He doesn’t finish.
That’s when he sees me, and after a moment’s pause, a cold smirk curls on his lips. Things just got even more interesting.
Before he can say anything, two of his men come through the bar room entrance at a sprint, drawn by the sound of the shotgun. I aim and shoot, taking them both down with four shots.
Outside, the night erupts with gunfire as my men arrive and press Konstantin’s men.
But in the living room, there are just the four of us.
Walking toward Konstantin, I level my gun at the face of Leonore’s monster. “You’re in my house.” My tone is cold, and that panic I felt before washes away as I take control once again.
His black eyes gleam in the half light of the fire. “Your sister has made quite the impression.”
I grit my teeth. “Get on your knees.”
He doesn’t move. He just studies me with cold, empty eyes. He’s not afraid of the gun.
“On your knees,” I repeat to Konstantin. “I won’t ask again.”
He smiles, and it’s a thin reptilian smile with no warmth. It’s not human. And I want nothing more than to permanently remove it. But no sooner have I thought it than I feel the press of cold steel against the base of my skull.
“Lower your weapon.” The voice comes from behind me. It must be one of Konstantin’s men. “Slowly.”
The probability of me turning around and shooting him before he can pull the trigger is not good. The barrel is pressed against bone. At this range, I’d be dead before my finger found the trigger.
I lower my gun.
The smirk widens on Konstantin’s smug face as he takes my gun from me. God, I want to unload a clip right in the middle of it.
“You know, I was going to take Antonia and leave you to bury your men and mourn your bruised ego. But now that you’ve killed two of my men in front of me, I’m feeling less generous. I take these matters rather personally, you see.”
He steps closer.
“I think I’ll let you watch. Before I kill you, that is. I’ll let you see what I do to her first.” His smile widens. “I think you’ll like it. It hits differently when you hear her screams.”
Behind me, the man with the gun presses the barrel harder into my skull. A reminder not to make any sudden movements.
Konstantin turns toward Leonore, and every cell in my body screams at me to fight this asshole, even if it costs me my life. But a dead man can’t fight back or protect her. I have to play this smart. Wait for a moment when the man holding the gun to my skull moves or is distracted just enough for me to disarm him before he even knows what’s happening. But as long as his attention remains on me, that’s the best that I can do right now.
The moment arrives seconds later when the gun at my head disappears. I hear a loud crack behind me, and the gunman falls to the floor in a heap.
Swinging around, I see Nessa standing over him with a tire iron in her hands, her teeth clenched and a fierce look of determination on her face.
“That’s quite enough, Mr. Vescari,” Konstantin says, and when I look back at him, he is pointing my gun at me.
For one frozen heartbeat, we face each other. His finger is on my trigger. A victorious smile on his face.
“Goodbye, Mr. Vescari.”
The shotgun blast is deafening. Sound detonates through the space, ripping through the standoff like a physical force.
For a split second, there is only impact and shock. The kind that doesn’t immediately translate into meaning.
Konstantin jerks violently to the left as the blast hits him, slamming into the wall hard, leaving blood spatter in his wake. The gun is ripped from his hand and clatters across the floor.
Silence crashes in after it.
Heavy. Absolute.
