Chapter 8
Aurora~
Out of the four weak points in Viktor’s security surveillance, I’d chosen the easiest one; the entry point nearest Viktor’s security house near the west end of the main house.
Though the surrounding fence was high enough to deter most people, the barbed wire at the top wasn’t as threatening as it should be if you knew what you were doing.
However, that wasn’t the weakness that I’d been talking about.
Viktor’s property had four blind spots, though you couldn’t tell unless you were looking for them specifically, which I’d had.
Though the entire fence surrounding the property was made out of concrete block, the trees surrounding the fence were easily accessible, and the brush provided the perfect camouflage at night.
So, with five branches hanging over the fence-and the barbed wire-someone who didn’t weigh much could easily slide over the foliage, then onto the property, dropping right behind the security house, which was what I’d done.
The assumption that no one would be stupid enough to break in near the actual security post was also another plus in the enemy’s favor.
Of course, getting onto the property was quite different from getting into the house, but after the text that I’d gotten from Viktor, I’d taken my chances with the doors being unlocked, and with my hunch proving correct, I was now walking towards his office, my gun cocked, aimed, and ready to go.
It also helped that he’d left his office door wide open, inviting me in like a dare.
When I finally walked into the room, Viktor was leaning up against his desk, presumably waiting for me, but it wasn’t like I’d been tiptoeing around his house. Plus, it’d been too easy to get inside, which had led me to believe that he’d told his guards to stand down at some point.
“You’re standing there like I won’t really shoot you,” I remarked as I shut the door behind me, not needing an audience for this.
“Oh, I’ve seen the video, Aurora,” Viktor replied smoothly. “I know that you’re not afraid to pull that trigger.”
“Then what is this?” I asked, not having expected this. While I still wasn’t certain that he was behind the attack, I’d thought a gun to his face might make him talk, but I really should have known better.
“This is me taking responsibility for what happened to you,” he stated evenly. “While I wasn’t the one who ordered the hit, you still got hurt under my watch.”
“How noble of you,” I deadpanned.
“Baby, if you think that I’m the one who ordered you dead, then pull the trigger,” he said, surprising me. “If you really believe that, then do it.”
“And you talk about me being cavalier about my life,” I retorted, wondering what he was playing at, but also cursing myself for being curious enough not to pull the trigger yet.
“I’ve spent almost three weeks without you in my bed,” he said as he straightened. “Three fucking weeks not knowing if you were fine, had taken a turn for the worse, or if you were dead. But, those three weeks also gave me a lot of time to think, and do you want to know what I came up with?”
“What?” I asked as he stepped towards me, right in the line of fire.
“I’d rather be dead than live without you,” he said, his chest finally coming up against the barrel of the gun. “I’d also rather be dead than continue to live with you believing that I would ever hurt you.”
What in the actual fuck?
“So, if you really believe that, then all I’m asking is that you don’t miss,” he went on.
“They were all Russians,” I repeated.
“I know, baby,” he said, his voice sounding like we were in the bedroom. “But none of them had been Korolevs, and if you want to know more, I’d be happy to tell you all about it.”
“Armen was,” I pointed out, almost disappointed that he hadn’t gone for the gun yet.
“Yes, he was,” he conceded. “But he wasn’t acting on my authority.”
I cocked my head at him. “Maybe he was acting on the authority of your newest friend.”
Viktor shot me a look, but I was hardly intimidated by it. “You want to know the absolute truth about that?”
Now, while a stronger woman would tell him to go eat a bag of dicks because she didn’t care, I cared; I cared for two reasons.
I cared because his little stunt had distracted me enough to get shot and stabbed.
Had I not been jealous over him fucking other women, then I would have noticed how Armen had been driving me in the opposite direction of the house, and so, yeah, I wanted to know the reason that had led up to me being careless for the first time in my life.
I also wanted to know the truth because the feelings were there, whether I wanted them to exist or not.
While he’d said that the three weeks apart had given him time to think, it’d done the same for me.
It’d given me time to go over what had happened, and how it still didn’t make sense that Viktor would do such a sloppy job of killing me.
Nonetheless, in all the thinking that I’d done, only two choices had been left at the end of it all; I could choose whether to believe him or not.
I could believe him, trusting that he’d avenge me, or I could not believe him and kill him where he stood, risking everything that my family had built, voiding the entire reason that we’d gotten married in the first place.
Of course, I hadn’t expected him to present a third option when walking in this room, but here we were.
“Yes,” I answered.
“I was still pissed that you were lying to me about where you’d been that night, and I wanted to hurt you for it,” he said, his explanation sounding plausible. “I wanted to make you pay for lying to me and making me feel out of control, so I tagged on something easy; another woman.”
“Well, it worked,” I replied honestly.
“No, it didn’t,” he argued. “When I turned to address you, the look in your eyes almost dropped me to my knees. For the first time outside the bedroom, you didn’t look cold, distant, or in control.
The feeling of betrayal lit your eyes on fire, and regret hit me harder than you will ever know, Aurora. ”
It was my worst nightmare that I wanted to believe him.
In fact, this was the very reason why I had stayed a virgin until him.
I had spent my entire life putting my family first, and I’d been wise enough to recognize that love could jeopardize that level of commitment.
While I’d never betray my family, loving someone outside your blood still changed the game.
“As soon as Armen walked you out, I made it clear who I was and where my loyalties lay, and I made sure to do it in front of the contractor,” he went on.
“Though nothing can undo how I had disrespected you, the only thing that I can tell you is that it will never happen again. There’s also no way in hell that I’d ever touch another woman when you’re an option. ”
“Such pretty words,” I quipped. “Too bad I don’t believe you.”
“Yes, you do,” he countered. “You just don’t want to believe me.”
“And what makes you say that?”
“Because you haven’t shot me yet,” he answered, calling my bluff.
My back straightened at that. “Maybe I just like watching you try to squirm your way out of this.”
“Which would make sense if I was the type of man who squirmed, baby,” he shot back.
Ignoring that, I said, “Only a fool would believe you, Korolev.”
Viktor finally grabbed the barrel of the gun, but it wasn’t to push it away or take it from me.
Instead, he raised it higher, placing it directly against his forehead, saying, “Then pull the trigger, Aurora. If that’s how you feel, if that’s what you truly believe, then pull the trigger and put us both out of our misery. ”
Pride had me wanting to blow his brains out all over his office, but doubt was holding me back.
Doubt and self-realization that I had come here to do more than shoot the man; I had come here for an explanation that I so desperately wanted to believe.
After all, to his point, the proof was in how I hadn’t shot him yet, even if I really wanted to.
“Pull the trigger, baby,” he repeated. “I’ve already instructed the guards to let you walk out of here once you do.”
That took me aback a bit. “Are you serious?”
Just then, he stepped back to pull his phone from his pocket, then dialed a number without hesitation. When the man on the other end answered, Viktor put the phone on speaker, then asked, “Do you remember the direction that I gave you if you hear any gunshots?”
“Of course, Sovietnik,” the deep voice automatically replied. “We are to remain at our posts until we hear from you or until after your wife has left the premises.”
“Just making sure,” Viktor lied. “And to be clear, that direction has not changed.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Viktor hung up, all I could do was stare up at him, completely flabbergasted. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Maybe I’ve just finally found the one thing that I want more than my own life,” he replied, and that’s when I knew that there’d be no coming back from this.
That’s when I knew that Viktor was serious.