His eyebrow raises. “Oh? And what’s that?”
“You assumed Mikhail would wait for a signal.”
The warehouse doors explode inward with a deafening crash.
Gunfire erupts from every direction, and Adrian’s men scatter, returning fire.
Adrian grabs me, using my body as a shield as he backs toward the rear exit.
“Clever girl,” he hisses in my ear. “But not clever enough.”
He drags me with him, the gun now pressed against my head.
Through the chaos of the firefight, I see Mikhail burst through the smoke, his face a mask of fury and fear.
Our eyes meet across the warehouse, and I see the moment he realizes Adrian has me.
“Artyomov!” Adrian shouts, his voice cutting through the gunfire. “Call off your men, or I splatter her brains all over the walls!”
The shooting stops.
The silence that follows is deafening, broken only by the sound of my ragged breathing and the ringing in my ears.
Mikhail steps forward, his gun raised but not aimed at us. “Let her go, Adrian. This is between you and me.”
“Everything is between you and me!” Adrian’s grip on me tightens, and I feel the gun press harder against my skull. “You took my brother. I took your sister. You took your revenge on Vincent Moretti. Now I take mine on you.”
“Please.” Mikhail’s voice breaks, and I’ve never heard him sound so desperate. “Please, Adrian. Take me instead. Let her go and take me.”
“No!” The word tears from my throat. “Mikhail, don’t.”
But Adrian is already laughing, a sound devoid of any humor. “How touching. The great Mikhail Artyomov, brought to his knees by a woman. Your sister would be ashamed.”
“My sister would understand.” Mikhail takes another step forward, and I see his finger tighten on the trigger. “She would understand that love is worth dying for.”
“Then let me help you with that.” Adrian’s voice turns cold, final. “Say goodbye to your wife, Artyomov.”
16
MIKHAIL
Time stops.
Adrian’s finger tightens on the trigger, the gun pressed against Sophia’s temple, and I watch my entire world narrow to that single point of contact.
Her blue eyes find mine across the warehouse, and I see everything in them—fear, love, and forgiveness for failing her.
Click.
The sound echoes through the warehouse like a death knell, but no explosion follows.
No blood.
No body crumpling to the concrete.
Adrian’s face contorts with confusion.
He pulls the trigger again.
