Page 140 of Brutal Reign

This isn’t the end.

The plane door closes behind them with a finality that carves a hole in my chest. The gunfire outside has gone silent, leaving only the sound of my racing heart.

“Report,” Simon barks into his radio.

“All Syndicate operatives eliminated, sir,” comes the crackling response. “Area is secure.”

“Good. Take out Fedorov and the kid. They’re exiting from the rear.”

“NOOO!” The scream tears from my soul as pure, animalistic panic floods my system.

Simon betrayed me. He lied. He never intended to let them live.

Blind rage consumes every rational thought. I slam my elbow back into his ribs with every ounce of strength I possess, feeling something crack. He grunts, loosening his grip enough for me to twist around and drive my knee toward his groin.

“You promised!” I scream. Even with my hands restrained, desperation makes me vicious. “You said you’d let them go! I’m giving you what you wanted, you lying piece of sh?—”

Two gunshots ring out from outside the plane, sharp and final.

The sound stops my heart.

Pavel and Kin. The two people I love most in this world.

A howl tears from my throat, but it feels like I’m floating outside my body. Something inside me dies—the part that hoped, that fought, that believed in tomorrow—withers and turns to ash.

I collapse onto the floor, my body folding in on itself as sobs wrack my chest.

They’re gone. My entire world is gone.

“Fight all you want, but it changes nothing,” Simon spits, kicking me hard in the gut. “I have two relief pilots on standby; we’ll be airborne in minutes.”

He gestures to two men entering the cabin, and I hear them moving toward the cockpit. The engines begin to spool up again, but I don’t care. Nothing matters anymore.

I want to die. I want Simon to put a bullet in my brain so I can follow Pavel and Kin into whatever world comes next. The only reason I don’t beg for it is the burning need for revenge flickering hot in my chest.

If I’m going to die anyway, I’m taking this bastard with me.

Through my tears, I spot something glinting under a nearby seat—a steak knife from a past meal. Moving slowly and trying not to draw attention, I begin working my way across the floor toward it.

My bound hands make the movement clumsy, but I’m almost there. My fingertips brush the handle when Simon’s boot comes down hard on my wrist.

“I thought you were going to be obedient, Hope,” he says mockingly, pressing down until I cry out in pain. “How quickly you forget your promises.”

Just then, the plane door explodes inward with a deafening crash.

CHAPTER

FIFTY-ONE

PAVEL

I standin the aircraft doorway. Blood coats my hands and face, but none of it is mine. It’s all from the bastards who thought they could steal my family. Behind me on the tarmac, Chen’s corpse lies twisted in a crimson pool.

“Did you really think I’d be that easy to kill?” I ask Simon, my tone dark with the promise of agony. Before he can respond, I put a bullet in his shoulder, watching his weapon clatter uselessly to the floor.

Simon screams, clutching his shoulder as red gushes between his fingers, staining his expensive shirt.

“Pavel.” Her voice cracks, disbelief bleeding through. She drags herself upright against the seat, eyes wide and bloodshot. “I heard the gunshots… I thought…”