“Noelle is mine,” I say, each word a razor’s edge. “And if anyone in this family thinks they can lay that kind of dirt on her, they won’t live to see another dawn.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Lev says.
I drag a hand down my face, trying to pull my control back into place. “Kirill said Anton was forming a small army. He’s not working alone.”
Lev hums, the sound deep in his chest, like he’s not surprised.
By the time we screech up to the warehouse, my blood is already a drumbeat in my ears. We storm in, boots pounding across concrete. The place reeks of disinfectant and fear. Nurses and orderlies scatter at the sight of me, their chatter snapping off like a candle blown out.
“Demyan, find Noelle. Now!” My voice cracks across the space like a whip.
“Yes, Boss!” He bolts down the hall, weapon already in hand.
I shove past a cluster of staff, their wide eyes following me. “Out of my way.”
Somebody tries to stammer that they don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t stop to listen. My chest is iron tight, every second without her face in front of me another knife carving deeper.
Lev is a steady shadow at my back, scanning, calm where I’m fire. “Easy,” he mutters. “Panicking won’t bring her faster.”
“She should’ve never been here,” I grind out.
“Niko.”
The sound of her voice cuts through the static in my skull. My head snaps toward it. Noelle steps out of a side door, tugging off a pair of bloody gloves, her fingers trembling just slightly before she tosses them into the trash. Her scrubs are splattered, her hair pulled back, but she’s whole. Safe.
Our gazes lock. Relief slams into me so hard it almost knocks the air out of my lungs. She blinks, startled to see me here with Lev and Demyan, but she doesn’t say a word.
“Get your things,” I order, voice rougher than I intend. “You’re coming with me.”
For once, there’s no argument, no stubborn tilt of her chin. She nods, quietly, obediently, and disappears back inside. My fists unclench only when I hear the shuffle of her bag being grabbed.
Lev arches a brow at me, but he doesn’t comment. He doesn’t need to. We both know I would’ve burned this place to the ground brick by brick if she hadn’t walked out of that door.
When she reappears, clutching her bag tight, I step forward and take it from her, slinging it over my own shoulder. She frowns, but I don’t give her the chance to protest. My hand finds the small of her back. “Stay close. Don’t let go of me.”
She doesn’t.
Outside the clinic, the air feels sharper, heavier. My grip on Noelle doesn’t ease until she’s beside me on the pavement.
Lev falls into step at my side. “I’ve got a lead,” he says under his breath. “Something I need to chase down. I’ll update you when I have more.”
I give him a curt nod. There’s no time for questions. If Lev is following a trail, I trust he’ll bring it back bleeding.
The next second, he’s gone—slipping into the shadows like he was never there.
I don’t slow down. My only focus is Noelle. I get her across the lot, into the waiting car. Only when the door shuts and the locks click into place do I let out the breath I’ve been holding.
Another familiar guard is in the driver’s seat, because Demyan is staying behind to ambush Anton when he shows up. The car pulls us away, tires crunching on gravel. I glance atNoelle beside me—her silence, the way her fingers are twisting together in her lap.
We’re moving. She’s safe. For now.
But if Anton was aiming for that clinic, then this is only the beginning.
Beside me, Noelle finally breaks the silence. “What’s going on?”
I drag a hand over my jaw, my pulse still a hammer in my throat. “We got word Anton was planning to attack the clinic. That’s why I came for you.”
Her lips part, but she doesn’t argue. She only nods, her gaze fixed out the window, and the quiet between us grows heavier.
