Page 12

Pavel

The second I stepped into the penthouse, I knew something was wrong. My gun is drawn, and my body is on high alert. Roman and Mikhail move in behind me with their own weapons armed at the ready. The only thought in my mind is that I have to find her.

My shoes move against the cold marble floor of the foyer, and then I slowly make my way inside. I look over my shoulder at Roman and Mikhail and give them the signal to spread out. They nod in acknowledgment and fan out. I step deeper into the ample space. I walk through the foyer and come to the living room, and I freeze. The blood in my veins turns to ice, and my entire existence tilts on its axis.

“Shit.” I hiss under my breath at the sight of her. “Anya.”

The world narrows to a single point of focus as I launch myself forward, every instinct driving me toward her motionless form. Air rasps through my teeth, and the steady drum of my heartbeat pounds in my skull. My feet slam against the floor in a rhythm that mimics the rising panic, a visceral urgency clawing at my insides as the distance between us collapses in an excruciating slow-motion sprint.

The sight of her is a knife's edge against my senses—the disarray of her usually fierce presence, the stillness that screams danger and violence. For a brief, agonizing moment, I wonder if I'm already too late if the betrayal and gunfire have left nothing but destruction behind. I refuse to think about her lifelessness, refuse to accept it as I close the space between us with brutal desperation.

“Anya.” My voice breaks as I am barely able to get her name past my lips. “Fuck.”

Her name tears out of me again, a strangled plea against the oppressive silence. I drop to my knees beside her and finally see the full extent of what’s been done.

She’s crumpled on the floor— and she’s not moving. My vision tunnels. The walls blur. I hear nothing but the pounding in my ears.

“Anya!” I’m already moving, falling to my knees beside her. I am no religious man, but at this moment, I seek the heavens for some kind of divine intervention. I can’t believe that this is actually happening right now. The fear grips my throat with so much force that I struggle to breathe.

“Come on,” I feel around, praying for a damn pulse, and then I feel it. It’s the faintest of beats, but it’s there. “Oh, thank God.”

My head hangs in relief, and the weight that had pressed against my ribcage finally releases its hold on me.

“You’re alive.” I stare at the blood that stains the floor underneath her, but when I assess her, it seems that it’s not coming out of her—anymore. She needs immediate medical attention. “I need to get you out of here. Come on.”

I shift her body, carefully lifting her into my arms. I carry her through the room, my senses on high alert, my eyes scanning every corner for any sign of danger.

As I step into the hallway, I hear the sound of footsteps approaching. I grip my gun tighter, bracing myself for whatever lies ahead. Then I saw my two men come in shaking their heads after they had searched and found nothing.

“I’ve got her,” I say to Roman and Mikhail, who appear at the end of the corridor.

“Let’s get out of here,” Roman says, his voice grim.

We move quickly, retreating through the penthouse, our steps echoing in the opulent silence. I can feel Anya’s body trembling against mine, her breaths shallow and erratic.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, my voice barely a murmur. I press my lips to her temple and offer the smallest of kisses. “I’ve got you.”

But I’m not sure if I’m trying to reassure her or myself.

As we make our way out of the penthouse, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re not out of the woods yet. Dmitri is a dangerous man, and he loves a good game. It was too easy for me just to walk in and get her.

But I can’t think about that right now. My only thought is to get her to safety so she can be attended to. For now, the empire can wait. The siege can wait. She is the only thing that matters to me. I’m determined to protect Anya, to keep her safe from him.

I don’t know when exactly the lines blurred. I used to care only about my empire and not about her, but now they have one and the same goal.

As the four of us make it out of the front door, we come face to face with a man I had assumed was meant to be down by the car waiting. Victor stands at the end of the hallway with his eyes hard set on me. A look of sheer determination and focus in his eyes.

I pause, my arms tightening around Anya. She moves in my hold, her eyes fluttering open and closed.

“Victor,” I say, my voice coated in ice. I then look at Mikhail and nod. He comes to my side and carefully takes Anya from my arms. “Take her back inside.”

The tension that lingers in the atmosphere is thick and filled with betrayal and low simmering rage. I know exactly what this is, and, in hindsight, I should have seen it coming.

“How long?” The hallway is so quiet that my voice carries like a shout across the walls. “I always did take you for a coward, but never did I think you would turn into a snitch.”

I stare into the eyes of the informant. Roman shifts beside me, alert. I hold my gun steady at my side.

The door to his left swings wide open, and none other than the asshole himself walks out with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. Dmitri steps into the hallway. He’s calm. Dressed in his usual tailored arrogance, his eyes scanning the room with disinterest—until they landed on Anya.

And then he smiles. “Did you miss me?” he says lazily, spreading his arms out wide. “While the city of Barcelona had its beauty, I sure did miss New York.

Behind him, Victor draws his own gun. He looks me dead in the eyes. For a moment, I see the slight flicker of regret that moves in his irises. I had trained this man from boy to killer. I had taken him off the streets of the Bronx and given him a purpose, and yet here he stands before me, like a mother fucking traitor.

“Leave Victor to me, boss.” Roman stands at the ready. His gun raised, and his eyes locked on his target. “I will shoot him dead like a dog for what he’s done.”

Victor just takes up position next to Dmitri like the little roach he is. Dmitri turns his head and gives him a gentle pat of congratulations. My stomach turns. There is nothing I hate more than a betraying leech.

“You’re going to die for what you did, Victor,” I say in the thick of the tension that lingers all around us. “And you will suffer at my hand, Dmitri, for what you’ve done. You touched what was mine.”

“She was supposed to be dead,” he says, nodding toward Anya like she’s nothing. “I told you to kill her, Pavel. If you had just killed her, none of this would have happened.”

“I think you are mistaken, Dmitri. I am going to give orders around here. You see, you gave the hit assignment to the wrong man. I have waited for this moment for years. Anya unraveled your system. Everyone knows everything about your empire now. That is not relevant at the moment. You have never admitted your participation in my daughter’s murder and Mikhail’s sister. I knew you were involved. Do you even remember them? Little Francesca and Lillian?”

Dmitri yawns dramatically. “Yes, Dmitri, I killed your one-year-old child and Mikhail’s sister. Quite frankly, you should have never slept with your friend's sister in the first place—she was part of Markus’ syndicate. How could I just let that go? The man robbed me of 3 million dollars, and Lilian helped. And don’t you think for a second that I didn’t know who you were. I just didn’t think you cared that much about your little girl and Mikhail’s sister. Who cares that they died?”

“Don’t say their names!” I spit with the fury of hell itself. “You killed an innocent woman and my daughter.”

He raises his hand to make me pause. “Correction, I ordered the kill, but I’m not the one who pulled the trigger. That honor went to your friend over here.”

My entire world comes to a screeching halt like a needle on a record player. I blink, and suddenly, I am plunged into this pool of confusion, anger, and hurt. Victor stands at Dmitri’s side, his eyes filled with so many emotions that I barely have time to read them all.

“Yes.” He claps with an evil smile. “Your most ‘trusted’ man was the one who pulled the trigger that caused the crash. Truthfully speaking, I didn’t know that she had your child. But the action needed to be done. No one gets away with screwing me over. And also, I didn’t know that she was Mikhail’s sister. Would it have changed my decision? No. But I would have, at least, had the courtesy of killing Mikhail too so that Lilian didn’t need to go alone.”

“Fuck you!” I roar. My fingers twitch against the trigger.

“She was simply collateral. How was I to know that the hitch would have the kid in the car?” Dmitri says in a bored tone. “And can we get to the bigger point at hand here? You betrayed me. I told you to kill that good-for-nothing hacker, and you went and started fucking her like your own personal whore. Technically, I should be the offended one here. And taking my empire? How rude of you, Pavel. After all, I have done.”

“All you’ve done?”

All the pain of the last 10 years fills my mind. I was not born like this—no one is ever born with the need to control and conquer.

“You were a soldier, and I was your commander. Then you grew wings and flew away. Life happens. I was the one giving you this life. Not your father, your mother. It was me.” That’s when he raises his hand and points his gun. “And now, you have returned to me with the hopes of taking my throne. You want to sit at the top step, but I will tell you something, my friend, ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown.”

Then the first gun goes off, and everything turns to complete and utter shit.

Let’s end this.