“Put the gun down, Romanov. Or I kill her.”
I look at Bella. At the terror in her eyes. At the gun pressed to her skull.
I put the gun down.
Nico snatches it back immediately. Then, he pulls out his phone, and furrows his brow as he taps the screen.
“Father,” he says.
“What?” Don Leo barks.
“I think the two of them learned their lesson already. You’ve gotten what you wanted. Slava Romanov humiliated and cowed.”
“That’s not all that I wanted, boy.”
“She’s still a Farnassi,” Nico says. “Her brother did a great service to you in the past, and perhaps, by showing some clemency, the sister will also be of use for us in the future.”
Don Leo narrows his eyes at Nico, and he purses his lips in thought. I hold my breath as I wait, and Bella’s lower lip starts trembling.
“Fine,” He finally says. “Another time, then. Looks like you’re in luck, Romanov. You as well,ragazza. It seems that my son has a soft spot for both of you, so I’m going to let you go.”
Something cold moves into my stomach.
That’s too easy.
“Well,” Don Leo continues, his smile widening. “I’ll letoneof you go.”
A meaty hand rises, and connects with the back of Bella’s skull.
She crumples.
Then, in one brutal motion, Don Leo throws her limp body over the yacht’s railing, and a second later, I hear the sickening sound of her body splashing the water.
“BELLA!”
I’m out of the hot tub before the splash dies, bare feet slipping on the wet deck, and shove a guard out of the way.
Then, I vault over the railing and dive after her.
25
SLAVA
The water isblack and cold, and for three terrifying seconds, I can’t find her in it.
My hands search through the darkness but grasp nothing. The yacht’s lights cast fractured beams beneath the surface, illuminating particles of sediment and debris but nother, not the woman I just watched disappear beneath the waves like a stone dropped from God’s careless hand.
Blyad. Blyad. Blyad.
I kick deeper. My lungs are already burning. I dove in without thinking, without breathing, without anything except the image of her body hitting the water seared into my retinas.
Then, my fingers brush skin. I hook my arm under her waist and haul her towards me. Her body is limp, her black hair is spread across the water, and when we break the surface, she doesn’t move.
I practically throw her over the side of my boat, and then launch myself over her. Her lips are blue. Her skin is cold.
No. No!
I drop to my knees beside her, tilt her head back, and check her airway. Nothing. There’s no breath, and her chest is still.
