Chapter 27 - Lily
My chest is so tight I can hardly breathe. I can hardly hear past the roaring of my pulse.
There are three guns pointed at us—one for each of the three men surrounding us.
Three against one.
Clinging to Mikhail’s back while I try to stay standing on my shaky legs, something in me wishes I had taken that shooting lesson more seriously and developed a collection of my own. If I had even one weapon on me, we’d be at less of a disadvantage.
At least then I’d be useful and not just a dead weight holding him down.
My stomach aches from the suspense, and I have no idea how we’re supposed to get out of this.
We’re surrounded and cornered completely. There’s nowhere to run in this stretch of never-ending containers, and it feels so bleak.
I want to have faith in Mikhail, but the odds are stacked against him to an obvious degree. He can’t shoot three men at the same time, as much as I wish he could.
With my heart squeezing to the point of pain, I can’t shake the dull ache of the unknown. Of not knowing how this will end and being forced to watch it unfold firsthand.
Maxim takes the slightest step forward, making me flinch. He smirks. “It’s funny, isn’t it, Mikhail? You and your brothers always thought I was just a waste of space. Just because you gained the upper hand before and managed to put me in a bind, you thought that was the end of me.”
Mikhail doesn’t answer, but I still feel the way that tension courses through him and causes his shoulders to tighten.
“I’ll admit, it was bad for a while,” he continues, wearing a nonchalance that sends a shiver down my spine.
“After escaping your hold, I had to stay underground. I had to hide and be patient while you bastards got to carry on like nothing happened. That was when I realized I couldn’t keep going at it from the same approach… I needed to do something different.”
Something twitches in his jaw, betraying a deep, festering bitterness underneath.
“I could’ve scraped up what I had left and tried to build from the ground up somewhere else.
But I don’t want scraps. I don’t want to beg for my place at the table…
I want to take what I deserve—all of it.
And Cattaneo was just the person to help me do exactly that. ”
Maxim nods to Aldo, who keeps his expression steady, not giving anything away. “I gave him information and connections. I helped him understand how your family operates, and in return, he gave me men and firepower. We put a plan together, and it all led us here. To this moment.”
Aldo shifts subtly in his place, his chin raised. He’s not remotely as dramatic as Maxim. His gaze is calculated and waiting. There’s a coldness in his stance that makes me wish we were anywhere else.
Silence lingers in the small space between us despite the gunfire and shouting happening elsewhere, and then Mikhail chuckles, sounding surprisingly amused despite the circumstances.
“This grand plan of yours…it’s a bailout. It has nothing to do with any skill on your end,” he says, keeping his tone level. “If you think relying on a shark will get you anywhere in this world, you’ll never make it. You were always bound to fail, Nikolaev.”
Maxim’s gaze hardens, clearly taking that hit to his pride personally. He tightens his grip on his pistol, making me tense against Mikhail again.
“After all the waiting I’ve done, you don’t get to do this.
You’re in no position to talk down on me now,” he utters, unable to hide that burning resentment any longer.
“I’ve waited years to see you and your brothers fall from that golden pedestal.
You made me look like a fool time and time again.
But not anymore…now it’s your turn, and you’re going to suffer—”
A crack cuts through the air, and something moves by us so quickly that I almost miss it. That sharp, unnatural sound makes my ears ring, and I jolt. Mikhail’s hand on me tightens instinctively.
To our left, Maxim staggers back a step, blinking through a fit of confusion. Then he looks down, nearly guiding our attention to it.
The fabric of his shirt darkens against his chest, gleaming beneath the floodlights as it seeps outwards.
He’s bleeding. Heavily.
Glancing back, it registers as Aldo stands with his arm still raised, eyes set coldly on his supposed business partner. He doesn’t even blink.
With wide eyes full of betrayal, Maxim stumbles back, hand pressed to the wound. He sputters for a moment, and then, without any final word, he hits the ground in a defeated heap. His limbs twitch before he succumbs to the blood loss.
I want to say something…anything. But the shock has its grip on me, and the same applies to Mikhail.
Slowly, Aldo lowers the gun. “He talked too much.”
As that disbelief slowly melts away, and the situation becomes more complicated, Mikhail pulls me away from the wall, keeping me behind him while he aims his weapon at Aldo and his man. His hold on me is protective and wordless.
It’s two guns against one, now.
“What the hell was that?” Mikhail asks, voice a touch rougher than it had been.
Aldo sighs. “He served his purpose.”
“And what purpose was that?”
“Do you think I needed him for his brilliance?” He chuckles, allowing that stone-cold face of his to warm slightly.
“Maxim was an idiot, but he was the real bait. He gave me the information I needed on all the key players in Vegas, especially you and your family. I needed him to lure you in, Lukov, and he did that by taking that wife of yours.”
Aldo’s gaze slides to me for a moment, and my stomach clenches. I hate how it feels.
“Maxim was your pawn. You took what you could from him and used him as your fall guy.”
“And you fell for it. In fact, you made it too easy,” he murmurs, continuing with that easy confidence. “You waved your little prize around like a signal for us, showing her off and putting her in the center of your world. You made her important. How could I resist?”
Mikhail grounds out, “Touch her, and you’ll never know a day without pain.”
“I believe you,” Aldo says with a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
“But this isn’t entirely about her. She’s just leverage, and potentially a message too.
When the others see the mighty Lukovs can’t even protect their own wives, they’ll see it as open season on everything you’ve made.
Your empire will weaken, and I’ll be waiting at the gates to claim it for my own. ”
I feel the tension shifting in Mikhail’s body while he calculates. He’s poised, ready to make his move, but he’s waiting for an opening. The one opportunity that will change it all.
I’m ringing with adrenaline, gripping the back of Mikhail’s shirt like it’s the only anchor I have left. Even if I should pull away and give him space to handle it, I can’t. I have half a mind to think holding on tighter will keep him safe. That it’ll keep us safe.
Before, I would’ve given everything to get away from Mikhail and his world. I was prepared to run at any opportunity. But now, I can’t stomach the thought of anything happening to him.
I can’t go through it. I can’t experience that kind of profound loss again, not when I was just starting to understand what it means to care for him. Not when we were starting to build trust.
But there isn’t anything else I can do.
I have no weapon. No skills that could help us here and now. I only have hope that feels more precarious with every passing moment.
As Aldo and his man raise their guns again, my whole system tightens up while I brace myself for the inevitable.
My eyes squeeze shut.
Then, another crack splits through the silence, making my heart stop.
But it doesn’t come from Aldo’s gun. Not from his man, either.
It comes from somewhere behind them.
At once, the guard jerks forward as blood trickles from his mouth. He coughs once, catching Aldo by surprise. Everyone freezes.
As the man falls forward, slumping against the ground much like Maxim did, that’s when we see him.
Roman.
He doesn’t utter a word. Instead, he gives his brother a look that says it all.
Move.
That brief moment of stillness is all he needs.
In a blur, Mikhail raises his pistol, aiming at Aldo before squeezing the trigger.
His gun cracks, echoing between the shipping containers flanking us. The bullet pierces his chest, and he fires another for good measure.
Aldo’s body flinches from the impact of each, and before I can fully register it, he, too, hits the ground with a sickening sound.
He stops moving.
Roman glances between the two of us, seemingly noting that we’re both alright, and at the same time, more Lukov men move in, surrounding us from all sides.
Standing there, I can’t manage a single word, or even a thought for that matter. The shock grips me so tightly that everything else fades into the background. Every step and uttered word turns into nothing more than a muffled sound.
I only register as Mikhail turns to face me, eyes full of worry despite being edged with relief.
In just a step or two, he’s there, wrapping his arms around me without hesitation. He pulls me closer, burying his face in my hair. “Lily…are you alright?”
Despite my trembling, I nod, trying to keep myself upright. Trying to stay balanced.
As Mikhail holds me tighter, I feel the coolness of tears running down my face, and I realize I’m crying. Not forcefully or with any intense pain, just silently, as if I’ve been holding it in for too long.
I can’t help it while everything hits me at once—the fear, the helplessness, the noise, and the sheer chaos.
It’s more than I’m used to and more than I’ve ever been willing to witness.
“Hey, look at me,” Mikhail says gently, cupping my face with both hands while brushing his thumbs against my cheeks. “You’re safe now…I’ve got you.”
Nodding, I know it’s true, but it takes another moment for it to fully sink in.
“This was never supposed to happen,” he murmurs, lightly pressing his forehead to mine. “You were never supposed to see all of this…I’m sorry, Lily.”
Those words make my heart clench, and my chin tremble. The reassurance feels like a balm I didn’t know I needed. But even while shaking and clinging to him, I believe him.
“Come on, I’m getting you out of here,” Mikhail says with a note of finality that soothes me enough to get my legs working again.
He leads me out of the container maze while his brothers and their forces lock the place down. His arm is firm and protective around me while he guides us both out.
The lot is still humming with energy and bodies, but at the very least, most of the living ones are Lukovs, and it all begins to fade while we leave.
Without any prompting, Mikhail helps me into the vehicle, pressing a gentle kiss against my temple. His hand rests on my stomach idly before moving to the driver’s seat.
The way home is quiet, but that’s exactly what I need, and I have the feeling he already knows that.
All the while, his hand rests on my thigh, and the smell of his cologne keeps me locked in the present. His touch reminds me that I’m safe.
Even if everything has changed, he is still a constant. This complicated thing between us is, too.
Despite my exhaustion, I reach for his hand and lace our fingers together, feeling the way he lightly squeezes my hand in return.
Regardless of all the horrors I’ve seen tonight, having Mikhail beside me is enough.