“Dima,” he says, and the nickname makes Dimitri flinch. “Dima, please. I’m your brother. You promised—remember? You promised you’d always protect me.”
I see the pain flash across Dimitri’s handsome face, and the devastation on it makes a lump form in my throat. The memory of a promise made to a child, not a traitor. The impossible weight of what he’s about to do.
Alexei sees the crack in Dimitri’s armor and presses harder.
“We can fix this,” he says desperately, his blue eyes beseeching his brother’s. “I’ll disappear. You’ll never see me again. I’ll go to Europe, South America, anywhere you want. Just let me live. Please, Dima. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for all of it.”
And the terrible thing is that he sounds genuine. For the first time since he revealed himself alive, there’s real emotion in his voice and real regret.
I feel something twist in my chest.
I hate him. Fuck, I hate him for what he did and how he used me. For sabotaging birth control and getting me pregnant as part of some sick plan. For nearly killing Dimitri today and all the other times.
But there’s this tiny, stupid part of me that remembers falling for his charm. That remembers believing he cared about me. Even if it was one-sided and I was the only one who actually felt anything real.
That part of me—that naive, foolish part—hurts for him now.
Which is insane. He tried to kidnap me and use my baby as leverage. He threatened everything I love.
But emotions aren’t logical and apparently, I’m capable of hating someone and still feeling a twisted sort of grief for what I thought we had.
I think I might be a little bit broken.
Dimitri’s jaw clenches. I can see him wavering. Is he actually considering mercy?
But then his voice comes out, rough and raw with pain. “I would have died for you, Alexei.” He takes a step closer to Alexei. “And you used that against me. You faked your death and let me think the Ashfords killed you. You started a war. You tried to kill me—multiple times.” His voice drops lethally. “You tried to take my wife and child.”
Alexei is shaking now, realizing that his sob story isn’t working. “Dima—” he tries again, but Dimitri ignores him.
“If I let you live,” Dimitri continues, “you’ll never stop. You’ll disappear, yes, but then in six months, a year, five years, you’ll come back and try again because you want power, and you’lldo anything to get it.” His voice breaks slightly. “And I can’t—Iwon’t—let you threaten my family again.”
And just like that, Alexei’s desperation transforms into rage. The fear drops away and what’s underneath is uglier.
“Yourfamily?” he snarls. "That baby is MINE. You can’t just claim?—”
“I can,” Dimitri interrupts coldly. “And I have. That baby is mine in every way that matters. I’ll be the father you never would have been.”
He looks at me then, and the love in his eyes is so overwhelming, it makes my heart clench painfully.
“And Vera is my wife,” he says, still looking at me. “My real wife. Not a pawn or a tool or breeding stock. Mine.” He turns back to Alexei. “You had everything—family, loyalty, love. Real love. And you threw it away for power. That’s on you.”
He raises the gun.
“Goodbye, Alexei.”
The shot echoes through the hall.
Alexei falls.
And it’s over.
Truly, finally,over.
The room is silent except for this awful ringing in my ears and my own breathing, which is too fast and shallow, like I can’t get enough air.
There’s moisture on my cheeks, and I swipe them away before I realize I’m crying. When did that even happen? I didn’t even realize I had started crying but there was no putting that genie back in the bottle.
But I’m not crying for Alexei. Not really. He deserved this—no, heearnedthis. I’m crying for Dimitri. For what this cost him. For the weight he’ll carry for the rest of his life.
