Page 87 of The Russian's Bought Bride

Nikolai appears with blood still streaking one side of his face from the crash earlier, expression savage enough to barely look human anymore. Roman and Sergey are behind him with weapons drawn, but Nikolai’s attention locks onto me instantly.

Pure panic flashes across his face the second he sees the restraints. “Dani.”

The sound of my name in his voice nearly undoes me completely, and relief hits so hard that tears spill faster down my face. “Nikolai—”

His gaze shifts toward Volodin’s body on the floor, toward the blood, then to Malenkov, and something terrifying settlesover his expression. Something lethal emanates from him, showing me a side of him I’ve never seen before.

Then Nikolai raises his weapon and goes after Grigori Malenkov himself.

Chapter 27 - Nikolai

The sight of Danielle strapped to that table burns straight through me, and for a moment, the entire world narrows into pure, blinding rage.

I see the restraints cutting into her wrists so clearly, along with the terror on her face, while the fluorescent lights overhead make her look like some kind of experiment.

Not far, Volodin’s body bleeds across the concrete floor. He obviously did something Malenkov didn’t like.

I was almost too late.

Not completely, but close enough that the realization nearly tears me up from the inside out. This never should have happened, and she never should have been touched by any of this.

If I had been a moment later, this would have ended very differently.

Malenkov is already trapped in the room as gunfire cracks through adjoining corridors while my brothers and our men clear the remaining rooms, but none of it reaches me properly.

All I see and hear is Danielle and the frantic sound of her breathing.

Then Malenkov moves, and the last of my restraint goes up in smoke.

I go after him immediately, slamming him hard into the nearest wall before he can fully turn, driving him against the concrete with enough force to crack his head sharply against it. I wrench him into position and jam my gun directly beneath his jaw.

Rage vibrates through my entire body, and it takes everything I have not to empty the magazine into him.

I want to kill him so violently he’ll remember it into the next life, and I don’t want to think twice about the mess it will make.

“How fucking dare you,” I snarl, finger itching to pull the trigger at the thought of everything Dani has been through tonight, all because of him.

Malenkov grunts against the wall with blood at the corner of his mouth now, but despite the position he’s in, he still smiles red. It nearly pushes me over the edge.

“You care about her that much?” he asks roughly, looking more amused than someone in his position should be.

I shove the gun harder beneath his jaw, hearing how his neck protests with a subtle pop. “You’re dead.”

“I don’t think so.”

That’s when I glance over to see his gun raised and pointed right at Dani, where she’s still lying there, trapped by the restraints.

I stop at once, all too familiar with this predicament.

Malenkov freezes too, breathing hard now. He knows he has the advantage with her head right in his line of sight, turning the tables before I can come up with a quick solution.

If I pull the trigger now, there’s a very real chance his reflexes go with it, and all it takes is one shot to ruin everything.

My entire body locks with restraint, forcing myself to reel it in regardless of how badly I want this to end.

Malenkov notices immediately and smiles wider. “How unfortunate.”

I want to break every bone in his body, but instead, I force myself to hold still despite the fury threatening to drown me alive.