Chapter Thirty-Seven
April
I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die.
I repeated those words over and over while Mikhail taunted Igor on the phone and waved his gun around like a madman.
“After tonight I will be a very, very wealthy man. And I will be the one to end the Romanov line once and for all,” his grin was wide, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Even though he was doing this, he wasn’t completely sure about it.
Are you going to bet your life on it, April? No. No, I wasn’t.
Igor’s tone was ice cold as he said the one thing that finally wiped that smile off Mikhail’s face. “I have Voronov.”
I wasn’t sure if Igor could see it, but his shoulders stiffened, and his grip tightened on the gun.
A moment later he visibly relaxed and shrugged.
“Oh well. This is going to hurt you more than it hurts me.” Mikhail turned sideways, the camera still aimed at his face and a smile slowly crept from one side to the other.
Slowly, his arm lifted and I knew what was coming.
My eyes bounced around the shed again, landing on the hand saw first and then the canteens and camouflage that hung on the walls.
None of it was useful. Neither were the fishing poles or those ugly looking swamp suits from the movies.
Then I spotted the shotgun and flicked my gaze back to Mikhail who still taunted Igor.
“Either way, you’ll be the only Romanov left in just a few minutes.”
My heart pumped so hard, so loudly that I couldn’t hear anything else.
All I saw was his hand getting higher and higher and the only thing that would save me was the fact that he wasn’t looking at me.
Yet. Do something, my inner voice urged me over and over since my feet were frozen in place while my heart hammered like a machine. Grab the fucking gun.
I risked one more look at Mikhail who glanced at me with disgust and aimed the gun at my stomach before he turned back to Igor, smug smile still in place.
I bent my legs and reached to the right where the shotgun rested against the wall, sending a prayer of thanks into the universe for whoever had been too lazy or too tired to put it back.
With a small grunt I pinched the bead and pulled it closer until I could grab the barrel.
Yes!
There was no time to waste and the minute the cold barrel touched my palm I lifted the gun and pressed the butt pad just below my shoulder, took aim and squeezed the trigger.
Dad would be proud.
“What the… fuck!” Mikhail looked down at his stomach with a shocked expression before he smiled up at me. It wasn’t a fatal shot, and we both knew it. “Always. Two. Shots.” His words were stilted but it had to hurt like hell from the short distance that separated us.
“Thanks for the tip.” I refused to waste time, so I re-centered my aim and took another shot. A scream pushed past my lips as Mikhail dropped to his knees and then face down.
Dead.
I dropped the gun just as my own knees gave out and I fell to the ground while tears streamed down my cheeks. I killed a man today. Sure it was to save my life and the life of Igor’s baby, but still, the gravity of that weighed heavily on me while the pool of blood around Mikhail grew and grew.
I didn’t know how much time passed while I sat there, crying and staring at Mikhail’s lifeless body, but in the distance, I heard shouting. Self-preservation should have kicked in, and I should have reached for the gun again or maybe went in search of a place to hide, but I was motionless.
Frozen.
The shed door smacked open with enough force that the items on the wall shook and still I didn’t look up.
“April!”
I recognized the voice, but I couldn’t move, couldn’t turn my head to look at him.
“April!” Igor called again, yet I still couldn’t move. And then he was there on the floor beside me, holding me close and kissing my forehead. “Fuck, April. You’re okay. You’re okay.” He whispered those words to me over and over again.
I wasn’t okay, but I knew what he meant, and I nodded against his chest.
“Both of you are safe,” he whispered and put his big hand to my belly.
At those words, the dam broke, and the tears were joined by body shaking sobs. I cried hard and gripped his shirt as everything I felt flowed from my body. “I k- killed him.” I pointed to where Mikhail was still face down on the cement floor.
Ivan knelt beside him with a serious expression on his face as he confirmed what I already knew was true. “He’s gone.”
“You’re not dead.” The words came out on another sob as I took in the sight of Ivan, happy that he wasn’t another victim of mine. “You’re not dead.” Igor helped me to my feet, and I rushed to wrap Ivan in a hug. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”
He flashed a smile. “Just a bump to the head,” he assured me and allowed me to hug him.
“You keep getting hurt because of me.”
His gaze flashed to Igor and then back to me. “Couldn’t think of a better reason.”
“What the fuck?” Maxim arrived with a man in a suit. And zip ties. He looked at Ivan and then Igor before his gaze settled on me.
“April killed Mikhail,” Igor answered with a hint of pride in his voice. He held me a little tighter before he looked at me with a smile. “Maybe I should put you on the payroll.”
“I’m already on the payroll,” I reminded him. Or maybe I was reminding myself that while my heart was full and I was totally in love with this man, he very likely didn’t feel the same way.
Igor turned to me fully and took my face in both of his hands, giving me no choice but to stare at his handsome face. “We still have to talk and we will. Tonight. It’s important.”
My gaze flicked over to the man who Maxim held in a death grip who I figured had to be Voronov. “But you’re not done yet.”
He nodded and pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m not done yet.”
I didn’t know what he wanted to talk about, but I was sure it wasn’t that he loved me and couldn’t imagine life without me, so I pushed up on my toes and pressed my lips to his, taking what very well might end up being our last kiss. My last taste of him before we parted ways.
“Later,” he growled, the words a promise that sent a shiver down my spine. “Take her to the house and keep an eye on her until I return.”
Ivan nodded.
“Now I see why you like her. Strong and beautiful,” Voronov said but his words were cut off by Maxim’s giant elbow crashing against his mouth.
I looked over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of the other side of Igor. The gangster. The criminal. He was still the man I loved, the man I longed for, but he was many other things as well.
I didn’t care about any of that, I only wanted him to be mine.