“Hold your goddamn fire, Zakhary,” I snap. The barn’s gone full-blown circus of hell. Horses are losing their shit, kicking and screaming, making the whole place quake. Yulia’s wails mix with the frenetic symphony, and it takes everything in me not to lose it.
I spin around, ready to make my move, but what I see nails me to the floor. Sophia, that brave fool, is tussling with Katerina, trying to pry Yulia away from her.
It’s now or never. I step out, ready to put an end to this sadistic game.
Then, a loud bang rips through the barn, and a body crumples to the ground in the shadows.
And just like that, my heart stops.
Chapter 21
Luka
“Malyška… Sophia…”
Fuck.
Fuck! This is all my fault.
My voice barely escapes my lips, a hoarse whisper shredded by fear. The kind of fear that grabs your guts and twists, the sort that comes when you realize you might lose the only goddamn people you love in this world, the only ones who mean a fucking thing to you.
Love.
I fucking love them.
I love Sophia.
My heart twists into a lump.
Ollie’s voice crashes back into my ear. “S-sorry, guys, the frequency got messed up. We’re back on. Aleks… Uh, he’s on the run. He knows about the trap.”
But I’m not listening. Couldn’t care less about Aleks right now. I stride into the center of the barn, eyes on the body on the ground.
It’s Katerina.
Thank fuck!
Her eyes are wide open, a horrific stare fixed on nothing. Blood oozes out of a bullet hole between her eyes, as clean and precise as a surgeon’s cut. A mess beneath the back of her head tells me it’s probably blown out. She won’t be missing it, I’m sure.
I look up. Sophia’s there, maybe ten feet away. Her hands snap to her mouth like she’s holding back a scream or maybe a sob. Either way, she’s pulling Yulia into her, like she can make the kid blind to this nightmare with just her body.
“Luka,” she breathes out, voice quivering. Her eyes are big and wet, but goddamn it, she’s shielding Yulia.
“Shh!” I stride in front of both of them against whatever hell might come next.
A shadow moves closer from the corner of the barn. My finger hovers over the trigger of my gun, itching to pull, to end whatever threat still lurks in this godforsaken place.
“It’s me, sir.” I recognize that ironclad voice instantly. It’s Svetlana. “Everything is under control here,” she announces, her posture stiff as a board. She strides over to Katerina, looking down on her with a smirk. Yeah, she’s still got it, that cold-blooded efficiency.
And that makes one of us.
My heart’s still pounding like a drum as I step away, making room for Svetlana to work her grim magic. “Sophia, Yulia,” I grunt, trying to soften the edge in my voice. “You’re with her now. Go.”
I drop to one knee, leveling my gaze with Yulia’s tear-streaked face. She’s sobbing, her little body shaking. It’s like a knife to my chest.
“You’ve been brave,Malyška. Very brave,” I tell her, keeping my voice steady. “Stay with Sophia and Svetlana, got it?”
Yulia grabs my shirt, her fists clenched. “Promise you’ll come back?”
