Page 141

“They won’t help him.” Her voice broke on the last word. “Papa, you know they won’t. They hate him. They hate how close you are to him after everything he’s done.”

I clenched my jaw hard enough to ache. She wasn’t wrong. She said the thing I didn’t want to admit. The thing that had hollowed out my ribs the moment Yuriy walked out of the house.

“He’ll be fine,” I said, softer, for her sake.

“I know you.” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “If anything happens to him, it’ll destroy you. You’ll never forgive yourself. There’s nothing you can do here. Go to him.”

The doctor frowned at me. “Her contractions are picking up. Sir, we have to ask you to leave because your presence seems to be upsetting your daughter. We need her full attention here.”

I stepped closer, cupping her face, kissing her forehead. Her skin was hot, damp.

“I’ll bring him back. I’ll bring them both back.”

She nodded, trembling.

“I’ll hold on,” she whispered. “I’ll hold on as long as I can. Maybe he’ll make it in time.”

God. She still believed Zasha could walk through the door. That he wasn’t somewhere bleeding. Or lifeless.

Another contraction seized her, and nurses moved around her with practiced urgency, adjusting monitors, lowering the bed, preparing for something that was supposed to be joyous, not overshadowed by blood and vengeance.

I walked to the door, every step a tearing motion in my chest. At the threshold, I looked back. She was gripping the rails, breathing hard, whispering Zasha’s name as if that would keep him alive.

I can’t fail her.

My boots hit the tile with sharp, purposeful strides as I tore down the hallway toward the hospital’s exit. Christmas decorations blinked stupidly from the nurses’ station, reds and greens and twinkling lights that didn’t belong in a world where my daughter was laboring alone, and the man I loved might already be dying.

Outside, the cold slapped me hard across the face, but not as harshly as the reality Yelena had forced me to face. My men had no reason to cover Yuriy’s back. They owed him no loyalty, and even though I’d told them to be there for him, we had ten years of bad blood, which couldn’t be erased in a single night. They might have tolerated seeing me with Yuriy, but they sure as hell didn’t like it.

Daniil had brought the car around and was waiting for me. He got out of the car and opened the door. “Miss Yelena⁠—”

“She’s fine. We need to go to Yuriy. Instruct Melor to stay at the hospital just in case, and have Frank and Tyom follow us.”

“Yes, sir.”

We peeled away from the hospital, my stomach churning in knots. I fucking hated this. My resources were so limited here, since I’d only taken a small fraction of my men to Kansas City. Yuriy had taken none.

Frank and Tyom followed us in the second car. The tires hissed over thin layers of ice as we drove toward Yuriy. Every turn was too slow. Every red light felt like an insult. My heart was racing faster than the engine.

The city bled into industrial shadows. Run-down warehouses, rusted metal siding, busted windows. A graveyard of forgotten places, perfect for violence to breathe and multiply unchecked.

“Slow.” I leaned forward. “Kill the lights.”

Daniil obeyed instantly, and we rolled to a crawl. Up ahead, parked a hundred feet from the warehouse entrance, were the two cars that had followed Yuriy. Arty’s was empty.

From the other, I could make out shapes and laughter. Had they retrieved Zasha already, then? But why hadn’t Yuriy called?

My vision tunneled.

“Stop the car.”

Daniil hit the brakes. Before we fully halted, I shoved the door open and jumped out. My boots crunched on the snow-packed asphalt as I stalked toward the car.

The windows were down, smoke wafting into the night. Three silhouettes were inside, leaning back, shoulders shaking. They were so deep into conversation they hadn’t even heard us pull up.

“…no fucking way he’ll survive tonight.”

“Can’t believe the boss is fucking him. Sure, he’s pretty, and those lips must be good at cock sucking, but he’s killed more of our men than anyone else. I’d not let him come anywhere near my dick.”