Chapter Twenty-Seven
Alina’s POV
It was utter chaos.
I didn’t recognize all of Konstantin’s men, but I didn’t need to be told that the men who swarmed from hidden crates as we all got out of the car were Dimitri’s men. They shot at us without reserve, telling us that they’d been waiting for us.
With his body covering mine, Konstantin and his men returned fire with equal, if not more, ferocity. The sound of gunshots continued on the docks like they weren’t ever going to stop.
I looked to the other side, and that was when I spotted it. A gun aimed at Konstantin, the man wielding the weapon looked like a monster. Without thinking, I shoved him aside with all the strength I could muster.
The sharp heat that tore along my skin was so painful that I couldn’t scream. Konstantin’s eyes were on the blood seeping out of the side of my arm immediately.
“Killian! Sergei! Cover me!” he yelled, dragging me behind a stack of containers.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” he asked, his tone furious and his expression terrified.
“I’m not a pawn. I won’t let you die for me,” I fired back.
A tender look crossed his face before he looked behind him, to the bullets still flying around.
“Devlin has gotten into the system. Says he’s gotten what we need,” Sergei told Konstantin.
“Alina,” he called, his face coming closer to mine. “Don’t leave this place. Okay?”
I nodded in understanding.
Sergei and the guards pinned Dimitri’s men down long enough for Konstantin to advance. As he disappeared into the melee, I picked up a dropped pistol and fired shots, covering his back.
I watched as Dimitri, whose photographs I’d seen on Konstantin’s desk, tried to flee on a tugboat. Konstantin leaped aboard the boat, throwing a punch at Dimitri’s throat and making him stagger back.
My heart beat erratically in my chest as the two men fought hand-to-hand.
“You’ve gone soft,” Dimitri sneered. “Shackled to a nurse.”
Another blow landed in Dimitri’s face just before he punched Konstantin’s stomach.
Oh, God.
“She made me stronger. Not weaker,” Konstantin snarled.
I arrived at the hold entrance just as Konstantin shot Dimitri through the chest. It seemed the world around us froze as Dimitri collapsed into the bilge water.
Bloodied. Konstantin stumbled over to me. I took the gun in his hand and tossed it to the ground. Gripping his stained shirt, I told him, “It’s over.”
“Only if you want it to be,” he answered.
Do I want it to be?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Konstantin’s POV
“Well done, Konstantin,” Viktor greeted. “You did a good job.”
I chuckled. “That’s high praise, coming from you, brother.”
It had been a few hours since we left the docks, and we were back in Manhattan.
