Chapter 34
Max
Own her? I don’t think so, motherfucker.
A second after I pull the trigger, Anton staggers, spinning sideways as blood blooms across his shoulder. Not the kill shot I wanted, but the best I could get with this angle.
Pavel raises his weapon and searches for the biggest threat in the room. Nika dives into a roll that puts distance between herself and the men who just betrayed her.
We thought we were meeting Dimitri two on one. Now it’s three on two. Normally those odds wouldn’t bother me, but that’s when I’m working alone. Trying to keep Nika safe while taking down these assholes will require some finesse.
My second shot goes wide as Pavel drops to the ground, his gun already tracking up to where I’m perched. Right before his bullets rip through the floor, I back out of sight.
Splinters and chunks of wood fly as I duck and crawl, protecting my face with my shoulder as I get away. Anton screams.
I slide forward to glimpse over the edge, but Pavel doesn’t follow. He’s pivoted toward Anton’s scream. I scan the space for Nika, but she’s out of sight.
Without aiming, I shoot three rounds as cover fire. Pavel jerks back and runs for the support column of the mezzanine on the far side of the room.
We’re in a standoff. Me on the mezzanine, Pavel hunkered down, Nika somewhere in the shadows. Anton’s down, but where is Dimitri?
I survey the gloom for motion. A shape. Anything at all.
I spot him near the entrance.
Dimitri ducks behind the door, using it as a shield. “Get Nika!”
Like hell they will. This is my chaos. My violence. My choice to burn everything down rather than let him have her.
After briefly calculating the fifteen- to twenty-foot drop, I swing over the railing. It’s going to suck, but I’ve endured worse falls.
I drop, tuck, and roll.
My ankle sings like a tenor who just got kicked in the balls, and I grit my teeth through the sharp ache.
Pain comes and goes.
Survival is for life.
Bullets ping off the floor next to me, and I twist to the side. I’m just a few yards from the door.
Dimitri focuses on Nika and worries his bottom lip. Only when he notices me does he reach for his gun.
I’m on him before he can react.
The collision drives him backward into the doorframe. The crack of wood under him is nothing compared to what follows. Each impact eases some of the tension in my gut.
I hit him harder.
Dimitri’s nose explodes under my fist. He curses as hot blood splatters over my skin, and his foot snaps up as he tries to drive the door into my face.
I dodge the strike by sidestepping.
This man framed Sasha. He stole Nika from her family. Destroyed Roman’s heart and kept him suffering in hell. Dimitri killed MJ and spent the last year tormenting my people.
Now he’s trying to take Nika from us—from me—again.
Ducking under his short jab, I catch his forearm. Then I bring the heel of my other hand up, hitting his elbow. The radius and ulna snap, cracking under my palm.
Dimitri’s arm folds backward.
He unleashes a high-pitched scream, his eyes wide as he stares at the jagged bone pressing into his flesh.
That draws a smile from me.
Grabbing his shoulder, I yank him close to my chest. Wrapping my arm around his throat, I catch that fist in the crook of my other arm and start squeezing.
Dimitri’s mouth opens, but I don’t allow him enough air to speak.
I bear down harder, cutting off the attempt. “You’ve done enough talking.”
“Let him go, or she dies.” The younger blond man, Anton, tightens his grasp on Nika, pressing a knife to her neck.
Fuck.
Fear curls in my chest.
Nika’s eyes are wide with fury, blood leaking from her mouth. How the hell did he get her? The knife slides along her throat until a thin crimson trail trickles down.
Rage and indecision hit in equal measure, stilling my arms.
Seconds tick by as the world narrows to this choice.
This moment.
End Dimitri, the man who orchestrated everything, or save Nika.
Sasha’s ghost demands justice. Demands that I finish what I started, that Dimitri pay. And he’s not the only victim in need of vengeance.
Nika.
Images of the last several days flash through my mind. Fighting her in the parking garage, at the hotel, at her house. Feeding her grilled cheese and tomato soup. Sparring in the basement. Her tending to my injuries.
She understands my pain because she’s just as broken as I am.
I’m done thinking.
With a roar of frustration, I shove Dimitri away. He hits the ground, clutching his broken arm. Though pain contorts his face, he nods, his eyes gleaming with triumph.
Electricity jolts through me as every muscle convulses, locking my body tight even as I fall over.
Another pop.
The fucker tased me.
Another surge blurs my vision, and I drop to the floor, convulsing.
Everything distills to white-hot misery.
A steel-toed boot connects with my ribs, radiating agony through my torso. Another blow comes down on my knee, and a third lands right below my kidney.
Someone kicks me in the mouth, and I taste copper. I cling to the rage trying to burst free. It will keep me warm, my heart beating, and my thoughts focused as I endure this momentary setback.
They’ll all pay in spades.
The taser ends, but the kicking continues.
Curling up, I use my hands to protect my head as best I can. One of them kicks at my back and legs, trying to weaken me until I come out of my protective stance.
Nika, who’s bound on the floor a few feet away, screams for them to stop.
The world blurs at the edges, anguish beginning to overwhelm even my well-calloused nerves. The men continue their assault. Boot tread rips at the flesh of my arms and catches my ear.
“Enough.” Dimitri towers over me, gasping for breath.
Blood trickles down from his face, adding copper to the bloody rust already assaulting my nose. I want to reach out, grab his ankle, and snap his leg.
But if I retaliate, Nika dies.
“Well, that was unexpectedly messy.” With a quivering hand, Dimitri wipes the corner of his mouth. “Time to get to work.”