Page 88 of The Russian's Bought Bride

“Lower the gun,” I say coldly, tone clipped. “And maybe you’ll walk out of this alive.”

It’s a lie, and we both know it.

Malenkov laughs softly despite the blood streaking down his chin now. “You’re too righteous for this world, Lukov. I’m surprised it hasn’t killed you already.”

“Righteous isn’t the word I’d use.”

“No?” His eyes gleam in that rat-like way of his. “You built an entire secret operation trying to play hero while pretending you weren’t still one of us. I can’t tell who you’ve been trying to impress.”

The words reach old wounds I don’t have time to bleed from right now, and ones that don’t need addressing when Dani is still suffering.

“No one. You harvest innocent people for profit. There’s nothing complicated about what you are.”

His expression hardens, apparently not liking that response. “You should’ve minded your own business.”

“That became impossible the second you started carving through vulnerable people like livestock.”

He grits his teeth slightly beneath the barrel pressed against him. “You cost me millions.”

“You deserve worse.”

I mean every word. No matter how long it took, no matter how careful I had to be, I would have destroyed him eventually.It was only a matter of time, and now, I have no qualms about burying him for good.

Men like Grigori Malenkov don’t stop on their own. They consume everything around them until somebody finally puts them in the ground, and nobody wants to do that more than me.

“I was going to end this either way,” I tell him coldly. “You just made the mistake of touching her first.”

Something shifts in his expression then, and it looks a lot like understanding. He knows exactly how personal this has become, and maybe if he had the chance to go back, he never would’ve pursued her or Arthur.

Behind us, I hear Danielle struggling against the restraints, but my eyes don’t stray, and neither do his.

Malenkov’s gun shifts almost imperceptibly toward the sound, forcing more tension to coil up within me, ready to strike.

My heart nearly stops when something metallic flies by me and slams hard into the side of Malenkov’s head with a sharp crack.

He jerks in surprise, hitting the wall again in a brief daze as the metal tray clatters to the floor.

The distraction lasts less than a second, but it’s all I need.

I pull the trigger point-blank, and the gunshot explodes through the room, hitting its mark without hesitation.

With a sickening whack against the wall, Malenkov goes limp instantly as the light leaves his eyes, and his body crumples heavily against the concrete floor at my feet while blood spreads rapidly beneath him.

Dead. Finally.

For one suspended second, I just stare down at him while my breath comes out harder than before in the sudden quiet, adrenaline roaring through my bloodstream so loudly I can barely think straight.

Then Danielle makes a broken sound somewhere behind me, and when I turn to see her yanking the restraint from her other wrist, the thoughts finally click together.

She did it. Somehow, she slipped from one and distracted him long enough for me to finish this.

Everything else disappears again immediately, and I’m moving before conscious thought catches up with me.

By the time I reach the table, Dani already has most of the restraints undone, but I shove the last one free myself with shaking hands, seeing with tunnel vision.

“You’re okay,” I say hoarsely, even though I’m the furthest thing from calm right now. “…It’s okay.”

The moment she can, Danielle practically collapses toward me, and I catch her instantly.