Page 153 of Cruel Juliet

I lunge for the railing, even though we’re so high up I’d break my neck, never mind my legs. But any shot is better than no shot.

He doesn’t let me tip over. Just yanks me harder and drags me further up. “You’re crazy,” he pants. “Just like your bitch of a mother. Took a few beatings for her to learnherplace. But in the end, she did.” He grabs my arm, nearly tears it out of its socket. “You will, too. Once I’m through with you.”

“I—” I gasp against the effort and the pain. Break past the tears crowding my eyes. “I’m your daughter.”

“You’re nothing.”

He lets me go at the top of the stairs. I fall to my knees. “Dad, please. If you ever loved me…”

I search his face. Try to see a change, any change at all. A small window of humanity left inside the monster.

But there’s nothing.

I never thought I could die while still breathing. But in that moment, a part of me dies. The little girl inside me. Stupid, reckless, naive. And so, so desperate to be loved.

I get to my feet and push.

Nikolai stumbles back against the railing. “What’s this?” he asks, almost amused. “You’re fighting me, girl?”

“Yes,” I cry out.

“Idiot.” He grabs my wrists midair. “Stupid little girl.”

Then blood explodes from his forehead.

It takes a second for me to process what I’m seeing. The hole that opens in his head, red and black at once. The shock that fills his eyes. The empty veil that follows.

His grip on me goes slack, and he falls.

61

PETYR

The second I’m against the window, I see it.

Sima, at the top of the stairs.

Her father, dragging her by the hair, then tossing her to the floor.

I watch her as she rises. My gaze snags on her hands, small and trembling, trying to push the monster away. It’s only a handful of seconds, but it takes forever in my eyes.

I don’t even think before I pull the trigger.

Nikolai’s brain explodes. It isn’t pretty, but it’s effective. Satisfying enough, though a part of me isn’t happy with it.

I’d wanted to make him suffer. Bring him back to the warehouse and watch the light fade from his eyes as he understood he was going to die because of what he did. He killed my father, and I was going to kill him.

But I couldn’t let him hurt Sima for one more second.

My heart clenches as I break down the door and rush to the top of the stairs. I hadn’t wanted her to see it. When I killed her brothers, it happened far away from her eyes. She forgave me for those, but what if she doesn’t forgive me for this? The thought terrifies me.

Then I see her body, swaying at the top of the staircase, and all thoughts evaporate.

“Sima!” She’s pale, swaying. Her hands are clutching the railing, but her grip slips fast.

My first thought is,She’s going to fall.

My second,I won’t let her.