“Got a nice little tip-off this morning from a good friend of mine that Anton Radev would be here alone. Did you seriously not bring any backup? How fucking stupid are you, man?” he laughs, and from the shadows, more men come up, slowlysurrounding me.He’s just taunting you. It’s what he does. Ignore it.
It looks like Illyin has made some new friends in this city. Formed an alliance with my enemy. I turn slowly, assessing the number of men around me.
“Where is she?” I ask, trying to stay calm. “I just want to talk to her.” I raise my hands to show that I have no intention of fighting anyone. I literally just want to see her. Nothing else matters.
“I had no idea she was his sister, you know. I mean, that blows my mind. The balls you have…kidnapping his sister and marrying her. It’s like you wanted to sign your own death warrant,” Gusev muses thoughtfully, toying with the gun in his hand.
“Just tell me where the hell she is, man. I came here to talk to her, not to listen to your shit.”
“Oh, you’re not that quick on the draw today, huh? Your girl isn’t here, Anton. She never was. She never will be.”
My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach.
“He sold me out?” I mutter to myself.
“He did, my friend. He sold you out. He threw you to the wolves,” Gusev laughs.
“Thedogs…you fuckers hardly look like wolves.”
“Careful, now. You aren’t in the best position to be tossing insults around,” Gusev snaps, lifting his gun to wave it at me.
“You always were too arrogant, Anton. It’s time you learned who really owns this city,” Gusev hisses.
“Put the gun down, Pavel. I told you he’s mine,” Illyin snarls as he walks into the warehouse.
“I wondered why you were letting these rats do your dirty work for you,” I snap at him.
“I considered it. Especially with how little you mean to me, Anton. But in the end, I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to watch the bullet pierce your skull and see your brains splatter from the back as your body falls lifeless to the ground. I want confirmation…you understand.”
I laugh bitterly, raising my hands and making sure he knows he’s shooting an unarmed man. “Yeah, who is weak now, Illyin? You couldn’t even handle this like a man. You were so scared of me, you had to bring backup and more backup,” I taunt him as my mind races, searching for a chance out of this fuckup.
He lifts his gun as his eyes darken in rage. “You talk too much,” he growls.
“Stop!”
Her voice causes two reactions inside me.
Firstly, relief. My entire body thrilled by the sound of her. Just knowing she is close to me sets my heart ablaze.
But second comes the panic.
She’s running into a situation she can’t control, and one I would never want her to witness.
“Izabel,” I mutter in dismay as I turn to look towards the open doors of the warehouse. But as I do, the entire situation flips over.
She’s not alone.
Standing on one side of her is Yaroslav and my security force, and on the other side is Josiah and his.
A smile spreads instantly over my face as relief floods me.
I’m not going to die.
I’m going to get to hold her in my arms again and tell her that I love her.
But she isn’t looking at me. She’s looking at her brother.
“Illyin, put the gun down!” Izabel shouts at her brother.
