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The man they called Ravager must have been directly below me. Not wanting to reveal myself, I slid away from the opening and tried to make myself comfortable, unsure how long I’d be stuck up here.

They spoke in fluent Russian, and I focused on their conversation.

“Cousin, it’s good to see you,” Ravager greeted Malek, shocking me to the core.

Cousins?

“I was beginning to worry you would miss it.”

“The holidays? Or you taking over?” Malek chuckled deeply.

“What is it I hear about an engagement?”

“Ah,” Malek’s smile was heard in his words. “Another event to look forward to.”

“And to Laurov’s daughter.”

I rolled my eyes. Laurov’s daughter, my ass.

“We are a long way from that wooden cabin we grew up in Siberia.”

Malek was Siberian? I mentally slapped myself. All those background checks and research I’ve done, I should have crawled in the vent shafts and listened to people’s private conversations more often. Somehow it revealed what I didn’t know and then some.

“You tell me,” Malek turned to his cousin. “I hear this isn’t your first time in the States, either.”

“No. It isn’t,” the man revealed.

“Excuse me if I find the timing a tad suspicious.”

“Oh, by all means.”

I had heard enough when I reversed to the previous opening, expecting the action to begin any minute.

Despite wearing long-sleeved clothing, the movement still burned me.

I ignored the feeling. When I reached the intended spot, another challenge awaited me: rotating without making too much sound.

Slowly and with precise movements, I positioned my feet against the bars, breathing in, remembering what or wh o

I was fighting for.

If this is how I go down, let me make it count. I got back into the zone, running my mind through the motions.

Eight to go.

With a kick to the bars, I briskly squeezed through. Steady on my feet, I took the fight to the guards first, praying that Malek or the other guy wouldn’t kill the bride-to-be. Or at least not before I face them.

Based on their movements, I first took on the slower one, applying the pressure to the guard’s hand.

With a snap of his wrist, he let go, allowing me an opportunity to eliminate them both.

By the time the first one went down, the second had me in his grip.

He lifted me above ground, spinning us around toward his boss.

My eyes locked with Malek ahead of me, the shock on his face lacking when I kicked the guard with the back of my head.

Thick-headed assholes. What did they feed these men? Potatoes, that’s what.

Spots formed around my vision, but he had it worse. With another kick to the head, he stepped back just in time. A shot between his eyes did it.

Gun aimed at the family reunion ahead, I glanced at the back door, waiting for the expected rush of guards. Nothing. Neither moved. If anything, Malek seemed…pleased.

Did I walk into a trap?

“The last piece of the puzzle,” Malek said, lounging on the couch, before rushing to my side.

“Welcome home, solnishko .”

He placed his hand on my cheek, stroking it, then kissed my forehead.

The gesture felt wrong, far too intimate. The same touch I used to crave now made my skin crawl. Still, I forced an innocent smile, playing the part he wanted for this occasion.

His last .

But just as I started to play my hand, Ravager broke the moment. From behind us, I watched him raise his gun, aiming it directly at us.

“You were always blind. And you will die blind.”

A shot rang out. I braced for impact, sidestepping to hide behind Malek just in time.

A fountain of blood splashed on my face.

For a split second, I questioned if it was mine, but the fact that I could still move told me it couldn’t be. I swallowed the lump in my throat, the metallic taste coating my taste buds, and closed my eyes.

The weight of the body leaning against me registered in my brain, and I laughed. I laughed and laughed, and when I opened them again, Malek slid down the front of my shirt, coating me with even more blood.

The weight lifted off my shoulders. Literally.

I laughed some more.

Following the movement, I found him on the ground, bleeding into the carpet. His head was blown apart, bits and pieces scattered. It resembled a shotgun blast, except the shot had been so quiet and the impact spared me, destroying him from the inside. I didn’t dwell on the specifics.

Suddenly aware of the chunks covering my clothes, I tried to wipe most of it away.

“Destructive bullets,” Ravager clarified, even though no one asked.

I didn’t reply. I didn’t look his way. I just stood there, soaked in the blood of the enemy, witnessing the carpet change colors with Malek’s remains.

Five to go.

The back door busted open.

I took a fighting stance, expecting the guards, assuming they were alerted by the gunshot, and came to defend. Too late.

Maxim stood there in all his glory.

Wait, what?

He looked pissed. His wandering eyes came to a halt at the sight of me.

“What the fuck happened here?” he roared into the room .

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, raw and full of rage. That wasn’t Maxim’s usual detached, sarcastic tone. This was something else entirely.

The fury radiated off him, and I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of something inside.

“Maxim?” I called his name, still in shock. Or maybe surprise.

“You could have fucking killed her, you idiot,” Maxim snapped.

Ravager was quick to answer, his tone dripping with mockery. “I didn’t, did I?”

“I took care of the rest of the guards,” Maxim informed us.

My brain absorbed his words, still in fight mode.

One to go.

With a last look at the dead body at my feet, I lifted my gaze and pointed the gun at Ravager. I focused on his face, blinking away the droplets of blood covering my lashes.

It was when he smiled, I crumbled to my knees.

Too much was happening at the same time. I was overloaded with the events of the day or the year. People appeared and reappeared in my life, unexpected allies, betrayals, the weight of it all suffocating me.

Exhaustion overtook me. My limbs felt heavy, like they belonged to someone else. Maxim saw the crush coming. He rushed to my side, catching me before I could crumple to the floor beside Malek’s lifeless body, his face appearing above me.

It was like he read my mind and understood my soul. I so desperately wanted to reinforce it. But crack after crack, the shell peeled away, and I became a bystander within my own body. Unable to act, I sought answers in his emerald eyes. What they reflected confirmed what I feared.

We were one. Two bodies, the same fate. A shared one. If I dared to reach for it.

My fingers twitched, approaching him, but the heaviness prevailed .

With me in his arms, Maxim rushed out of the building without a word, leaving the killer behind.

I smiled, noticing the wake of bodies forming a trail out. I beat his number today, didn’t I?

Though I wanted to brag and laugh in his face, I remained silent, drained of all energy.

He parked the car a block down, the same one I had driven away from him in. He sat in the driver’s seat, holding me close as he pulled out of the spot.

“I don’t think this is safe,” I whispered, each word hurting more than the last.

Maxim chuckled at my observation. “This is the safest you’ll ever be.”

He wasn’t wrong. Compared to the everyday tasks, this was a walk in the park.

My brain failed to decode the rest.

“Let’s get you home,” he said, his hot breath kissing my neck.

Home? The house in the suburbs?

I didn’t dwell on the meaning. The road rocked me to sleep. With Maxim’s scent encircling me, I let the dreariness drag me under. His heart beat steady beneath my ear, so I let myself focus on the comfort of it.

Safe.

For once, I allowed him to be the strong one.

I relied on him, my new home.