Page 13 of Inked in Devotion

Kolyashka, Aralina mouthed.

I gently guided her back into the attic. My jaw worked overtime at what could have gone wrong if any of the bullets ricocheted, went through the roof, and struck her.

Theodore King acted like the fucking hero and wrapped Aralina in his winter coat

Kirill’s eyes flared at the gesture. “Take your hands off⁠—”

“Shove it, Zahkarov. She doesn’t need to see the bloody mess you created,” King said.

He had a point, but I was more concerned with how to get rid of Jeremiah’s body. I crouched down beside his still form. He was shot in the chest and probably the shoulder, judging from the map of red. He also had a bloody head wound. A crimson lake was pooling underneath him.

While Aralina was whisked away by our trusted soldiers, Dom left a warning for Kirill, given how he had Lucy clutched tightly to him. “Go easy on her, Zahkarov.”

That was when Chloe spoke. “Lucy…I shot him twice.” She stared at the man I was inspecting.

“I wasn’t the one who killed him,” she added.

“No, you didn’t,” I said. “I did.”

“What? I thought you did?” Lucy asked Kirill.

“I’m a better shot,” I responded smugly while checking his pulse.

“The fuck you are,” Kirill shot back.

Well, what do you know? The bastard was alive. There was a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

No wonder the older King was tense as fuck like he wanted to snatch his brother and leave. Fists clenching and unclenching, jaw tight. He nodded for his men to take Jeremiah’s body away.

Fuck that.

“Not so fast.” I stood and sneered at Theodore King. “You think I didn’t detect a faint pulse?”

“He’s alive?” Kirill asked.

“And what if he is?” Theo lifted his chin.

“He killed my men and terrorized my sister,” Kirill said.

“You think I’m going to hand my brother over to you?” Theo snapped. “There are consequences if Jeremiah or I disappear. You should ask your brother, Maksim, about the repercussions that may arise to your own bratva if that happens.”

Kirill stilled. A flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

“He’s bluffing.” We needed to kill these fuckers and burn this whole place down.

Theo ignored my statement as if I were an annoying insect and headed for the stairs. “I’ll be in touch. I’m sure neither of us wants a scandal to come out of this.”

I bristled when his eyes fell on Chloe. “I’ll be in touch with you, too.”

That fucker was going to leave with a body that I’d made up my mind about to dismember and dispose of. I surged forward to stop them, but Kirill blocked me.

“You'd better go before I change my mind,” he threw over his shoulder. “This one doesn’t always follow orders.”

Of course he meant me.

When King left, I couldn’t help snarling at Kirill. I hated loose ends, and we left a big fucking one that would be a headache to tie up later. “Why the fuck did you let them leave?”

“I’m not going to risk a shootout with my wife in the crossfire.”