Volkov narrows his eyes, knowing full well that if I sign over fifty percent of my shares to him, there is no way I’d agree to also part with twenty-five percent of my income. He places a threatening hand on Ella’s shoulder.
“I will work with charities who focus on fighting homelessness and food insecurity. Organizations who seek to improve impoverished neighborhoods and schools. And I will fight to find ways to incentivize the companies owned by Langford Holdings to pay their employees livable wages, provide more affordable healthcare, and more flexibility. My grandfather understood that our family’s legacy was not simply built by our forebears, but by the everyday people who worked for them.
“I recognize their contribution today. I honor those who work for Langford Holdings and our subsidiaries, and I am committed to helping improve their lives. We all deserve to live in comfort and dignity. I hope to lead by example, proving to those in power that the world will function better, and our society as a whole will improve, if we can create better living conditions for everyone. The Langfords have always been trailblazers, and we don’t intend to stop that anytime soon.”
Applause erupts again, and I can see the shock on my uncle’s face, as well as my cousins’ and the faces of the remaining members of the board. But I’m not focused on them. I’m focused on Volkov, who is shifting, wavering. He doesn’t want to order Ella’s public death, not when he’s standing behind her, knowing it would inevitably be caught on camera.Little does he know that he can’t order that hit anymore anyway, now that Sterling and Robert got the snipers taken care of.
Ella flinches, arching her back, and I can tell by how Volkov holds onto her that he has a gun pressed to her. He shakes his head at me as I end my speech and thank the audience.
I nod and give the signal.
The five security officers surrounding Ella turn. Yegor’s eyes widen, and he brandishes his gun. Everything slows as I watch Declan dive in the circle of guards and grab Ella’s arm, but as he pulls her away, a shot rings out.
My heart stops and panic seizes me as I watch Declan and Ella fall to the ground.
The crowd shouts. Everyone starts panicking and running.
The security officers descend on Volkov, and he’s tackled to the ground.
Sterling reaches inside his suit jacket pocket and presses a button. Twenty men in security officer clothing start to convulse and collapse.
Another shot rings out.
I run off the stage and into the circle.
Declan lies atop Ella, and I roll him off her. Red blood pools across his white shirt.
“Declan!” Ella shouts, crawling toward him.
“I’m . . . okay,” he rasps out. Ella untucks his shirt and lifts it. A gunshot wound gushes blood on the side of his abdomen. “At least, I hope so.”
I crouch down beside him and haul Ella into my arms as a security officer hovers over Declan, putting pressure on the wound.
“Are you hurt?” I demand, scanning her from head to toe.
She shakes her head as tears freely flow down her cheeks. “I’m okay. But Declan . . . when he grabbed me, Yegor pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Declan instead of me.”
“Shit, Dec,” I fumble for words, taking in the blood covering his abdomen.
“Nice to know where I fall as far as your priorities go,” he rasps out, somehow smirking at me through his pained grimace.
“Paramedics are already here,” Sterling says, kneeling beside us. “I had them on standby.”
My mother and father rush to us, and my mother cries out as she kneels next to Declan.
Police officers and paramedics descend on us. We stand and move out of the way as Declan is hauled onto a stretcher and wheeled over to an ambulance. I hold fast to Ella as the police move in to arrest Volkov, but that proves to be pointless. He lies with blank, open eyes, in a pool of blood, surrounded by security officers he thought worked for him.
“I don’t understand,” Ella says, her voice quivering. “I thought they were his. I thought he had tricked you and surrounded us with his men.”
“Hethoughthe had. And some of the men here were his, but Sterling took care of them.” I nod to one of the security officers passed out on the ground. The ones who shook and convulsed just a moment ago.
“All of them need to be taken into custody,” Sterling orders the police officers. “They all work for the Russian mafia.”
The officers’ eyes go wide, but they get to work locating the men in suits who lie unconscious, scattered throughout the street.
“What the hell happened?” Ella asks. Her entire body is shaking, and I know if I’m not careful, she might just pass out.
I pull her close, inhaling her scent and nearly crying from relief. That was close. Too fucking close.
