Page 91 of Lord of Passion

"Fuck you! Kill me, leave them alone and come kill me! It's what you want!" Why am I screaming? He can't hear me.

Another monitor lights up, the tenth floor, the image is blurry, wood splintering, crashing to the floor, sparks spraying across the carpet. They're good wool ones, though. It's going to take them a while to ignite.

Everything is gone. People are dying. And it's all my fault.

The glass door to my terrace shatters and I whirl around. It's Nikandr, soot-stained and kicking out the rest of the glass. "Nik!" I race for him, my hands out, grabby fingers trying to pull him close to me.

"Plokhoy kot,come here, we're going down -"

Two bodies drop from the balcony above us, landing on him and I scream, grabbing a vase off the sideboard and bringing it down on one man's head. He twists, it's not a good shot, breaking over his shoulder and neck, but he yelps, slamming his hand over the blood spurting from his neck.

Nikandr has his gun out, twisting from under his attacker and clubbing him over the head because the guard is too close to shoot. He drops. Nikandr looks up at me, "We're going over the side, love -" Three more men swarm onto the terrace, kicking through what's left of the glass.

One of them is Johann.

"Motherfucker!"I shout. There's a golf club leaning against the wall, some silly prop that the New York Boutique Hotel Association gave me as the "Rising Star" this year. It's heavy as hell and I bring it up, swinging like a pro. The club cracks Johann across the back and he screams, falling forward and nearly over the railing which really would be best.

One of the men looks up, a snarl on his ugly face. His assistant from this morning, I think. As he pulls his gun, Nikandr drives an elbow into his temple and he staggers, his eyes unfocused. I swing at another guard who landed on top of my husband. This time the club slams into his head and he drops like a bag of dirt. Two men are still upright, beating the shit out of Nikandr and I circle them, trying to get a shot in. An arm goes around my throat and I'm yanked backward with a strangled screech.

"My dear girl, you cannot stop this," Johann's mouth is next to my ear, close enough that his moist lips touch my ear. "It's all coming down, and yourSovietnikwith it."

My office door finally slams open, the shattered pieces flying against the wall. The heat is blistering, eager fingers of flame lighting up the wall across the hall. The men who come racing in are not Isaak and Rafail.

Three more of Johann's creatures.

A gun fires behind me on the terrace. Nikandr is standing in the middle of a pile of bleeding bodies.

Good.

Johann's arm tightens, choking me. "Kill him!" he screams at his men. Smoke is pouring into the office and the men are flailing a bit, guns out and trying to find their way.

It's then that I realize I'd hung on to the club. I swing it in an awkward arc behind me, hitting Johann across the back of his knees and he folds in half, landing on top of me. His arm is still around my throat, but the heat is making his skin slippery. I flail the club blindly and it hits his legs, and unfortunately, my ankle.

It's enough to pull loose from his arm and I crawl in the direction of the terrace. Theycan'tkill my husband. A hand grabs my ankle and I scream. "Just! Fucking!Die!"I'm kicking at him furiously when I hear a shot. Then another.

"Nonononono!" I'm on the floor and I see feet going past me, the smoke isn't that low yet. It's not Nikandr. He's wearing a blue suit today. I love that one. Rolling to my side, I bring the club up and swing. My hands are sweaty and bloody and the golf club flies loose, but not before it slams against the man's shins and he stumbles into the smoke. "Please let him fall," I cough. "Please."

I'm scrambling toward the terrace again. Johann gets a hold of my ankle twice but I kick him loose. "Nik!" I screech, coughing and coughing. I can't draw in a breath. Then. I see Nikandr's feet from my spot on the carpet. His hands shoot out, grabbing Johann by the throat.

"Go! Get to the balcony, they'll see you." Was it his momentum moving forward when he grabbed Johann? I don't know, but I hear rather than see them crash through my broken door.

It'ssohot, smoke roiling through the room and I crawl toward the door. I've spent so much time in this office that I could navigate it blindfolded. Isaak is lying just outside the door. There's blood streaming from his side but he raises a hand, groaning out, Mrs. Moro…" I can't see Nikandr or Rafail, there's noise further down the hall, the meaty sound of fists hitting flesh.

Then, the miracle.

Water shoots from the ceiling, spraying wildly, driving the smoke away enough to see my husband. He's on top of Johann, fists smashing down on his face, but there's blood coming from his arm and his thigh. Johann drives his fist into a wound on Nikandr's thigh and he grunts, but his fists never stop.

He's laughing. That fucking Johann islaughingas his face is getting pulverized. A wooden chest right next to me bursts into flame, I can feel the skin on my arm blister. Crawling faster, I see Johann's arm go up. He's holding something shiny.

"Knife!" I'm screaming but it's coming out like a croak. "He's got a knife!" Nik hears me, miraculously and gets an arm up in time to block the knife, pulling it loose and driving it into Johann's chest. In shock, his eyes go wide as he looks down at the blade embedded in him.

Nikandr digs in his feet and shoves him backward. "You won't die from the knife. But…" his feet moving faster. "You'll burn."

The water has taken away most of the smoke so I see it all clearly. Johann's shocked face. The knife buried in his chest. And how his arms pinwheel as he falls over the walkway leading down to the shattered lobby. His sleeves are already on fire. Then, his shirt and as he falls over, I see his pants catch. He flies, a burning, fallen angel. He doesn't even scream.

Chapter Forty-One

In which sitting on a tailgate and getting patched up by an EMT can be the best part of your day.