Page 38 of The Enemy’s Defector (Ivanov Syndicate #3)

NIKOLAI

I counted on Katerina to be upset.

She’d been so worked up about paying Anton back for killing her father that she seemed addicted to the fact that he’d be killed tonight.

So when the men started to give me a clearer indication that Anton’s corpse wasn’t among the other Kozlovs at the warehouse we blew up and then burned, I knew she wouldn’t be appeased.

Violence was a major element of our lives, but she wasn’t a bloodthirsty woman for the hell of it. Because she did have that big of a heart and she was a good, loving person, it made disappointing her like that sting even more.

After telling her that Anton might have escaped or avoided being there tonight despite our sources indicating that he would be there, Anastasia, Joann, and I tried to distract her and comfort her at this residence.

It seemed imperative to relocate her after the attack at our building.

Maxim had moved Sloane to a backup apartment and Damon had taken Lucy to another guesthouse.

Splitting up the women—then having more soldiers with them—was one way for us to be confident they’d be safe while we attacked the Kozlovs.

And it worked. No one tried to break in or get them.

Still, I wished we were at home where I could comfort Katerina more and make sure she was as relaxed as possible. No matter how many times she insisted that she was okay and taking this news in stride, I worried.

My grandmother did too.

I’d just seen Katerina to bed, waiting until she closed her eyes and rested. Joann retired to another guest room. But when I came out to check again with the guards on the clock, I saw my grandmother still sitting in the lounge.

“Is she resting?” she asked.

I sat next to her and nodded. “Finally.”

“You didn’t fail her,” she said, picking up on my mood.

“I won’t,” I promised. “I owe her too much to fail her.”

“Hmm.” She nodded. “I’ll assume that means she told you about being the one who tipped off your father when your brothers were taken?”

“She did. She told you?”

She shook her head. “Grigory did. And I believe he’s planning to speak with Maxim about it too.

” Shifting a little as if she’d get up to go to the other guest room, she patted my knee and looked me in the eye.

“Give her time and space, Nikolai. She’s defected from her family because it was no longer the family Thomas once stood for.

She’s lost a lot, and it’s up to us to make sure she can count on us.

But she’s also aware of the challenges against her in fitting in with us.

She may have been a Kozlov by name, but in her heart, she’s always been your Katerina. ”

I nodded, getting up to hug her before seeing her off.

I returned to Katerina after checking in with the guards, and as I hugged her, holding her close, I vowed again that I would be the man she needed me to be.

If she wanted me to give her space and time to adjust to the end of the Kozlov name, then I would.

If she needed me to dote on her and distract her or even preoccupy her by letting her work on her laptop, then I would.

No matter what, I would never fail her.

In the morning, I managed to take her mind off the more sober things in life with a quickie in the shower. Sex was a big part of any successful relationship, but I knew better than to only focus on it.

We dried off and cleaned up together, calm and ready to face the day.

My first plan of action was to speak with my brothers and the top supervisors who’d spent the entire night at that warehouse looking for evidence of Anton being included in the kills.

With such a big attack, there would be days of cleanup to manage.

The calm we found was shattered the instant we’d stepped out of the room, though.

Seeing my grandmother and Joann seated on a loveseat with two Kozlov guards pointing guns at them to silence them chilled me. Before I could speak, before I could react, Anton stood from the armchair and aimed his gun at me.

Katerina didn’t wait. She grabbed the gun from my holster and held it up at her uncle. Not wanting to risk a bullet flying anywhere in this room so close to my wife and child, or the other two, I put my hands up and let the roles be reversed.

She would protect me.

Katerina would not only stand by me but would also stand up for me. She would protect me and our child, our family, because that was the woman she was. Wanting a family all her life, she would do everything in her power to make sure we weren’t harmed.

“How dare you,” Anton snarled. He narrowed his eyes on her, not trying to hide any of his malice. Hatred emanated from him as he kept his gun aimed at me, but it didn’t scare Katerina.

She marched right up to him, not stopping once. Not a single hesitation or pause followed as she unerringly approached him, my gun aloft and aimed directly for his head.

Holy fuck.

Fuck.

Fucking hell.

I couldn’t do anything but stare. Holding my breath as my heart thundered in my ribcage, I stared at my wife as she stalked right up to get in this asshole’s face. No fear. No sympathy.

She was a woman on the warpath.

I was terrified. My heart could stop with the rush of trepidation that threatened to overrule me, but I had to repay her and trust her, to have faith in her and her abilities.

Because as far as I was concerned, there had never been any excuse to question her loyalty to me and my family.

Our family.

She was born a Kozlov, but by loving me, she was an Ivanov at heart.

Without a word, she let her actions convey any reply she’d give him. Stopping only feet away from him, almost toe-to-toe, she steadied her grip on that gun and came close enough to damn near jab the end of the barrel at his head.

“How dare you defy me, you pathetic whore?” he snarled, too stuck on belittling her and trashing her like this to react to her putting a gun to his head. His guards reacted. One stepped back from the loveseat to aim his gun at her while the other watched both Joann and my grandmother.

Still, with a gun aimed at her, I knew she would be the victor. Her hatred of Anton would triumph. It would only take one step from me to block that Kozlov from hitting her with a bullet. This time, I would take a shot for her. I would always take a hit to keep her safe.

“How dare you defy me?” Anton shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. “I always knew you were a whining, ungrateful fucking brat. A sniveling little piece of shit I shouldn’t have ever put up with.”

Katerina didn’t budge. With her jaw tense, her lips pressed in a thin line, she stared him down with a lethal glower as she maintained that direct aim of her gun at his head. One pull of her finger on that trigger and a bullet would sink in right between his eyes.

“I provided for you after Thomas?—”

She tilted her head to the side. Just slightly. Almost like an animal perking up to a command or code that would cause an action.

“What?” He demanded it hotly, like he was in charge. “Your father would be fucking ashamed of you, you bitch. You defied me. You disobeyed my orders. You defected from the family.”

If he was trying to win by guilt-tripping her, he wasn’t going to succeed.

“You have disrespected my orders and showed me no honor. I am your leader. Your boss, and no matter how you think you can get away with playing games like this, you will always belong to me and report to me.”

Still, Katerina glared at him, almost as if waiting for him to get through and say his piece so she could finish him with the final word.

“I took you in after Thomas?—”

Again, she flinched slightly, like a tic, at the mention of her father’s name. She was losing her patience, though, because now, she reached closer and nearly jammed the end of her gun barrel against his wrinkly brow.

“You have no right to speak of my father.”

He sneered, laughing haughtily. “Oh, fuck you, you worthless bitch. I can say whatever the hell I want and you won’t stop me. No one will.”

Pulling her gun further back, she twisted to pivot slightly so she could slap him. He hadn’t been expecting it, because the gun fell out of his hand and skidded over the floor.

“Think again, Uncle ,” she said softly, letting all her anger seep out.

“I will stop you from ever speaking of my father again. I will stop you from ever trying to hurt me or my loved ones. Ever again.” She pressed the gun directly to his forehead, acting on her deepest wishes for revenge.

My grandmother grabbed the gun that he’d dropped, and now she aimed it back at the guard standing over her and Joann. The tables had turned. The scales were tipped.

And my wife was fucking glorious in her power.

I stepped behind her, not to hide, but to support her in this last act of love for her father. To kill his murderer.

“I will stop you from trying to attack my family. Not the one you destroyed when you killed my father.” She pressed the gun against him more as his nostrils flared and his eyes bugged open wider with fury.

“ My family. My husband. My child. My future. Not the pathetic organization you stole from your brother when you shot him and took over. I ceased belonging to the Kozlov name the second you ended his life.”

Leaning her head to the side, as if seeking another perspective as she delayed killing him, she smiled. It was wicked, a peaceful yet sinister promise of ending his life and looking forward to it.

“You will never threaten me or my family again,” she repeated. “Because you will be dead. A pathetic corpse with no power at all.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” he shouted.

“I dare. I’m killing you for my father,” she vowed. “For ever thinking about using me and ruining my life.” She stepped in again. “So fuck you , Anton. May you rot in hell.”

She pulled the trigger and killed him instantly. Blood and brain matter splayed back out from his head as he staggered. That direct of a shot left him no chance to stand and argue, to protest and belittle her.

Instead of basking in the triumph of killing him, she didn’t waste a second. Turning swiftly, she took out the guard who threatened my grandmother and Joann.

And again, she pivoted to aim the gun at the front door.

Saul rushed in with Hugo, though, and she lowered the firearm immediately.

“Fuck.” My younger brother ran in, taking in the scene.

“Fuck,” Hugo repeated, but in a slow drawl of awe.

Katerina handed back my gun, watching me and breathing faster. She had to be experiencing a hell of a whirlwind after that confrontation. Anger. Relief. Fear. Satisfaction. Above all, she had to be churning through the effects of an adrenaline crash, too.

Without a word, she walked into my hug. I extended my arms and wrapped her in against me, holding her close and smoothing my hand over her back. As she rested her face on my chest, nestling into me, she curled her fingers in the fabric of my shirt and steadied her breaths.

Watching my brother and Hugo over her shoulder, I knew they’d handle this mess. Beside them, Joann and my grandmother moved out of the way, sticking together.

“He came in and ordered me out here,” she told Saul.

He nodded, pissed at what she shared. “We got a call from Ray,” he said, referring to one of the guards positioned here.

“He was shot. Timothy was a mole for that dead fucker. He’d been paid off by the Kozlovs.

That’s how Anton knew to avoid the attack last night.

How he could send assassins to the building and come in here now. ” He glanced up at me. “He’s dead.”

Katerina straightened, turning from my hug. “So is he,” she said unnecessarily with a point at her uncle.

Saul grinned. “Nice shot,” he complimented as more men came in to take over the scene.

She nodded, losing that blank and vacant expression with every second that passed.

“And here I made such a fuss telling you that I’d kill him for you,” I quipped, getting her attention again.

Slowly facing me once more, she sighed. “You know I don’t always listen.”

I pulled her in for a soft kiss. “But listen to me now,” I urged as I cupped her face. “I love you, and I love that nothing will stand in the way of our future now.”

Like the sun rising after a bleak spell of grayness, she smiled. My soul rejoiced at her satisfaction, at the peace she could embrace with this closure about her father’s death.

“I love you, too, Nik. And I can’t wait for our future to truly begin now.”