Chapter 38
Max
Did that sick bastard really think he’d be able to take Nika against her will? Does he even know her? She’d find a way to end him. That I’m sure of.
The world shifts as I try to breathe, and my broken rib grinds. Killing those four guys out front without letting Dimitri and his two chucklefucks know I was there was tricky.
One bulky guy with sunglasses actually got a hit in before I could slit his throat, so I had to break his neck instead.
Then Dimitri lost his shit, and I had to handle Tweedledum and Tweedledee at the same time as they rushed out. Which was when I broke one of the knuckles on my left hand and rebroke the rib that had just started healing.
Somewhere along the way, I got a decent cut along my chest too. Tightening my muscles, I force air in and out of my lungs, allowing the pain to ground me. Nika’s all that matters now.
Her right hand hangs useless, purple with signs of broken bones. Still, she lifts her bound hands, ready to fight.
She’s incredible. Even battered and broken, she doesn’t give up.
Her eyes find mine, and I catch a glimpse of gratitude, relief, hope, and the knowledge that she’s not in this fight alone shining in those dark depths.
“Max.” Dimitri greets me as he would an old friend, but I recognize the sheen to his expression. Stiffly casual. The sign of a man beyond pain due to all the opiates in his system. His broken arm is in a sling, tucked tight against his chest. “You’re remarkably resilient.”
The last day and a half of not knowing if Nika was alive or if I was on a mission of vengeance has nearly killed me. Seeing her, breathing and waiting for me…
I never want to lose her again.
Dimitri smirks and pivots toward Nika, and I read his intentions to hold her hostage. He and I lunge at the same moment.
She flows backward, her foot coming up to connect with Dimitri’s jaw. His momentum knocks her off-balance, but she sends him flying.
That’s my girl.
I check my forward trajectory and lash out with the knife.
Dimitri sees me and drops, rolling under my outstretched arm. For a second, I think he’s sprinting for the door. Then his good hand goes for his sling.
“Gun!” Nika screams.
Throwing myself at him, I land on top of Dimitri. His ruined arm gets caught between us, pressing against my broken rib. That’s the least of my problems as my hand finds his gun.
He gets off one shot, and the scent of gunpowder burns my nose. I squeeze harder. The slide catches on my palm along the ejector port. The magazine tries to feed the next bullet up, but my hand jams the weapon.
Hurts like a bitch, but he can’t shoot me like this.
Dimitri keeps pulling the trigger, aiming any which way he can. While I’m distracted, he slams his forehead against mine.
The world tilts again, but I hold on tight as he tries to roll out from under me. He can’t manage one-handed, so he releases the gun and punches me in the kidney. I return the favor by grabbing his broken arm and twisting.
His face blanches, and sweat breaks out on his forehead. He punches me in the gut, then rams his heel into my shin.
I grunt as pain lances up my leg.
It’d be fucking great if the universe could stop attacking my damn lower limbs.
My wince gives him enough room to slip free. At the last minute, he kicks my broken rib. My vision goes white, agony searing through my torso.
I grit my teeth and keep moving, instinctively putting space between us before my vision fully clears. Heading toward the side of the cave, I smack my hand against what I hope is the wall. The gun stuck in the meat of my palm shakes loose and clatters to the stone.
Once my sight comes back, it’s too late.
Dimitri points another weapon at my head from four feet away, a sick grin on his bruised face.
My stomach lurches to my feet.
“Get fucked!” Nika’s voice rings out from somewhere to my left as a black shape streaks through the room.
The object smashes Dimitri in the face. He falls backward, slipping in the mud we tracked in through the entrance.
I blink down at the enormous hardcover Russian Bible lying open on the cave floor.
Call me a pessimist, but I think purging Dimitri of sin will require more than a strongly worded parable.
Dimitri gurgles, blood pouring out of his fucked-up nose. When he aims the gun at Nika and squeezes the trigger, I charge.
Air flutters against my cheek as the bullet whizzes over my shoulder toward the back wall.
Nika yelps.
Rage courses through me, turning my vision red.
Pulling out my last knife, I throw it with every ounce of strength and fury I possess.
The blade buries itself in Dimitri’s right shoulder.
He doesn’t flinch, too numbed by drugs. Just like I thought.
The gun swivels toward my chest, but the knife in his arm slows him down.
I keep running even as a boom reverberates through the room. A chunk of rock tumbles from the wall several feet over Dimitri’s head. I glance back to find a wide-eyed Nika holding the gun I tossed aside.
“Aim for the chest!” I return my attention to Dimitri while continuing to yell out advice. “Exhale. Squeeze slowly.”
Dimitri pushes himself to his feet, attempting to maintain some distance.
I lunge for his gun, careful not to get in Nika’s line of fire. I’d rather not get shot.
Dimitri jerks back, either dodging my reach or Nika’s round as a stalagmite shatters between us. Rock flies in all directions. Small shards scratch my cheek, but the majority rip into the back of Dimitri’s hand.
Even with the drugs in his system, that’s significant damage. The gun falls from his slackened grip, and he flees.
As he does, Nika shoots again. The bullet misses by an inch. From the corner of my eye, I catch the white streak of her hair as she charges forward.
Scooping up the second gun, I sprint after Dimitri.
This ends now.
He ducks through the cave opening and into the bright light of day outside, but we’re right on his heels.
Lifting the gun, I aim the barrel at his back. “Dimitri, you bastard!”
He continues to flee as I emerge in the sun, squinting. After a few seconds, my vision clears and I spot the cliff fifty feet ahead.
Time warps as we gain on him.
“Hey!” Just as Dimitri reaches the cliff, Nika raises her own weapon. “Face us like a man, you coward!”
With nowhere to go, he spins around. “Don’t do this. We can make a deal—”
I exhale and fire, my heart pounding in my ears.
The bullet finds its mark, and Dimitri jerks and lurches into the air. Shock widens his eyes. With the snap of vines and branches, he falls, blood trailing behind him along with his scream.
I slow down and hold up a hand so Nika doesn’t go racing to her death.
“You got him.” Nika releases the weapon and cradles her swollen hand.
Her eyebrows arch as she notes the six corpses crowding the level stone area in front of the cave vault. Picking my way over bodies, I step to the edge of the cliff and peer down at the drop off the mountain to the jagged rocks of the shore.
The higher tree branches sway, showing the trajectory Dimitri took over the edge. Straight to the rock-littered shore over three hundred feet below us. The surf goes out in a rush of foam, then slams back in.
Nika stops beside me, and for several seconds, we observe in silence.
Red blooms over stone as the surf crashes against the rocks, fading to pink as the waves surge back into the ocean.
“Looks like you’re an only child again.” I tuck the gun into my waistband and pick up the one she dropped.
She smiles, then starts to sway. I grab her, pulling us both back from the brink.
She wraps her arm around my neck, tucking her broken hand along her hip. “You have such a way with words, Max. It’s no wonder I fell for you.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I grin. “Maybe, but Dimitri fell for me too. And harder.”
Nika’s silvery laughter rings out as she launches herself into my arms.