Page 109 of Reckless Desires

Lily screams through the cloth wrapped around her mouth. Now I have his attention. He lets his guard down. I glance at Lily. We’ve practiced this before.

She kicks her leg into his stomach while pushing the gun pointed at her upward. He takes the hit but still manages to smack Lily across the face. She drops to the ground, trying to crawl to me as I rush toward her, but Viktor’s faster, lunging, grabbing her by the ankle, and ripping her backward toward him.

I drive my shoulder into him, knocking him back off her, and we tumble to the ground. My head cracks against a table. Pain blossoms, black spots dancing across my vision.

None of it matters, though. The only thing that matters is getting Lily out of here alive. Gunfire erupts around us. Darius and his men get up, springing into action. They are wearing bulletproof vests—all part of the plan.

Viktor pulls a knife from his belt, whipping around and driving it into Liliana’s thigh. Her scream tears through the room. It chills me to my bones, and I know that this is the moment when I’m going to lose her. She’s not going to pull through this time.

I can see it in the way the blood spurts out of her leg. He nicked an artery.

Darius dives for her, hauling her out of the room as fast as he can, leaving me there.

Good. If I’m going to lose her, then this fucker is going to die too.

Chapter Seventy-Two

Killain

Isee red as I tackle Viktor out of the way, hands around his throat. I squeeze as tightly as I can. Viktor’s face is starting to turn blue. The room barely has anyone alive.

“Enough!” a female voice shouts.

I look up to find a woman holding a gun to my head. But that isn’t what catches me off guard. “Jenni??”

“Get off him!” she shouts, her voice echoing with a desperate urgency that cuts through the chaos of the moment.

I’m momentarily distracted by her fierce command, and Viktor seizes the opportunity to wrestle himself free from my grip. A jarring laugh erupts from him, a sound that crawls under my skin.

“Farrah, how do you know Killian here?” he questions, his tone dripping with mock admiration, clearly impressed that she just saved his life.

“He’s the father of my child,” she replies coldly, her words precisely aimed to pierce through the tension. This sends Viktor into a fit of laughter so intense that he doubles over, clutching his stomach as if he’s just heard the world’s greatest joke.

“What are you talking about?” I demand, anger boiling over as confusion clouds my mind.

“Almost six years ago. England,” she states, her tone flat and matter-of-fact, as if recounting a mundane errand.

I curse under my breath, the bitter taste of regret swirling in my gut. All these years, I thought Jenni abandoned me, while she was trapped and being trafficked. And to know that my child is out there, that has never met me, is gut-wrenching.

“I’m a father?” I ask incredulously, the weight of the revelation crashing down on me like a tidal wave.

“You are. And if you kill him, then she dies. He’s the only one who knows where she is,” she explains, her eyes darting between Viktor and me, desperation tinged with hope.

I turn my gaze to Viktor, who wears a smirk that ignites a fire of fury within me.

“Jenni. I’m a Boswell,” I reply with a steely edge. “You know I can guarantee that I will find her.”

“I would love to see you try,” Viktor taunts, the smirk on his face only deepening. “Too bad you’re going to die.”

Jenni, or Farrah as Viktor knows her, trembles with the gun still in her hand, the weight of the situation pressing heavily on her.

“One call.” I urge her to listen. I pull out my phone and quickly dial my brother.

Viktor lunges to grab the gun from her, but she’s quicker, pivoting to point it directly at him, her eyes hardening.

“That’s a very stupid move,” he growls, his voice low and threatening.

My brother, Mickey, has been tracking Vidalia’s ring in the UK. My brothers have been relentless, closing down operations since I left Ireland. The twins have pinpointed anyone connected to Vidalia and Viktor, gathering intelligence like hawks ready to swoop in.