Page 98 of Bleed with Me

“Enough, Nina!” he yelled, whipping his head toward me. His green eyes shone brightly with pure fury, startling me. My mouth opened, but no protests came out. I’d never seen him like this, so angry that his entire body shook, so distraught that the infuriated tear fell on his cheek.

“I’m done tolerating this.” Lucas’s lips twisted in a snarl. “If your father—” He didn’t get to finish. Sonny used his distraction to grab his hand with the gun and wrench it toward the ceiling. Lucas pulled the trigger, the bullet shattering the light above our heads.

I tried to stop Sonny, but I wasn’t quick enough. He kicked Lucas in the shin, jumped over the couch, and disappeared into the elevator.

“Call security!” Lucas yelled, but I didn’t move. “Nina!”

“No.” I shook my head slowly, registering the pain in my stomach that quickly spread through my ribs and my lower abdomen. “I won’t let you kill yourself.”

“Are you nuts!” he screamed, grasping my shoulders and shaking me as if hoping to wake me to my senses. “You can’t marry him!”

“I have a plan,” I said, keeping a calm facade.

“Will you sleep with a knife and a gun under your pillow?” His hold on my shoulders tensed.

Wiggling to escape his grip, I clutched my hurting abdomen, my mind doing its best to form a coherent explanation while my best friend just glared at me.

“If the wedding happens,” I started eventually, underlining the word if, “then believe me, I’ll become a very young, very sad widow.”

Lucas’s brows knitted above his confused eyes, the spark of realization settling in just a second later.

“You plan to kill him after the wedding?” he muttered, his arms falling beside his body.

“Did you believe I would endure this?” I pointed at my aching torso, registering the mild shortness of breath. “Zyon will get his wedding alliance and the help he needs for Ramzan. And I’ll get my freedom. That’s the endgame if everything else fails.”

-44-

Nina

“You know,” Lucas drawled as the car stopped in front of the Starlight building, “most women don’t solve their spouse problems with murder plans.”

I shot him a flat look while adjusting the slit of my black evening gown over my thigh holster.

“Good thing I’m not most women.”

The bastard snorted and stepped out before I could elbow him. Cold evening air brushed my bare shoulders as I followed him onto the sidewalk, looking up at the Starlight building glowing against the Manhattan skyline. Expensive cars lined the entrance while men in dark suits watched every movement with predatory focus.

The lion’s den.

Excitement and dread twisted in my stomach. Dorian was somewhere inside. And somewhere nearby were his psychopathic brothers.

Lucas lightly touched my elbow as we approached the entrance, his teasing demeanor gone. He looked sharp in a dark suit, his blond curls elegantly styled for once, but tension lurked beneath his calm expression. After I told him about Malin digging through my records and deliberately leaving traces behind, even he stopped joking, which terrified me more than swimming with sharks.

Inhaling a deep, steady breath, I hooked my arm with Lucas, but we barely stepped into the private lobby before two security guards peeled away from the wall and blocked our path. Their attention immediately dropped toward my clutch and Lucas’s jacket.

“Phones. Weapons. Bags,” one of them ordered coldly.

“No,” I refused, smiling politely.

“Miss Valentino.” The guard’s face remained blank. “Everyone gets checked.”

“Do I look like everyone?” I asked sweetly, not bothered that they knew my name. They’d done their homework.

Lucas coughed, clearly trying not to laugh at my rapidly deteriorating patience.

“I’m serious, Miss,” the man continued, unmoved by me. “Orders.”

My fingers tensed around the crystal purse. Irritation crawled beneath my skin at the thought of strangers putting their hands on me and discovering the carefully hidden weapons beneath silk, diamonds, and couture fabric.