Page 76 of Beautiful Trauma

With a nod, Kellan turned and started back across the tarmac.

Dima grabbed hold of my arm and jerked me towards the SUV. I flung out of his hold. “Don’t put your hands on me.”

“You wouldn’t be arguing if that was Kellan, would you?”

“He wouldn’t manhandle me out of anger like you are.”

Remorse flooded his face. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

When we reached the SUV, one of the bodyguards stepped out to open the door for me. As I turned to get inside, Dima stepped past me, determination etched on his face. “What are you–”

My words choked off when the gleam of the silver gun in his hand caught the light. The realization of what he was about to do sent a shudder through me.

“Dima, no!” I gasped.

He threw a glance at me over his shoulder. “I have orders.”

I grabbed his arm. “But he saved my life!”

Although indecision swirled in his eyes, he gave a slight shake of his head.

The world slowed to a crawl as I watched my brother point a gun at Kellan’s retreating form. As my heartbeat pounded in my ears, I had two choices. I could watch my brother kill the man I cared for, or I could stop him and face the wrath of my father.

As Kellan’s face filled with compassion for me flashed before my eyes, a blood-curdling scream erupted from deep in my throat. “KELLAN!”

At the sound of my voice, Kellan spun around just as Dima fired the gun. Seconds ticked by agonizingly slow. A hulking bodyguard shoved Kellan to the ground before snapping back when the bullet hit him in the stomach.

Dima whipped his head around to pin me with a wild stare. “Dammit, Mila!” he snarled.

Before I could tell him I was sorry, a jolt went through him like he’d been zapped with a wire. Pain contorted on his face before he sank to the ground. “Dima!” I screamed.

When I dropped down beside him on the tarmac, I cradled his head in my lap. Staring down at him, my vision flickered. One moment it was Dima staring up at me, and the next, it was my mother.

I’d been in the same position thirteen years ago.

As his eyelids fluttered, tears streamed down my cheeks. “Please stay with me, Dima!”

“MILA!”

I tore my gaze from Dima to see Kellan being dragged up the plane steps by two bodyguards. He was fighting desperately against them to break free. “MILA, I’M SO FUCKING SORRY!”

As I stared at his retreating form, our own bodyguards came rushing from the SUVS. While two of them started returning fire, two others tore Dima away from me, rushing him into theSUV. When I remained frozen on the ground, one of them came back and grabbed me up before tossing me onto a seat.

The SUV squealed out of its spot and began tearing away from the airport. My blood-stained fingers pressed against the windows as Kellan’s plane began to taxi down the runway in the opposite direction.

In one day, I feared I’d lost two of the men I loved.

CHAPTER TWENTY: MILA

As the SUV careened in and out of traffic, I kept a tight hold on Dima’s hand. Instead of taking him to a hospital, he was to be brought to my father’s house. Bratva men and women were never taken to the hospital.

Hospitals meant questions, and questions brought the police. In the basement of my father’s mansion, there was a state of the art medical center that was used whenever our men were injured.

When we finally reached the house, I ceased my prayers. Dima’s hand was torn from mine as they took him from the SUV. As they carried him into the side door, I lurched behind them like a zombie.

A surgical team stood waiting on Dima. After the bodyguards carrying Dima eased him onto a gurney, I glanced around. I didn’t see my father or other brothers.