Page 139 of Inked in Devotion

“Hurry!” Dom yelled.

The ominous acceleration of motorcycles was quickly drowned out by the roar of assault weapons.

Chloe was sprinting behind me. Two De Lucci soldiers protected our flanks. Almost there.

“You’ve got one coming at you the wrong way on—” Trevor started.

I spotted it. It was the one from Palisades. She raised her arm to shoot us when an SUV rammed the motorcycle.

Chloe gasped when the wheels of the Suburban crushed the bike and rider. The SUV screeched to a halt, and the driver stepped out.

Even with his mask, Kirill was recognizable to me.

Where the hell did he come from? How did he get here so fast? Did they drive the wrong way too?

“You didn’t think I’d let you get married without your pakhan, did you?”

Chapter

Thirty-One

Chloe

We made it.

We ran into the building just as we heard the sirens. I didn’t know what cleanup could be done. We left a disaster out there. Not just piles of crushed metal and spent bullet casings. A carnage of bodies, too.

Kolya didn’t want to leave me alone, but Margo insisted I freshen up, wear the outfit she procured for the ceremony, and put me in some kind of bridal room. Kolya begrudgingly agreed and was currently somewhere on this floor getting changed. When they said Marriage Ink was a full-service wedding business, they weren’t kidding.

“You guys made it!” The women were on a video call.

I’d just showered and was wearing a fresh pair of lingerie. Although judging from the dress outside, I might not need a bra.

“Yes, we did.” I was still in the grip of an adrenaline kick. Tremors would shake my body intermittently, but it was a feat that I wasn’t rocking in a corner in tears after all the violence I’d witnessed. But it was as if all my life I had been waiting for this to happen, for the other shoe to drop, and when it finally did, all I felt was immense relief.

On the screen were Lucy, Irina, and Aralina, and of course they patched in Sloane, since her husband led the De Lucci crew. Dom and the don from New Jersey were dealing with law enforcement.

“You guys turned Manhattan into a war zone.” Sloane laughed. “Dom is grumbling that Kirill should be the one cleaning it up and dealing with the NYPD.”

“Kirill is going to be Kolya’s best man.”

“Don’t worry,” Lucy said. “He’s on the phone with his connections. They mobilized all the tow trucks and cleanup crews. If the airspace wasn’t still questionable, we would have choppered in,” she added. “I still can’t believe I’m missing the blood covenant.”

“They used grenade launchers.”

“I heard.” Lucy’s voice lowered. “Kirill is salty about his Porsche.”

And the Escalade that was meant for Lucy. I couldn’t believe the beating it endured before the windshield caved in.

I heard the click of the door to the suite.

“Okay, I think that’s the stylist who's doing my hair and makeup.”

“You’re really getting married!” Lucy gushed. “But we need a do-over.”

“Well, we’ll have Aralina’s wedding first.” I crossed my palms over my chest in apology. “Sorry, I didn’t want to steal your thunder.”

Aralina grinned and pressed the fingers of both hands to her mouth to give me air kisses.