My lungs screamed for air, but I didn’t dare stop—not until I was close enough to yell his name. I could only pray he heard me before it was too late.
“Nikolai Aleksandr Volkov!”
My scream ripped out of me, cutting across the roar of engines and the chatter of ground crew.
He turned.
“Bomb!” I screamed.
For a second, everything froze. His eyes locked onto mine, Rory pivoted toward me, and then they were running away from the jet, fast.
The explosion went off before they had made it halfway to me.
BOOM.
Chaos erupted all around.
The jet’s tail broke free from the fuselage, tumbling end over end across the tarmac.
The shockwave punched the air from my lungs, flinging me backward. Heat rolled over me, biting my skin, shoving grit and smoke into my mouth. My ears rang so loudly that things became almost silent.
When I could breathe again, I found myself sprawled on the ground. Debris drifted down like dirty snow as flames billowedinto the sky. My gaze darted through the haze until I found them—Nik and Rory. They were on the ground.
“No—no, no, no!” I clambered forward and then ran to them.
Rory was already climbing to his feet, but not Nik. He was motionless.
I dropped to my knees beside him.
“Nik! Please, my king, you promised me—you promised not to leave me! Remember? If you go, I go!” I shouted, my voice cracking. Afraid to touch him, I leaned in as close as I could, searching for breath, for life, for anything.
His lashes fluttered, and then he smirked—blood on his cheek, soot across his jaw. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Relief slammed into me so hard I collapsed against him. He pulled me into a gentle kiss, and the shot of pain from my busted lip didn’t matter. Instantly, all was well. We were sitting in the middle of hell, but his touch steadied me. He was the only calm in the firestorm.
He sat up slowly and leaned forward, gripping his knees with both hands. He shook his head a few times, clearing the fog before his angry gaze locked on the burning wreckage of his plane.
Fire trucks barreled across the ramp, lights strobing, sirens screaming. Ground crew and first responders rushed toward the inferno, weaving through waves of orange flame and choking black smoke.
Nik’s entire body went rigid, his eyes flashing dangerously with rage. He scrambled to his feet, cursing in Russian, and began pacing, flexing his fists as if he needed something to break.
“It’s only an airplane,” I said softly, reaching for him. “You can buy another—”
He spun on me. “It’s not just an airplane. First Officer Jensen and our flight attendant were onboard.” His jaw clenched in aferal grimace. “Jensen has a baby girl—a toddler just learning to walk.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. My stomach turned, bile burning my throat as tears welled in my eyes.
We turned back to the wreckage. Flames curled skyward, heat rippling the air. The stench of burning fuel, scorched metal, and seared plastic burned my throat. The acrid smell mingled with the nauseating odor of somethinghumanin the fire. Men emerged from the hangars—some shouting orders, others dragging hoses toward the blaze.
Nik put his arm around me, pulling me tight against his side. When he finally spoke again, his voice was venomous.
“This is bigger than Delgado. This stinks of the Kremlin and the current US administration—the same bastards who pay to rape girls on their private islands.” His grip tightened. “I’ve interrupted their sex trade. And now they’ve come for me.”
He glanced down at me and then back at the inferno. Nik’s entire face was carved in fury, every muscle tight, his eyes blazing with a hatred that could burn through steel. He wasn’t just angry—he was out for blood. Whoever had blown up his plane had just signed their own death warrant. “This war just went global. And it takes a bad man to wage war against other bad men—someone who knows their rules, their vices, their weaknesses. Someone willing to go as far as they do and be just as ruthless. I’ve walked in their shadows, Lacey, and I know exactly how to burn them to the ground. But I’m not doing it alone. You and I—we fight together.”
My chest constricted. “Together,” I said, squeezing him closer.
“I will kill Hayes. I will kill Delgado. And I will hunt down every last Mara Salvatrucha member, Kremlin thug, and US flesh trafficker—all the way up the chain to the fucking leaders of countries.” His voice was lethal. “I’m not bound by any borders. And it’s time to declare a new world order.”
