She swallowed, her lips pressing together, and nodded again. She was brave, always braver than she knew.
I turned back toward the room just as the first signal came. The chandeliers above flickered. Once, twice. The golden light dimmed, shadows stretching long across the polished floor.
The string quartet stumbled, notes breaking, and bow screeching against strings. The music stuttered.
A murmur rippled through the crowd, uneasy, like an animal sensing fire before the flame. Then, my gut locked.
"It's starting," I muttered.
Emilia's nail dug into my arm. "What is–"
"Quiet."
My hand went inside my jacket, and fingers curled around cold steel. My weapon felt like a second heartbeat against my palm.
Around us, voices rose. Some laughed nervously, thinking it was a power glitch. Others froze, and eyes darted, recognizing what I did.
The chandeliers trembled overhead, and crystals swayed, light sputtering until half the room drowned in shadow.
The first scream came from the far end of the hall. A woman's voice, it was high and sharp, cut through the music's collapse.
Chaos. I pulled Emilia flush against me, her back pressed to my chest, my arm locked around her waist. My gun then came free; it was hidden low against her gown with my finger on the trigger.
Her voice was a whisper against my jaw. "Viktor–"
"I've got you," I rasped. My eyes never left the exits, the shadows, the men who were no longer smiling.
The gala had turned into a battlefield, and we were standing dead center tonight.
Chapter Seventeen
Emilia’s POV.
I should have known better than to put all my trust in Viktor when he told me that everything was going to be fine. The moment he mentioned the gala, I knew something was going to go amiss. The tables turned over, I heard the shatter of the champagne flutes, broken bottles, and gun shots, shouts and wails from different corners of the hall startled me.
“Let's go.” One of Viktor's guards said to me before he dragged me backwards by the hand.
“But, Viktor…”
“The boss can take care of himself. Let's go!”
I scanned around and saw Dimitri hide behind a chair while he exchanged bullets with the thugs. I didn't see Viktor, and my pulse began to beat fast. For the very first time, I feared losing Viktor. I wouldn't admit that what he did to me was right. At the same time, I couldn't justify that his intentions were wrong. Slowly, I observed that he was growing on me. His doggedness and zeal in protecting his family and the people he loved were one of his most attractive features, and I didn't want to lose him to this unpredictable gathering of both good and evil men.
I felt better when I saw him stand with a gun in his hand.
“Viktor!” I cried out, but there was no way he could listen. The hall rose in a much bigger blare than before, and all I wanted was to meet him.
I didn't think twice when I loosened the grip that the guard had on me. He called me to come back, but I didn't. I wanted to be with Viktor. He was the one who promised to protect me, and I wasn't going to let anyone take me away without him.
I charged forward, holding my gown in my hands, before I felt a tempest knock me down to the side. I managed to stand up. The lights still flickered, and it was hard to get a good glance at him. I spotted Dimitri again, and he sat on the floor as though he had been shot. Then I saw Viktor run past the guards as though he was trying to get to me. His eyes burned with rage, his hands stretched forward, and the desperation shaped into a scowl on his face. I wanted to call him and tell him to hold my hand and not let go until we found a way out of this battleground. But, before I opened my mouth to utter a word, I felt the strong grip around my waist.
“Sleep tight.” I heard a man say in my right ear before a piece of cloth covered my face. I intended to scream, but I couldn't. The more I tried to inhale, the more my eyes blurred. And that's when I noticed that I was covered with chloroform. I raised my voice in a roar, and the man's lips touched my ears.
“Not today, honey. Not today.”
Victor still managed to get past the crowd, but it was too late. I was dragged out of the hall before my eyes finally closed, although I heard the screech of a car tire upon the asphalt. I tried to move my body, but I couldn't. A weakness I'd never felt before cloaked me with warmth before I heard the last words.
“Are you sure it's her?”
