Dimitri spins, squinting into the shadows.
I signal to Pavel. “Disarm Dimitri. I need some answers.”
Pavel doesn’t budge.
Instead, he and Anton pull their sidearms, then glance at Dimitri as if waiting for orders.
My heart sinks.
Oh, shit.
After Dimitri gives them an almost imperceptible nod, they level their weapons at me.
“Sweet, naive Kai.” Dimitri’s satisfied smile spreads across his features. “You were only ever the pretty face of the company.”
He pauses like I should know how to respond to that.
My brain struggles to catch up as everything I thought I knew crumbles at my feet, including my sense of self. I barely hear his words over the buzzing in my ears.
Dimitri nods again. “But I own it. And you. No matter where your little friend is, he can’t stop what’s going to happen now. This has been in motion for years.”
My feet shift back, my body instinctively curling away from the man in front of me.
The man I’ve trusted for over half my life. My mentor, teacher, and savior.
A traitor.
Bile floods my throat when I realize the worst-case scenario now resembles a wistful dream.
Chapter 34
Max
Own her? I don’t think so, motherfucker.
A second after I pull the trigger, Anton staggers, spinning sideways as blood blooms across his shoulder. Not the kill shot I wanted, but the best I could get with this angle.
Pavel raises his weapon and searches for the biggest threat in the room. Nika dives into a roll that puts distance between herself and the men who just betrayed her.
We thought we were meeting Dimitri two on one. Now it’s three on two. Normally those odds wouldn’t bother me, but that’s when I’m working alone. Trying to keep Nika safe while taking down these assholes will require some finesse.
My second shot goes wide as Pavel drops to the ground, his gun already tracking up to where I’m perched. Right before his bullets rip through the floor, I back out of sight.
Splinters and chunks of wood fly as I duck and crawl, protecting my face with my shoulder as I get away. Anton screams.
I slide forward to glimpse over the edge, but Pavel doesn’t follow. He’s pivoted toward Anton’s scream. I scan the space for Nika, but she’s out of sight.
Without aiming, I shoot three rounds as cover fire. Pavel jerks back and runs for the support column of the mezzanine on the far side of the room.
We’re in a standoff. Me on the mezzanine, Pavel hunkered down, Nika somewhere in the shadows. Anton’s down, but where is Dimitri?
I survey the gloom for motion. A shape. Anything at all.
I spot him near the entrance.
Dimitri ducks behind the door, using it as a shield. “Get Nika!”
Like hell they will. This is my chaos. My violence. My choice to burn everything down rather than let him have her.
