Page 51 of Beautiful Trauma (The Irish Rogues #5)

W hen the plane touched down in Philly, anxiety swirled within me. I feared the moment I stepped off the plane I would be apprehended by some of my father’s men and never get to see Kira.

As I walked out of the terminal, my gaze bounced nervously around. But to my relief, no one popped out to take me. My emotions started to regulate when I made it out of the airport without any altercations. I grabbed a cab and headed to the hospital.

On the drive, I wrung my hands in my lap. I thought of Kellan and wondered if he knew I was gone. And if he’d discovered I was missing, did he put two and two together that I was in Philly.

And I thought about Kira. Had she taken a turn for the better or the worse since I’d talked to Dima? What was she thinking about getting in that car with those drunk people? The guilty part of me felt that if I’d only still been in touch with her, she wouldn’t have made such a poor decision.

When I got to the hospital, I took the elevator up to the ICU. The closer I got to Kira the more frayed my nerves became. I stepped out of the elevator on shaky legs.

I stopped at the nurse’s station to check in. “Yes, I’m here for Kira Korolova.”

The nurse in front of me furrowed her brows. “I’m sorry. But we don’t have a patient here by that name.”

Unease prickled at my scalp before running down my spine. “But when I called the hospital, they said she was here in the ICU.”

“Let me check.”

As the nurse typed on her computer, my gaze flickered around the patient bays. “I’m sorry, miss. But someone must’ve gotten the name confused.”

I swallowed down the rising panic. “There’s no Kira Korolova in this hospital?”

“I’m sorry, but no.”

A shudder rolled through me. “Thank you.”

Slowly, I turned away. Maybe I’d mixed up the hospitals. Maybe she was under an assumed name because of our family.

There had to be a reason other than Dima had lured me here.

As I made my way to the elevator, I tried weighing my options. Should I have a cab take me to Leo and Drea’s? Should I call Kellan? Or should I just get back on a plane and hope that no one caught me before I could.

After pushing the button, I nibbled my bottom lip as I tried making a decision. When the doors opened, I stepped forward and then froze.

Dima stood before me.

The world around me shuddered to a stop. No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. For a moment, I fought to breathe.

A smile curved on his face. “Mila, I’m so glad you could come.”

When I started backing away, he shook his head. “Get on the elevator.”

Since he was still on a cane, I reasoned that I might be able to out run him. “I have men waiting downstairs, so stop trying to think of a way out of this and get on the damn elevator.”

Tears burned my eyes as I reluctantly stepped forward. Once I got on, Dima jabbed the button for the doors to close. “Is Kira okay?” I choked out.

“Yes, she’s fine.”

My knees buckled, and I started to fall. But surprisingly Dima caught me. He was much more agile than the last time I’d seen him that night at Father’s. His face wasn’t creased with pain either.

When the elevator doors opened in the parking garage, I swallowed hard. Grabbing my arm, Dima dragged me beside him out of the elevator. As our shoes echoed off the silent pavement, I turned to him.

“What are you going to do to me?” I questioned in a hushed tone.

“That’s for Father to decide.”

Oh God. This couldn’t be happening. On shaky legs, I stumbled back. As horror rocketed through me, I choked out, “You’re taking me to him?”

“I am.”

“But why?”

“As a show of loyalty. Since my injury, he’s favored naming Aleksander as his heir. I needed a show of strength.”

“And you’d sacrifice your sister to do it?”

Dima’s blue eyes narrowed menacingly. “My sister died the day she chose a Kavanaugh over her own family.”

“What choice did I really have? Even if I hadn’t cared for Kellan, Father was going to kill me.”

“You could’ve died with honor.”

I slowly shook my head at him. “Jesus, Father has done a number on you.”

As Dima glared at me, a car engine roared to life. As an SUV came screeching up to us, Dima said, “Get in.”

As I opened the door, I wondered if this would be the last digital footprint of me before I disappeared forever.

The drive to Father’s was painfully silent. After a while, I turned to Dima. “Does Lev or Aleks know what you’re doing?”

“No. They don’t.”

“What about Maksim?

Dima grunted. “Maks is lucky he isn’t six feet under himself.”

“Why?”

“He’s been leading a secret movement within the men to have Father ousted.”

I gasped. “Does Father know?”

“Yes. That’s why he’s gone underground for the moment.”

Regret flooded me. If only Maksim had been successful and taken my Father out, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Despite everything he had done, I still believed there was a part of the old Dima still inside the man before me.

“What’s your favorite memory of our mother?” I asked softly.

His jaw clenched, and he remained silent.

“My favorite memory isn’t just one specific one.

It was all the Christmases we had with her.

We’d go caroling and bake cookies. I loved the feeling of coming back into the house after Midnight Mass when just the glow of the tree lit the room.

She always let us open one present when we got back.

Then she would sing us to sleep to Silent Night.

” I swallowed my rising tears. “She made everything beautiful.”

Dima didn’t respond. Instead, he kept staring straight ahead. When I realized not even memories of our beloved mother could get through to him, I ducked my head and let the silent tears flow.

“Your tears won’t save you,” he growled.

“I know.” I swiped my eyes. “Besides, they're not for me. They’re for mama.”

Dima shifted in his seat. “It isn’t good to live in the past.”

“It’s never wrong to remember the woman who gave us life and sacrificed everything she had for us.”

He didn’t reply. Instead, he just kept staring ahead. I knew it was pointless to say anything else. He was already lost to me.

At that moment, the SUV began slowing down. Glancing out the window, my stomach lurched.

We’d arrived at Father’s.

Instead of going in the front like we usually did, the SUV wound around to the back.

As I got out of the SUV, Dima grabbed me by the arm and led me into the house.

Ordinarily, there would be staff in the hallways or rooms. But today, it seemed eerily quiet.

It made sense that Father would clear the house for my murder.

Most of them had known me since childhood.

When we got to Father’s office, Dima didn’t knock. Instead, he threw open the door and dragged me inside. While I expected the room to be filled with soldiers, it wasn’t.

Instead, it was only Father behind his desk. With a cruel smile, he rose out of his chair. “It fills me with such happiness that this day has finally arrived.”

Since I knew no words of apology or begging would help, I merely glared at him. He cocked his brows at me. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re insolent to the last.”

Once again, I remained silent. I didn’t know if I could trust my emotions, and I sure as hell wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of crying.

“When Dima told me his plan. I laughed at him. I told him you would never be stupid enough to come into our territory again. Not even on the false pretense that Kira was injured. Yet here you are.”

Tsking, he said, “I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised that your unending love for your siblings would be what brought your downfall. In the end, you were weak.”

As he closed the gap between us, he said, “I have to give it to Dima. He came up with such a detailed plan such as faking the hospital number to go to a phone bank we manned.” He slapped Dima’s back. “He is very useful for a cripple.”

Dima’s jaw clenched at his words, but like me, he remained silent. Father reached into his jacket pocket and produced a shiny black gun. When he started to raise it at me, Dima barked, “NO!”

Father narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”

“It should be me who does it.”

His words sent a knife slicing through my chest. It cut me so deep that I fought to breathe. It was one thing for him to witness my murder, but to actually pull the trigger? It was horrific.

“Why should it be you?”

“To prove my devotion and honor to you and this family.”

Father stared intently at Dima before he slowly nodded his head. “Yes, you’re right. Then we can tell our men that your honor to our family couldn’t even be dissuaded by your traitor sister.”

After Father handed the gun over to Dima, the world slowed to a crawl. My chest rose and fell in harsh pants. I couldn’t believe it had come to this. The man whom I had once loved with all my heart and soul was going to end it.

As Dima stepped towards me, a single tear slid down my cheek. Although I wanted to shutter my eyes from the pain of seeing my brother kill me, I couldn’t bring myself to close them.

When he was as close as Father had been to Mama when he shot her, Dima raised his arm. As I waited for the click, my heart threatened to beat out of my chest.

And then he grabbed my hand. I stared down at it in disbelief before he passed the gun over to me.

“What are you doing?” Father blared.

“Letting her end you.”

I staggered back at his words. “You are?”

Dima nodded. “That’s why I came up with the plan for you to come into our territory.”

Since I didn’t want Father to escape, I quickly pulled my arm up and pointed the gun at him. He sputtered with indignation. “How could you betray me like this?” he demanded of Dima.

A menacing look came over his face. “Because you met with your advisors while I was in a coma. You soft-launched the idea of Aleksander taking my place. But your men wouldn’t hear of it. They wanted Maksim–the leader they should’ve had all along.”

“The stuttering fool’s conniving has sent him underground,” Father scoffed.

Dima smiled. “He’s only underground as part of our plan.”

“Your plan?” I questioned.

“Yes, Maksim and I plan to rule the Korolova family together.”

Hope surged in my chest at the news. “That’s exactly as it should be.”

“It’s ridiculous! There’s no way the two of you can rule together. My men won’t allow it.”

“But they will. You’ve made so many enemies over the years. Some you don’t even realize.” Dima tilted his head. “Like your children.”

“Bullshit.”

“You can't even imagine what your own ignorance and pride has cost you. This whole plan? I wouldn’t have even thought of it if it hadn’t been for Dare Kavanaugh.”

At the reference to the Kavanaugh family, I asked, “What do you mean?”

“This whole plan–it came from researching them.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Father demanded.

“Dare Kavanaugh’s new bride, Ava? When her uncle had her cousin, Ares, kidnap Ava, he cleared his house of soldiers so he could take care of her.

What he didn’t know was that his son wanted his father dead.

So he pretended to be going along with his father’s kidnapping plan.

But in the end, he shot his father. Having him clear the house gave Ares the perfect opening. ”

“And that’s what you think you’re going to do to me?” Father demanded to Dima.

Before Dima could answer, I shook my head. “No. I’m going to be the one to shoot you. And although I’d like to shoot you in the head just like you did Mama, that would be too easy.”

He sneered at me. “You don’t have the guts. You never had.”

I cocked the gun. “The allegedly great Danill Korolova’s legacy will be that he was taken down by his daughter.”

Father’s eyes bulged in rage. “You bit–”

The crack of the gun cut him off. He staggered back as blood poured from his shoulder wound. I aimed the next shot at his crotch. His scream of agony was much louder.

As he collapsed to the floor, I shot him again in the leg. Turning back to Dima, I asked. “How long should it take him to bleed out?”

He shrugged. “Impossible to say.”

“I want to end him, but I want him to suffer.”

“So do I. But it’s too risky. I can’t have some of his men finding him and trying to save him.”

I nodded. As Father howled and bellowed with pain, I pointed the gun at his head. “May you rot in hell.”

And then it was done.

I was a murderer.

And I never imagined it would feel so good.