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Mila scoffed as if I had said the most ridiculous thing, and she examined it. “I made my first kill when I was thirteen. That was when I started planning my exit strategy. I thought it would be my last, but now, I’ll kill as many as it takes to get Kat back.”
Heat filled my face the moment something stirred to life within me, aware of the strain in my pants. I was embarrassed to admit how much it turned me on to see her like that—determined and full of fire.
But I pushed it aside, aware of the more pressing matters at hand. Clearing my throat, I got over it and reached for my phone, sending a text to Ivan.
It wouldn’t be much longer before we reached the meeting place.
Chapter 22 - Mila
The relief that came over me was surprising, glad to know that Nikolai was aligned with my cause, and he wasn’t prepared to make me sit it out. He likely knew I’d find a way to escape anyway.
Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me upright. It shielded me from the pain, well aware that I’d be doubled over in pain the moment it wore off. But I didn’t have time to think about that.
Dmitri let us out a block away from the meeting place before he drove off to meet up with the backup. I stood there with my back turned to Nikolai as he helped conceal the gun in the waistband of my jeans. He tugged the tank over top to hide it, surprisingly quiet as he did it. The bulletproof vest felt bulky, but I was grateful for it.
The warehouse ahead was rundown and looked just as empty as all the other nondescript ones around it. We were no doubt on the outskirts of Miami, and everything nearby looked more industrial. It was certainly an eyesore in comparison to other areas.
Nikolai’s touch was gentle as his hands landed on my waist, and he gave me a careful squeeze before I turned around.
“Don’t use it before you see Kat with your own eyes,” he murmured, expression serious yet tender. “If Grigory is smart, Kat will be somewhere else, and if he’s dead too soon, then we might never find her.”
That thought made my heart drop, freezing over once again.
“He will never be dead too soon to me,” I muttered, but still understood what Nikolai meant.
The person I became while in hiding was gone. That kinder, more forgiving version of myself could only return once Kat was found safe and sound. In the meantime, I was my father’s daughter, driven to do whatever was necessary because of his evil.
The idea of taking a life didn’t seem quite so bad knowing it was his I’d be after.
Brows furrowed, Nikolai glanced down at his Rolex. He looked back at me, blue eyes clouded by having to accept the inevitable. “It’s time.”
Nodding, I went to leave, but Nikolai gripped my hand hard. Unwilling to let me go, he pulled me into his side and reached for his phone. He texted furiously, checking in with his people. Not long after, his cell dinged as they got back to him.
“Are they in position?” I asked, steeling myself against the fear I should’ve felt.
Nikolai gave me a single nod, and he pulled me closer, hand against my cheek.
“I need you to listen to me, Mila. Use your head in there. I know you’re ready to crack some skulls, but our daughter is in the middle of all this. Don’t show that you’re armed until you see her for yourself if you need to at all. There’s nothing stronger than a mother, but I need you to come out of there alive. Give him hell.”
“You know I will,” I returned carefully, waiting for him to let me go.
But Nikolai’s grip only became more apprehensive. He was paler than usual and sweat glimmered around his forehead. He was nervous.
What he said back at the beach hit me immediately, and it dawned on me fully then. He loved me. He cared.
Nikolai was afraid of losing me and Kat, and I didn’t blame him. It was dangerous territory, but it needed to be done.
“If you don’t walk out of that building, I will burn the entire city down,” Nikolai grit, holding onto me wobbly despite the conviction in his words. “He will pay for everything he’s done.”
Staring up at Nikolai then, I knew the real reason I never had a serious relationship after him. It wasn’t from lying low or distancing myself from my father’s evil doings. It was because nobody compared to Nikolai.
No one could erase his touch from my memory, having stained itself there no matter how hard I tried to forget about him and that night. He had an invisible claim over my body that only I was aware of, and it could only react to that touch.
Nobody else was Kat’s father, either.
I finally had him, but there was a chance I was about to walk to my own death. That I wouldn’t get the happy family I never dared to dream about. I still didn’t dare dream about it.
Knowing time was ticking, I patted the gun at my back reassuringly and pulled away from Nikolai’s grasp which weakened against my force. He looked at me, almost helplessly, like a silent plea for me to back down.
