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They’re caught under a hail of bullets, the thunderous gunfire shaking the entire neighborhood awake. The Levitskys are getting too brazen, too confident. A daylight shooting? Edvard must not be worried about the police or losing men; otherwise, he wouldn’t risk such a move.
Things aren’t looking good for Dimitri. He loses one man. Another one is injured. If the tides don’t shift soon, he’s going to be pinned. He may hate me, and things between us have never been more uncertain, but I can’t just let him die.
I load my rifle quickly and fire at one of Dimitri’s closest attackers. I nail the man in the side of the neck. Perfect. The tranquilizer will easily spread through his circulatory system and overwhelm his brain. Within seconds, he passes out on the cold pavement.
I reload and fire again, this time taking out one of Levitsky’s larger men. The tranq takes a second longer to take effect because of his size, but like clockwork, the man collapses—fast asleep.
One after another, I take aim and fire. I’ve only got a handful of tranquilizer darts left. I breathe a sigh of relief when the men start to realize the trouble they’re in. They’re dropping like flies, and with the distant wail of police sirens growing louder, they all know they have to get the hell out of dodge. Once one man falls back, the rest follow suit. They clamor into their vehicles, a few of them getting shot in the back as they retreat.
Once they speed away, the Antonovs turn to make a move. They can’t stay here, either. Dimitri is quick to drag his injured men back to their vehicle. Unlike his enemies, he won’t leave his men behind. Before he, too, climbs into the SUV, he looks up in my direction.
I hold my breath. I don’t think he can see me. I’ve deliberately placed myself so the sun is behind me, rendering any witnesses blind. Still, it doesn’t ease my nerves. He knows for a fact someone is up here helping him. I’m sure he’d only be angry if he learned it was me.
Dimitri doesn’t get in. Instead, he slams the door shut, yells something at the driver, and slaps the roof of the vehicle to send his men on their way. My heart leaps into my throat when I see him run across the street—headed straight for me.
My body reacts before my brain has a chance to catch up. I hastily pack my things and dash to the roof’s exit, descending the steps two at a time. I can’t let him catch me. He made himself perfectly clear that I’d never be forgiven.
I manage to get down four floors before I hear someone storm into the stairwell near the bottom. I dare to peek over the railing. The height makes my head spin. What makes me actually want to throw up, however, is the silhouette of a man desperately climbing up the same stairs to meet me.
He’s coming.
Oh, God, he’s coming.
I need to get the hell out of here.
Thinking on my toes, I choose a door that leads onto the eighth floor. It’s a long, straight hallway full of apartments. There’s another set of stairs on the other end. If I run fast enough, I might be able to evade Dimitri outright. My legs carry me as quickly as they’re able, my feet loudly hitting the carpeted floor. My lungs burn. The adrenaline coursing through my veins makes me dizzy.
I’m not ready to see him again. Not when I’ve been carrying all this guilt for so long. Yes, I’m running away. After everything that went down, I’m too scared to face him again.
I manage to get to the other stairwell at the end of the hall, slamming my shoulder against the metal door. I stumble through, only to crash into something solid.
No, not something.
Someone.
The smell of pine fills my nose. I look up slowly and find a pair of dark brown eyes trained on me. My mouth goes dry, my heart stuttering. Dimitri’s even more handsome than I remember.
He doesn’t say anything as he takes a step forward.
I take a step back.
Dimitri keeps going until I’m pressed against the hallway wall, caging me on either side with his arms. There’s no escape. I don’t think I have the courage to run anymore. In my panic, I drop my rifle. It’s no longer loaded, but I still wince when it rattles on the floor. Dimitri observes it carefully, his dark gaze impossible to read.
“What are you doing here?” he whispers. His voice takes me by surprise. His words are hoarse and hesitant. Dare I say it, maybe even a little scared.
I don’t know how to answer him. “I… I wasn’t here for you.”
The hurt ghosting across his features disappears as quickly as it comes. “You were at the restaurant earlier,” he says. “Were you aware that was one of the Antonov’s fronts?”
I shake my head, swallowing hard. “I had no idea. I was just following them.”
“Why?”
A part of me is tempted to tell him everything, to wear my heart on my sleeve. But I can’t. Where once I would have bared my soul to him, I no longer feel worthy of such attention. I tried to kill him. I almost went through with it several times. It’s difficult to live with myself sometimes, knowing I almost allowed Edvard to use me to do his dirty work. It honestly makes me sick knowing how close I came to murdering the man I love.
And it still holds true. I’m still in love with Dimitri and it hurts that I’ve destroyed whatever we could have been. The trust we had is no more; it’s shattered into a million pieces. Irreparable.
“I need to go,” I mumble.
