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Maksim is a machine beside me, his face bloodied. His rifle is a blur of motion as he repeatedly pivots and fires.

Cillian and Leo are right behind us, their own weapons adding to the deafening fusillade, the walls and floor and ceiling erupting in a hail of plaster and gore.

Then, suddenly, it’s over.

The last of Russo’s men falls, his chest a ruined mess of blood and bone, and the silence that follows is so sudden it’s almost more deafening than the gunfire.

Before the body hits the floor, I’m kicking in doors, my heart in my throat. “Katerina!” I scream, hoping she can answer me. “Katerina!”

Empty room after empty room greets me, each one a fresh stab of fear, of despair, until…

There. At the end of the hall.

One last door remains shut. I slam through it like a battering ram, the hinges shrieking in protest, the frame shattering beneath the onslaught. And there, in the center of the room, lit by a single bare bulb dangling from the ceiling…

Katerina.

For a moment, I stare at her, taking her in. She’s bound to the bed, her wrists and ankles secured with thick leather cuffs.

Her hair is a tangled mess, her face streaked with tears and blood.

One eye is swollen shut, a mottled purple bruise vivid against her pallid skin. Her lip is split, her cheek bearing the livid imprint of a hand.

But it’s the other marks that send a searing rage burning through my veins.

The raw, bleeding welts that crisscross her arms and legs, disappearing beneath the tattered remains of her clothes. The dark, finger-shaped bruises that encircle her throat.

I’m at her side in an instant, my hands shaking as I tear at her restraints, my vision blurring with tears I don’t even try to hide. She stares up at me, her eyes wide and disbelieving, like she can’t quite trust that I’m real.

“N-Nico?” she whispers hoarsely, as if she’s been screaming for hours. “Is it…is it really you?”

“It’s me, baby,” I choke out, my voice cracking on the words. “I’m here. You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

The restraints come free and she surges upward with a sob, throwing her arms around my neck and clinging to me like she’ll never let go. I gather her to my chest, crushing her against me, breathing her in.

“I knew you’d come,” she whispers, her lips brushing my ear. “I knew you’d find me.”

I bury my face in her hair, my shoulders shaking with silent sobs. “Always,” I rasp. “Always, my love. I will always come for you.”

Suddenly, I hear footsteps in the hall and the creak of floorboards under a heavy tread. I spin, pushing Katerina behind me, my gun leaping into my hand.

But it’s Maksim who appears in the doorway, his face a mask of blood and grime, his eyes wild and haunted. But when his gaze lands on Katerina as she pokes around me and sees her alive and whole, the relief that washes over his features is tangible.

He sags against the doorframe, his breath leaving him in a shuddering rush.

“Oh, thank god,” he whispers, his voice hoarse and ragged. “Katya.”

Katerina makes a small, wounded sound at the sight of him, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. I can only imagine what she must be feeling, seeing her cousin like this.

Her eyes are wide as she takes him in and I realize she’s probably never seen Maksim the Enforcer.

She’s only ever known him as her cousin. It must be trippy, I imagine, seeing the blood he’s spilled all for her sake.

“Maksim? Is Nikolai—is he…?” She steps around me, stopping just in front of me as she takes it all in, and I wrap my arms around her.

Maksim’s face softens for a moment. “He’s fine, Kat. He’s downstairs, securing the perimeter.”

Relief washes over her face, as she leans forward, her eyes wild. “Aria,” she gasps out. “Did she give birth? Is it a boy or a girl? How’s Daniel?”