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“We’ll wait in the panic room.” Vanya stands inside the suite by a door I’ve never entered, though I knew it existed. I move away from him as if he wants to lock me away.
I lift my chin, but my voice shakes. “I’ll wait in the spare bedroom.”
Natasha silences Vanya when he tries again. She guides him out of the suite and shuts the door. I know they won’t go far. I told the guards not to move my father, not out of spite, but because he’s too frail. And Emma decides to sit with me by the window. Her body isn’t sprawled across the straight-back chair. She sits upright, leaning toward the glass until her nose almost touches it. She’s not waiting for Andrei but watching for Viktor.
I’m scared Talia wasn’t lying.
“You saw me, didn’t you?” I ask her. As Talia and I left the office earlier, I saw movement from the corner of my eye on the staircase. I didn’t dare turn to look, but whoever it was, they hurried out of sight.
Emma stares out the window, not daring to turn her head, not even a little. “Yes,” she whispers.
“Do you believe me now?” I ask, refusing to acknowledge the questions she must have.
I watch Emma’s reflection nod solemnly in the window. She doesn’t speak as her eyes search the darkness for him. I watch too, hoping for Andrei’s return. It would solve everything if he were dead.
I would be a wealthy widow. But I don’t want that.
The thought is too awful to even think. I want my freedom on my terms and not anyone else’s. I want to know Andrei exists somewhere, even if I never see him again.
“Do you understand now that we have to leave?” I ask quietly.
Emma has yet to look at me. Instead, she looks at her hands when she answers. “I can’t.”
Before I can respond, headlights sweep across the trees as Andrei’s Lamborghini turns and enters the garage. The relief I feel makes my shoulders slump as if I’ve been holding my breath. Emma jumps up from her chair and runs for the door, heading out of the small bedroom.
“Emma!” I shout. “Why don’t you understand?”
“I do understand, Paige.” The look on her face convinces me. “But I don’t want to leave here with you.”
Chapter 35
Andrei
Eyes that avoided me now stare at me, silently pleading for their lives as Karamazov men fire into the terrified crowd below. The VIP level is out of range for now, but our safety won’t last once those bastards climb the stairs.
I look over the balcony as Karamazov men shoot at fleeing patrons, picking them off like a game. High-pitched shrieks pierce the chaos as bodies hit the floor. Glasses fall from tables as people duck for cover, trying to avoid the random bullets. The Karamazov Bratva shows no mercy. They don’t care who dies. No one is spared in their pursuit to kill my men.
Two of Karamazov’s men charge up the stairs to the VIP level. Screaming people flee past me toward the back exits to escape the slaughter. But the assailants don’t reach the top level before I cut them down. I race down the stairs, killing every armed man that I don’t recognize. My men have been drinking and are ill-prepared for a fight, but they follow orders and return fire.
Stepping over bodies, shots ring out behind me as more of my men are hit and crumple to the floor. I reach the main bar as more Karamazov soldiers flood in through the main doors of the club. They trample over the backs of the dead bouncers lying facedown in their blood.
A bullet flies past my head as I leap behind the bar, joining a few of my men who have taken cover. Dmitri’s left sleeve is drenched in blood. Grimacing, he reloads his automatic.
“It was supposed to be a fun night out!” he yells over the commotion. “Suka blyat!”
I smirk. “Murder and mayhem are no longer fun for you, Dmitri?” I stand quickly, aiming at our enemies, and drop down again. The dim lights in the club make it hard to gauge how many are out there.
“Igor must’ve emptied a warehouse filled with his men!” he shouts, taking a shot.
“How many have we lost?” I shout back.
“Six so far, but that’s all I could count before diving for cover,” he replies. “Do you know how annoying it is to drink and shoot at the same time?”
Fuck. What’s happening at home? Who will stop them from going there? Maybe that’s the plan: to keep us here while they grab Paige.
Igor better not be there, and he better not touch her. I feel in my pockets for my phone, but I must’ve dropped it in the confusion. I force myself to keep a cool head because a rash action in this situation will lead to deadly results. I can’t foolishly die if she’s in danger. Good men are guarding Paige. And Natasha is my best shot. But they have to be warned.
“Dmitri, call the house!” I shout.
