Chapter 16 - Vera #2
He was right. I knew he was right. And the moral code he followed only made me fall for him even more.
Nico Romanov was a brave man, and I knew that already.
He was a man of his word and a man who cared about those he loved, and his soldiers and men were practically his family.
I nodded in understanding, not knowing what else to do.
“Please be careful.”
Something changed in his face. Not dramatically. But just enough for me to see it. Enough for him to know I meant it. “I always am.”
I laughed softly. “You really aren’t.”
For a second, he looked almost amused, but then another distant explosion echoed through the structure, and the moment we were sharing vanished as reality crashed back on us.
Nico reached for a rifle and loaded it, my chest tightening as I watched his precise movements.
That meant he was leaving. Of course he was leaving.
He couldn’t stay here. People depended on him. Men were fighting for him. Possibly dying for him. But I hated it anyway.
“Nico.”
He paused. “Yes?”
The question slipped out before I could reconsider. “How bad is it?”
His jaw tightened. “Bad. I need to be out there fighting beside my men.”
The honesty surprised me. Then again, maybe there wasn’t time for lies anymore.
He looked at me for several seconds as if studying me and thinking.
Then something shifted behind his eyes. Something that had been building for weeks.
Maybe months. Maybe since the moment he dragged me out of that church.
“There’s something you’re not telling me, Vera.”
The words landed heavily, and I froze. He was right. I hadn’t told him the threat my father had delivered, which had led me to leave him. I had been afraid he wouldn’t believe me, but now was not the time to have that conversation.
“What do you mean?” I asked instead.
His gaze locked onto mine, unrelenting and focused. “You’ve been hiding something.”
My pulse accelerated. “Nothing, Nico.”
“You took everything, Vera. You took the kidnapping, the stalking, the revenge, the humiliation, the anger, and you stayed with me through all of it. You never once tried to run or resist or leave or escape. Even right now, you know your ex-fiancée is here for you, and yet all you care about is my safety rather than running away. Why, Vera?”
My heartbeat settled because this was a question I could answer. A question I wanted to answer. I had no desire to keep him in the dark about my feelings. I looked directly at him, and for once I didn’t think. I simply told the truth.
“I don’t want to leave, Nico. Now or ever.” The words echoed through the room. Nico didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe. I continued before courage abandoned me. “I never wanted to leave or run or escape. You know this as well as I do.”
“Why?” he asked, his question a whisper.
“I know everything is a mess.” My voice shook as I laughed nervously. “I know we’re a disaster. I know you have every reason to hate me. But I don’t want to leave. I cannot leave you. Not this time. Not again.”
The confession settled between us.
Raw and unfiltered.
Something in his expression cracked just slightly, but it was enough to expose the man underneath.
The one I loved. The one who still loved me despite desperately trying not to.
The realization hurt because we were so close.
So incredibly close. And still separated by secrets.
A loud crash exploded somewhere outside , and both of us flinched.
Reality slammed back into place.
Nico cursed, and a second later, shouting echoed beyond the reinforced door.
Much closer this time. Too close. The hair on the back of my neck rose, and Nico immediately stepped between me and the entrance, his weapon raised. His focus returned while the moment we had just shared disappeared.
“Nico—”
“Stay behind me.”
The shouting grew louder, and the door in front of us trembled. Once. Twice. Then again. My stomach dropped. Someone was trying to force their way inside, which only meant that the attackers had somehow reached us. The safe room wasn’t safe anymore.
Outside, gunfire erupted, and screams followed. The sound of bodies hitting the floor. There was more shouting , and then silence.
Brief, terrible silence.
Nico’s grip tightened on the rifle. Every muscle in his body became steel. The door shook again, much harder this time. Metal groaned, and a warning alarm activated. I felt cold all over.
“Nico.”
He didn’t look away from the door. “It’s okay.”
The lie was immediate. Instinctive. As if he was trying to protect me from the truth.
It almost made me smile, and then the door exploded inward.
Chaos flooded the room. Gunfire erupted as men shouted all around us.
Everything happened at once. Nico moved fast. Faster than I thought possible, and the room filled with deafening noise.
Muzzle flashes. Smoke. Screams.
I stumbled backward, trying to stay out of the way and not panic. Someone crashed into a wall as another body hit the floor. The world became fragments. There was movement, violence, and noise.
Then pain.
A sharp burning sensation tore across my upper arm, and for a second, I didn’t even understand what had happened. Then I looked down and noticed blood. My blood.
“Oh.”
The room tilted as nausea slammed into me. The injury wasn’t severe. I knew that logically. But logic didn’t matter. The sight of blood sent my body into immediate revolt.
“Nico.” The word barely escaped my lips, but his head snapped toward me. Everything changed. Even in my current state, I noticed the absolute terror that crossed his face. It was not fear but terror instead. Pure and immediate.
“Vera!”
The room spun, and my knees buckled. I vaguely heard more gunfire. More shouting. But everything sounded distant now. Muted and far away. Nico reached me just before I hit the floor, and his arms caught me in time. He was strong, safe, and familiar. Just what I needed right now.
“Nico.”
“I’m here.”
The words sounded rough and panicked, which was unlike him. I wanted to tell him I was okay. Wanted to tell him I finally understood. Wanted to tell him the rest.
About my father. About the threat. About why I had lied. About why I had never stopped loving him. But darkness was already pulling me under. The last thing I saw was Nico’s face. The last thing I felt was his hand against my cheek. The last thing I heard was his voice.
Terrified and furious. Breaking in a way I had never heard before.
Then everything went black.