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He grabbed my hair and dragged me along the ground. “Next man who shoots, I shoot the Russo woman.”
“Hold your fire!” Liam shouted, his voice hoarse with rage.
“That’s more like it,” Yuri muttered. He held me to his chest as he walked out. Fuck, I’d been so close. Just a handful more turns and I would have been right in front of Liam, walking into the safety of his arms.
Yuri held a gun to my head as he yanked me around. When I met Liam’s green eyes, his face was stricken as he looked me up and down, cataloging each wound and injury. Before my eyes, something closed off in him, until all I could see was coldness.
“Let her go, Yuri,” Liam ordered.
Behind us, I heard choked screams and grunts, as men swept through the warehouse, killing or capturing every soldier who’d taken part in my captivity.
Yuri’s breath was hot on my neck as he laughed. “I think not. I’m going to kill this bitch, just like she killed Ivan a decade ago.”
I trembled, not sure how much longer I could stay on my feet.
“Yuri, you won’t survive this. Let her go,” Rian said, his voice coming from my right side. I cut my eyes to him, the warm comfort of his presence rushing through me, despite the gun he held pointed at Yuri.
Yuri just laughed. “Do you think I didn’t plan for this? You fucking idiots.” Laser sights centered on my saviors’ foreheads from catwalks above the warehouse. I was certain one also aimed at me. Yuri wouldn’t leave that to chance.
All this for revenge. All this to make up for one failed auction and the murders that followed. This world—I was so fucking done.
Liam caught my eyes, the warmth back in them. He blinked once, slowly, holding my gaze. He was going to give me a signal.Shit.I blinked back, letting my lids drop. When I opened my eyes again, they filled with tears. If I made it out of this, I was going home.
Liam’s eyebrow furrowed as he watched a tear streak down my face. “Yuri, let her go,” he said.
Yuri dug the gun into my skull. “Never.”
Liam never took his eyes off of mine as he straightened his stance. My focus dipped to his hands, his finger tightening on the trigger, then back up to his green eyes.Shit.The barrel never wavered as he targeted Yuri’s head.
When Liam’s chin dipped in a nod, I slammed my foot into Yuri’s instep and dropped to the ground, praying they shot Yuri faster than Yuri’s snipers could shoot me. I needn’t have worried. His head exploded above me as shots fired from every direction. A warm body covered mine, protecting me from the gunfight that resulted.
“Easy there, darling,” Cormac’s warm voice whispered in my ear, as I trembled in fear and pain. He stroked the sides of my face as he caged me against the ground with his body. “It’ll be over in a minute. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
I nodded, staring at the concrete beneath me, trying to hold it together for just a few more minutes. Even after a day and a half of captivity, I was a fucking Russo. I wasGinevra fucking Russo,and I needed to keep my shit together as we walked out of this mess.
As I took comfort in his warmth and strength, I could hear the footsteps of men checking every corner of the warehouse. “Clear!” they shouted, as they checked each room, the catwalks above the warehouse, and the maze of crates.
“All clear,” Liam shouted, finally.
Cormac peeled himself up off me, then scooped me up in his arms. “I’ve got you, Ginny-love, I promise. Stay with me for a few more minutes until we can get you to a hospital, okay?”
Lorenzo shouted from outside, “I’ve got Alexi.”
I placed a hand on Cormac’s chest and wiggled, trying to get down. He looked at me with concern, but set me on the ground. I picked my way through the bodies and debris of the firefight until Alexi was before me, on his knees, blood streaming down his face.
Someone had tied his hands behind his back with a cable tie, and Lorenzo held a gun to his head.
Liam strode up to us, his green eyes snapping with fury, knives in his hands. When he grabbed Alexi’s hair and dragged his head up, I stopped him with a look. Understanding exactly what I needed to do, he stepped back, not letting go of Alexi’s hair, but making space between their bodies for me to squeeze in. I took a knife from Liam. He wrapped his right hand around my shaking fingers, where they squeezed the hilt. I could barely stand upright, but I was determined to end this.
“Are you sure about this, love?” Liam whispered.
In response, I reached over Alexi’s chest and, with Liam’s help, dragged the knife across his neck with a cry of anguish. When his heartbeat finally stopped and the blood slowed, Cormac swept me back up into his arms.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and nodded into his chest, telling myself I could hold back my heaving sobs for another minute or two, until Cormac carried me into the SUV. I squeezed my eyes tight, not willing to risk meeting anyone’s eyes. All I wanted to do was burrow into the safety of Cormac’s arms and fall the fuck apart.
Someone dropped a blanket over me and I whimpered as the fabric slid over my open wounds. “Shit, princess, I’m so sorry,” Rian whispered, stroking my hair. I didn’t react, just kept my face hidden in Cormac’s chest. When he tried to set me down in the car to strap me in, I whimpered and tightened my grip.
“Darling, I have to buckle you in,” Cormac said. I shook my head frantically, not wanting to let go. “I’ll be right here, okay?”
