Sergey splutters again, and I look at him properly. Perhaps today really is a day of revelation because as I peer past the color of his eyes, I see he is nothing more than a means to an end. I thought the action of taking his life had to be mine, but the fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter who does it, as long as he fucking dies.
Aleksei twists around so he can lift me up to my feet, giving me a gentle push back to them. “When the time comes, don’t watch,maya.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
SANTIAGO
She flies at me, the first real smile on her face since our time in the hotel. I knew she had it in her. I’d seen it, licked it, kissed it, way back then, but I’d been so fucking worried I’d never see it again.
“You owe me an explanation or one hundred,” she says, her words lost as she smashes her mouth to mine. Her eyes stay wide open like she’s worried this is a dream. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’ll scar your throat right now if it helps,” I admit, chasing the tease of her tongue.
I taste a galaxy of emotions on her pretty lips. I also taste him. A growl bubbles in my throat, and it makes her pull away. I don’t let her go far. I chase her down and kiss her harder, swapping his lingering touch with my own.
I’m not going to hide from her, period. And that includes all the good, the bad, the ugly. The possessiveness I feel. But that’s what I am with her—obsessed with everything she is, possessive of all she is.
“What I said stands true. I guess now, though, the parameters are different, but at the same time no less the same,” she says, slowly prying away from me.
My fingers hold her hips so she can’t race away just yet, because I know in her roundabout way, she’s giving me an out if I can’t cope.
“I’m not leaving, Quinn. Watch my mouth when I say it—I am not leaving you. I will find a way to work around him. But you’re mine.”
The most alluring flush creeps up her neck, and her happiness shines bright in her eyes and twists in her scent, but it comes to a screeching halt. Fear makes her scent start to disappear.
“We’re dealing with one bad man right now,” I say. “You give me the name of the next one we’re taking down. We will do it again, and again, until there are no shadows in your eyes. But as much as I like you in my arms and kissing you, we need to get out of here. We’ve still got a few things to do. I’ll watch over you, bebe, do your thing.”
“You say the sweetest things,” she says, brushing her lips over mine before she rushes back over to where her patients are.
I check my watch and am stunned how little time has passed since the first shot was fired. It was like the world hit pause, so we could each have a slice of time with her, and her with us. I’m not surprised, because I’m pretty sure she’s a supernova in disguise.
Quinn is back in her space, and she's hyper focused on tending Nalla’s injury. I try to help, but I’m distracted, thrown by how fucking good she is at what she’s doing. I never knew.
I check over my shoulder to the front door; the streets remain clear of any witnesses and any police or ambulance. And then I turn back and must be looking stunned or something because Kade is staring me down, an incredulous expression on hisface. It’s as obvious as if he used a skywriter to spell out,you underestimated her again, fuckwit.
Flipping him the bird, I don’t argue with him. He’s right, but he doesn’t need to bring it up. I mean, I’m not lecturing him about how slow he was before.
The dog snaps at her again, snarling and trying to get up. She talks gently to Nalla and Roshka too because he’s getting as restless as Nalla is.
“We need to move,” I yell to Aleksei.
After our Omega forced the two of us to sit in the same car together and drive to the restaurant, I had no choice but to listen. While I still question a lot of Aleksei’s motivations, what he explained he’d already done and set in motion here in Russia means the Irish will have to wait longer for their retribution.
I move Kade’s leg, making it easier for him to climb to his feet when the time comes.
“How’s the leg?” I ask Kade, handing him a balaclava from the backpack next to me.
He pulls it on, leaving it like a hat, not pulling it down to cover his face.
“Throbbing, actually,” he bites back, but the moment Quinn turns her focus from Nalla to him, his snarky irritation disappears, and a smile just for her takes its place.
This Beta is smitten with her. It’s one of the things I can’t fault him for.
“I heard that.” Her pretty blue eyes search his face as she glares at him in challenge, her eyes shifting as they assess him again.
“Santiago was just checking I’m okay to walk, Quinny. He was being a bit of a prick, not waiting or being gentle. You know how Alphas get,” he says, throwing me under the bus.
She swings her attention to me, but instead of finding her as relieved as she was before, I see her starting to struggle. Sheclearly thinks she can keep going. Maybe in another life, she could have pushed through, but now she has Alphas and a Beta to care for her. We won’t fucking let her run herself into the ground.
