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A door swings open. Emily’s climbing out, unhurt. She stares at me, terror in her eyes. “Look out!”
I spin around. Orlov has a gun pointed at my head. My men are engaged with the last of his forces. None of them can save me.
He stands a few feet away, a smug grin stretching across his face, his eyes filled with malice. The air is thick with the stench of gunpowder and blood, a stark reminder of the violence that has just unfolded.
“I’ll take your wife when you’re dead,” Orlov taunts, his voice echoing off the grimy walls. “Make her my whore. You chose her over my daughter? That glutton?”
I leap forward, closing the gap between us in a heartbeat. Orlov is quick, but I’m quicker. I get my hands on his gun and bat it aside as he shoots.
He recovers quickly, landing a solid punch, his knuckles connecting with my jaw, sending a jolt of pain through my head. I stagger but quickly regain my footing. He lunges at me, but I sidestep, countering with a swift strike to his midsection.
As we trade blows, the villain’s taunting continues, his words laced with venom. “She’ll be fucked by hundreds,” he says. “Your wife, my whore.”
His words are just noise, drowned out by the pounding of my heart and the rush of blood in my ears.
I land a solid punch to his jaw and he staggers, his hands fumbling at his ankle.
He pulls out a gun from the holster by his boot, swinging it my way.
He goes to pull the trigger, a shadow falling over him from the sky above. He glances up in time to see a pram crashing down onto his skull.
His eyes widen in shock as it hits, his body buckling under the impact. His arm swings wildly upward and the gun fires as he falls.
I look up to see Emily on the fire escape above us both. She falls out of sight and fear fills my soul. Is she dead?
I look at Orlov. His skull is split in half but did he take my wife with him?
My men are securing the area, Orlov’s team are either down or fleeing. I sprint up the fire escape and find Emily sitting on the filthy roof.
As I approach her, I see blood on her clothes, my heart lurching with fear.
“Emily!” I call out, my voice laced with panic. “Are you hurt?”
She looks down at the blood on her, her hand trembling as she touches it. “I... I don’t think so,” she stammers. “Is it over?”
I check her over. “No sign of any holes,” I say at last, pulling her into my arms. “It’s over now. You’re safe,” I whisper, but the tremor in my voice betrays my lingering fear.
I realize how close I came to losing everything. Emily, the woman who has become my world, was inches away from a bullet meant for me.
“I thought I lost you,” I say.
She smiles weakly. “Sometimes you sacrifice pieces to win the game.”
“Not my queen, never my queen.”
“Luckily for you, I made a move the expert never saw coming.”
I find myself laughing. “A pram to the head. I never saw it coming either.”
“That’s why a beginner can defeat an expert.”
11
EMILY
The golden hues of sunset filter through the tall windows of Alessandro’s expansive library.
We’re nestled in this quiet sanctuary of the house, surrounded by shelves laden with books, the scent of old paper and polished wood filling the air.
