across the smoky distance.
There's something almost reptilian about his cold gaze.
“Well, cousin,” he calls, his voice clear even over the noise of sirens and shouting. His tone is smooth and mocking, as if this entire situation amuses him. “You paraded her into my streets. Did you think I wouldn't come?”
Daniil pushes me behind him, his stance becoming immovable. Every line of his body radiates lethal intent. His gun is steady in his hand, his voice so calm. “You'll die before you touch her.”
Viktor chuckles, the sound freezing the air in my lungs.
His eyes glitter with malicious amusement.
“Oh, I don't want her harmed. She's far too precious for that. But she belongs with me, Daniil. Not you.” His gaze slices into me, sharp as broken glass.
“You can feel it, Naomi. He cages you. I would worship you.”
My throat tightens, as panic seizes me. There's something in Viktor's voice, a hunger that goes beyond simple desire. He doesn't just want me. He wants to possess me completely and use me as a weapon against his cousin.
“You're a fool,” Daniil snaps, his control finally cracking. “She belongs to me.”
The words should anger me, and make me want to correct him, but at this moment, they feel like a shield. His claim isn't about ownership. It's about protection and the lengths he'll go to keep me safe.
Viktor tilts his head, studying his cousin with the detached interest of a scientist examining a specimen. “Mine too, in time. But first...” His hand lifts in a casual gesture, and his men raise their weapons. Not at me. At Daniil.
The realization slams into me. Viktor wants me to be stolen, and Daniil eliminated. This entire confrontation isn't about capturing me. It's about removing the one obstacle standing between Viktor and what he sees as his prize.
“Naomi,” Daniil murmurs without looking at me. “When I move, you run. Straight to the SUV. Don't stop.”
My chest heaves as I struggle to process what's happening. “Daniil—”
“Do it.”
Gunfire erupts like the end of the world.
The late afternoon explodes in chaos as muzzle flashes light up the smoky air.
Daniil shoves me hard, his strength sending me stumbling toward the waiting SUV as bullets tear through glass and steel around us.
The sound is overwhelming, a roar of violence that seems to go on forever.
Lex fires beside me, each shot precise. Timur roars like a bear as he tackles one of Viktor's men, both crashing into the side of a car.
I throw myself into the SUV, my hands trembling so violently I can barely grip the seat.
Daniil dives in after me, slamming the door a split second before a bullet splinters the glass where his head had been.
The window blossoms into a spider web of cracks.
Up front, Lex and Timur leap into their seats, their guns barking as they return fire on Viktor’s men.
“Go!” Daniil bellows to the driver.
The engine roars to life, and we race into traffic with violence that throws me against the seat.
Tires scream against asphalt as we weave between civilian cars.
The driver handles the massive vehicle with expert skill, threading through gaps that seem impossibly narrow.
But headlights flare in the mirrors almost immediately.
A black SUV swerves after us with a deadly purpose.
“Down!” Daniil yells, pushing me low as bullets slam into our rear window. The safety glass holds but fractures completely, obscuring our view.
The SUV jolts left, then right, the driver using every inch of available space to keep us ahead of our pursuers. Viktor is relentless, his engine snarling like a mechanical beast. Metal grinds against metal as his driver rams our side, the impact threatening to send us spinning out of control.
Daniil fires out the window, his muzzle flashing repeatedly.
I grip the seat, my knuckles white with effort.
Horns blare as civilian traffic scatters, drivers pulling to the side or speeding up to get out of our way.
Some aren't fast enough, and I see minor collisions in our wake, adding to the chaos.
Another slam. The SUV jerks violently to the right, tires screaming as the driver fights to maintain control.
My head smacks against the seat, stars bursting across my vision.
The taste of blood fills my mouth where I've bitten my tongue.
Daniil catches me immediately, steadying me against his chest as if the world isn't tearing apart around us.
“Stay with me,” he growls, his voice low and fierce. His arms tighten around me, creating a cocoon of safety in the middle of the storm.
Up ahead, a bridge looms against the darkening sky.
Steel girders stretch like the bones of some massive creature, their shadows falling across the road in geometric patterns.
Viktor’s SUV closes in on our right, while civilian cars clog the left, trapping us in a narrow lane.
There's nowhere to go but forward, onto the bridge where we'll be even more exposed.
“Faster!” Daniil barks.
The driver floors it, the engine roaring with renewed power. But Viktor's SUV rams us again. I hear metal screaming against metal and feel the SUV shuddering with each impact. Sparks fly past the windows like deadly fireworks.
Through the window, I can see Viktor in the passenger seat. Even now his smile is cold and confident. His eyes lock on mine, and I can read his lips as he mouths a single word.
“Mine.”
Rage floods Daniil’s face, transforming his features into feral intensity.
He raises his gun aiming at the driver. The shot is perfect, and the SUV veers off immediately, spinning across multiple lanes before slamming into the concrete median.
Metal crunches and glass shatters in a shower of glittering fragments.
Silence crashes back into our vehicle like a body slam.
Our SUV continues forward, the city finally opening ahead of us as we leave the bridge behind.
Viktor's pursuit has been broken, his vehicle either destroyed or disabled.
For now, we're safe. But men like Viktor don't give up easily, especially when they want something as badly as he wants me.
Daniil pulls me against him, my cheek pressed to the steady thud of his heartbeat. His shirt is damp with sweat, his breathing still elevated from the adrenaline of battle. But his arms around me are gentle and protective rather than possessive.
His voice is a rasp, low and deadly. “I have what I need to bury him, and I will. Viktor’s blood will be the foundation of my justice, and I will make sure his last sight on this earth is my face.”
His words should terrify me. They should send me running from this man who speaks so casually of violence and death.
But all I can feel is the truth in them, and the absolute certainty that he means every word.
And beneath that, the heat of his body around mine, anchoring me in the middle of the storm that has become my life.