My upper lip curls into a sneer. They made my husband bleed.
In four strides he's beside me, pressing his forehead to mine. “You okay?”
I huff a laugh. “Areyou?”
He looks past me to my mother, a low growl rumbling from deep in his chest. “Don’t care to be drugged again for the rest of my life.”
“Next time you lose your husband, maybe put a tracker on him? Like a sexy pet collar? Took me thirty minutes to find him while you were here having family therapy.” Viktor grins and winks at my father. “Thanks for the party favors. All five of them. Oh, and that utterly pedestrian fucker in the corner. Such a boring kill. The others, pure artistry.”
Ryan shudders.
Hope Viktor made those fuckers suffer.
My mother huffs, walking to the side bar cart. “Please. These amateur theatrics are giving me a headache.”
“I told you not to touch what was mine.” The words come out guttural, feral, barely human.
She rolls her eyes and reaches for the crystal decanter. But her hand slides to the back of the cart instead. She looks at me, eyes narrowed, then brandishes a small silver pistol. Without hesitating, she aims it at Viktor.
“No!”
The window beside her cracks, glass spitting into the room. Her head snaps sideways, then she drops onto the bar cart. Bottles crash to the ground, followed by her body. Blood spreads fast across the hardwood.
“Cordelia!” My father jumps out of his chair, but Blake yanks him down.
“Sir, stay down.” He points his gun toward the broken window.
Alexei and Viktor retrain their weapons as well. It’s not one of us. Unless Viktor told his parents what was going on, but he didn’t mention that they’d be helping.
“Connor?”
I look at Ryan. He’s pale, eyes wide. This is too much for him.
And we’re exposed.
I grab his bicep and steer him closer to the wall. “Stay down.”
No one's outside. The property slopes directly to the water, with not a single tree blocking the view. Besides a few boats out on the Sound, it’s all clear.
“We’re too exposed. Finish your business with your father,” Alexei says.
Blake swings his barrel back to my friend, finger hovering over the trigger. He steps sideways, no longer behind the desk. “You move, you die.”
“And you’re already dead.” I move toward Blake, smirking as he shifts to point his gun at me. “Kill him.”
“Finally. Try to bleed prettily, would you?” Viktor pulls the trigger before Blake can pull his.
“Connor!”
I turn just as Ryan throws himself across me. A sharp bang splits the air, followed by three more. We hit the ground hard, Ryan's full weight driving air from my lungs.
Fuck.
I try to push him off. I need him to be okay.
He doesn't budge, just wraps his arms tighter around me. “Not letting him take you from me.”
“Your father is dead. Is finished,” Alexei says.
