I closed my eyes, heaved a sigh, and made my choice. “Nik, behind you!”
With lightning-fast reflexes, he spun around and fired twice, one bullet each at two attackers. Three more surged up the stairs while his men handled the others below. This small group wasn’t armed with guns but with knives and machetes.
He squeezed his trigger, but the gun clicked empty. Nik hurled it at the first attacker; it slammed into his nose and knocked him to the ground. With his bare hands, he fought the other two, pummeling them despite their machetes and knives.
The sound of bones cracking echoed through the space as Nik snapped them like dry twigs. His victims groaned in pain and screamed loudly.
He hurled one of them off the balcony, then kicked the other in the nuts. Nik lifted him into the air and slammed him downward. The man landed head-first with a sickening thud, his neck cracking under the impact. His lifeless body sprawled at Nik’s feet as he towered over him, his chest heaving quietly.
The third guy grabbed a knife from the floor and lunged at me, ready to attack. The idiot probably thought I was helpless. But he had no clue that from the moment he got to his feet, I had already figured out three different ways to take him down without breaking a sweat.
However, before I could act, Nik grabbed the fool by the shirt. He yanked him backward with one powerful pull and sentthe man flying over the railing. Seconds later, we heard him crash into a table below the balcony.
The chaos ended just as suddenly as it started. In its aftermath, only Nik and his men remained standing. The attackers were either dead or retreating.
I rose to my feet, eyes sweeping over the mess—corpses, blood on the walls and the dance floor below. Broken glasses crunched beneath boots as Nik’s men moved around, assessing the scene. The crowd of frenzied dancers had dispersed, and the music was as dead as the assailants lying in pools of their own blood.
I stared at Nik in silence, struggling to reconcile the protector I just witnessed with the monster I knew him to be.
Two of his men went up the stairs, their heavy footsteps breaking our quiet staring contest. They didn’t ask questions; they just checked to make sure no one was hurt.
“Clean up this mess,” he ordered them, his voice deep and steady as though this was just another Tuesday in the club.
They nodded, and one of them signaled the others below, barking instructions in Russian.
Nik’s gaze returned to me—and although he didn’t say anything, the look in his eyes reminded me that I was still under his watch. No matter the situation.
I wasn’t sure how that made me feel; relieved or terrified? But whatever the case, one thing was clear: Nikolai Tarasov was more dangerous than I thought.
Chapter 10 – Nik
Richard Kane was behind the attack on my nightclub two nights ago. The bastard’s been trying to bring me down for a really long time now. Over the past few months, he’d sent dozens of men after me, and after every attack, it’s his men that always end up dead.
I’d been on the defensive for a while, letting him send his best assassins after me, only to kill all but one. I often liked to leave at least one alive so he’d return to his foolish boss and report the mess he witnessed.
But for some reason, Richard Kane just wouldn’t give up. He was trying desperately to prove he could take me down and destroy what I had spent years building. I hadn’t launched a full-scale attack on the son of a bitch.
Not yet, anyway.
Let him enjoy his fun for now—let him keep sending his men to their deaths trying to take down Nikolai Tarasov. His foolishness caught up with him, and despite all his efforts to get my attention, I wasn’t going to stoop to his level. Richard Kane was nothing more than a clown to me—an idiot desperate for recognition. He believed that if he could go after me and succeed, he’d be seen—maybe even feared—by the other criminal groups.
Fool!
The best way to teach him a lesson was to keep sending corpses back to him while still ignoring his loud noises. He wasn’t worth my time—I had more important things to worry about than planning a retaliation against that pig.
If he truly wanted my attention, he’d have to do a lot more than just attack my clubs. But for now, I had bigger fish to fry—like the fact that since the attack, my Dikaya had been avoidingme. I wasn’t sure why; however, my guess was that she saw a side of me she had only read in the papers.
Maybe the monster she saw that night scared her quite a bit. A little fear was a good thing—at least it made her fall in line and show respect when needed. Even though she tried to stay away from me, I still caught her gaze lingering longer than usual whenever she thought I wasn’t looking.
Today, I was in the pool wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, the water cool against my skin. I sliced through the surface, arms pulling with strong, steady strokes. As I glided, swimming from one edge to the other, the sun glinted on the ripples, my breath a low rhythmic hum.
I noticed her watching me from the balcony, but pretended to be unaware of her unwavering gaze. I kept swimming, reveling in the comfort that cool water provided. I swam to the other side of the pool, wiped a palm over my face, and then lifted my head toward her.
She flinched, her body stiffening the second she met my gaze. Her hand flew into her hair, and she lowered her head, her eyes darting across the compound. She was embarrassed that I caught her staring at me. My lips curled into a self-satisfied grin, and I refused to take my eyes off her.
She glanced at me, but when she saw my steady stare, she scratched the back of her head and straightened her posture. Quietly, she went back inside, disappearing from view.
I let out a soft scoff, shook my head, and resumed swimming. My mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of her—the fact that something was beginning to swell within me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it wasn’t hate or fear; it was darker and lighter at the same time.
