Page 77 of Savage Little War

“Fine!” Artur grits out.

“When did you start working with the Italians?” I question him, hearing Dmitri step up behind me.

Artur exhales sharply, frustration lacing his tone. “A-After Dmitri called off the marriage, Enrico Ferro reached out to me. He heard the alliance fell apart.”

“He knew you would be pissed at me,” Dmitri says in understanding, sounding pissed.

Artur grinds his teeth. “He told me about how you humiliated him and how you were working with a traitor to his family.”

“And you two idiots found out you had something in common,” Dmitri replies with a scoff.

“You broke my daughter’s heart for that whore!” Artur snaps at him.

I slightly rotate the knife, making Annika cry out.

“Stop!” Artur shouts, his eyes bulging with fear as he watches his daughter whimper in pain.

“Well, you two figured out how to hurt me the most. I’ll give you that,” Dmitri says bitterly. “You felt so wronged that you had to go after the woman I love. How did that work out for you both?”

Artur glares at Dmitri. “We’re not the only ones you pissed off. Even if you kill me too, you won’t be safe.”

I look over at Dmitri, sharing a look with him. We can’t catch a break. We kill one enemy, and two more take their place.

How many people are we going to have to kill before we finally feel safe?

“I think that’s all we need to know,” I say before turning back to Annika. “You were never going to have him. Not from the moment I walked into his office. I won.”

“You…bitch…”

Dmitri brushes past me and yanks the knife free.

“No!” Artur shouts.

He doesn’t get another word out before Dmitri opens his throat, blood pouring down the front of his shirt. He jerks around for a few seconds until he goes still, his eyes staring up lifelessly at the ceiling.

Annika makes a small, wet sound as blood flows from her wound, her eyes fluttering as her consciousness seeps away. She leans forward until she’s slumped over, blood spilling off the edge of the chair and dripping onto the floor at her feet.

Dmitri lets out a slow, controlled exhale as he drops the knife on the ground, his expression hardening as he stares at them. “This could’ve all been avoided if they’d just accepted that the marriage wasn’t going to happen.”

I tear my eyes away from Annika and walk over to Dmitri, my stomach twisting and turning as the smell of blood fills my nose. “She wanted you so badly that she was willing to kill me and your child to have you. Her father loved her so much that he was willing to start a war for her. There was no saving them.”

Dmitri shakes his head, his eyes not leaving Artur. “I should’ve known that Artur and Enrico were working together. I should’ve figured this shit out sooner!”

“They were smart about it,” I tell him as I cup the frame of his face with my bloody hands and coax his eyes down to mine. I feel no guilt. Not even a hint at what we did. “It sounded like they were working with someone else.”

Dmitri scoffs bitterly. “There’s no end in sight with this bullshit.”

“We’re almost there,” I assure him, feeling that in my soul. We’re taking out the big hitters. Soon, there won’t be anyone left who is dangerous enough to make us feel threatened. “Enrico is dead. Paolo was handled. Now Annika and Artur. Look at all we’ve accomplished.”

Dmitri lowers his forehead to mine, the corner of his lips lifting. “And I’ll kill a million more if it means keeping you and our baby safe.”

I wind my arms around his neck. He doesn’t care if my fingers are sticky with blood. “You could share that burden with me.”

Dmitri smirks, his eyes glinting. “What happened to the girl who refused to kill?”

I glance back over at Annika, memories of my time in the basement flickering through my mind like a horror movie on constant replay. “That version of me died the second she kicked me in that farmhouse. I’m what’s left, a mother who will do anything to protect her baby.”

Dmitri cups my cheek, leaving behind his own blood stains on me as our gazes meet once more. “I loved that version of you, but I love this one even more. Not because you’re deadly, but because you’re as strong as I always knew you were deep down.”