Dimitri lunges forward, his gun raised, but Ivan shoots him too. He goes down hard, crashing to the floor.
The room erupts into chaos.
The bodyguards, both Yuri's and Nikolai's, start firing at each other.
Bodies hit the floor. Blood splatters the walls.
And through it all, Ivan walks forward, calm and controlled, with his gun trained on me.
Nikolai collapses to his knees, his hand pressed to his chest. Blood seeps between his fingers.
His eyes find mine. "Run," he rasps, then falls to the floor.
But I can't. I can't leave him.
Ivan points his gun at me.
"You know," he says conversationally, "I've spent fifteen years as Yuri's dog. Doing his dirty work. Cleaning up his messes. And for what? A pat on the head? A 'good job, Ivan'?" He laughs bitterly. "He promised me I'd be his successor. But then he married that little whore and started trying to knock her up with an heir. He was going to cast me aside. After everything I did for him. After he promised me I would take his place as pakhan. And then I found out about you…and, well, I knew it was time to start eliminating what stood in the way of me being pakhan."
"You're insane," I whisper.
"I'm practical. Yuri's dead. His wife is dead. Nikolai is dead. And once you're gone, I'll be the last man standing. The Bratva will see me as the natural successor. I'll tell everyone it was a dispute between Yuri and Nikolai that got out of hand. A tragedy. And I'll take control of both empires."
He raises the gun, aiming at my head.
I close my eyes.
But the shot doesn't come.
Because Nikolai shoots him first.
And the bullet catches Ivan in his chest. He stands there for a moment, surprise frozen on his face. Then he drops to the floor.Very dead.
I turn to Nikolai who is lying on the floor, his gun still raised.
"Nikolai." I drop to the floor beside him.
His gun falls from his hand, and he goes limp, closing his eyes.
"No, no, no, stay with me. Please."
The doors burst open and Alexei and Nikolai’s men pour in, their weapons drawn.
Dmitri groans, pushing himself up on his good arm. But then collapses again.
Alexei drops down beside me, already reaching for his phone. "We have associates in town. People who will help him."
I press my hands to Nikolai's chest, trying to stop the bleeding, but there's so much blood. Too much.
"Don't you dare die on me," I sob. "You hear me? Don't you dare. I believe you. I love you. I love you, Nikolai. So don't you dare leave me."
But he doesn't move.
He doesn't breathe.
And the world shatters around me.
38
