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At the other end of the hall, I heard raised voices, and as I neared, I found the door kicked in.
“—take my kid, you bitch? I’m not fighting over my baby. I’ll just take you out of the fucking picture.”
I slammed through the door and pointed my gun at a man who stood over a petite Russian woman. He turned his gun on me, and I shook my head. “You’d better think twice before doing that,” I told him.
The man held a baby in one arm, and I moved my finger from the trigger. If I had to take the shot, I would. But the woman was in no position to catch the baby as she lay on the floor, bleeding from all the crevices in her face and sobbing.
“This is none of your business,” he said. “Get out if you know what’s good for you.”
I walked steadily through the room, and he never turned his attention from me. “It’s just as much my business as yours,” I countered. “If you don’t want to fucking die, you’ll put down the baby and the gun.”
He snorted, shaking his head. “I don’t know who you are—”
“Viktor Nikolaev,” I said with a flat face. He straightened, and fear welled in his eyes as he realized who stood before him. I’d made quite a reputation of myself, and he’d be wise not to test my patience any further. He’d die today, I decided. I wouldn’t let him live, even if he followed my instructions. The woman paid my guys to keep her safe, and this ass wipe wouldn’t stop posing a threat until he no longer breathed.
“I—I didn’t mean no trouble for you,” he said. “But this bitch—”
“Don’t degrade her,” I snarled.
“My ex is keeping my baby from me. Won’t even let me see her,” he said, waving his gun around in a way that told me he shouldn’t have it.
“The courts ordered you no visitation,” the woman cried. “You’re dangerous.”
He turned toward her and lifted a leg as if to kick her in the stomach, but he thought better of it and took a deep breath. “I didn’t know she worked for you, Boss. I’ve been working for you for years. I’m a good employee, and I respect you. You’ve done a lot of good.”
I scoffed. I’d kept the streets supplied with drugs, and I kept the families who paid me safe. I held up the old mob customs, and I kept my people taken care of, but I would have never considered what I did as “ good.”
“Put down the baby,” I repeated.
He looked between me and the gun, and he read my lack of remorse. At that moment, he seemed to realize that no matter what he did, he wouldn’t get out of this. He shook his head and took a step back, not caring that he pushed his ex back to the floor by doing so.
“I don’t want no trouble,” he repeated, backing up toward the window. I could only imagine what he had planned, and I met the mother’s eyes, giving her a small nod. She seemed to understand as she crawled closer, extending a hand as if to catch the baby when he dropped her.
“What the hell is going on?” I whipped my head around just long enough to see Ciara standing in the doorway, wide-eyed.
I whipped my gaze back toward the man and found him pointing a gun at her. I didn’t hesitate before taking aim and firing at him. He fell back into the window, and the glass cracked beneath his weight. He dropped the small bundle in his arms, but the mother caught her and brought her to her chest as sobs wracked through her. I fired twice more, and the man collapsed to the ground, dead.
I whipped my head toward Ciara, rage filling me so thoroughly that I thought it would make me implode.
I clenched one fist as I set the gun on the countertop and strode toward her, muttering that I’d be back to the woman who sat on the ground and held her baby. Ciara managed two steps back before I reached her and threw her over my shoulder. “Hey,” she shouted, but her protest fell on deaf ears as I went down the stairwell and stormed back toward our vehicle.
I shoved her to the ground, waiting until her feet were fully planted there before standing straight and looming over her. “Give me one good reason why you thought that would be a good idea,” I shouted at her. “Are you trying to get yourself killed, or are you fucking stupid? Because those are the only two options I can think of.”
She didn’t hesitate before stepping up to my challenge. She thrust out her chest and tipped back her chin. “You were in danger, and I couldn’t let you do that alone.”
“I know what I’m doing, Ciara. You can’t even be around a fucking gun without panicking, so what made you think that you could waltz in there and be any help to me?”
I wanted to throttle her, but the challenge in her eyes—the way she didn’t back down even to me—had my cock twitching beneath my pants. I tried to suppress anything but the anger I felt for her, but her sensual lips curved down as she spoke, and I could only envision them curving around me in a way that sent my thoughts tumbling and reeling. I couldn’t hold onto a single reason to stay pissed at her, even though I knew there were many.
“First of all,” she said, lifting a finger in my face. “You arenotin charge of me. If I want to run into a burning building, I’ll do it. If I want to go and streak down the street butt naked, that’s something I’ll do. And I can do those things because I am not controlled by anyone. Second of all—”
I didn’t allow her to continue as I grabbed both of her wrists in one calloused palm and lifted them above her head, pinning them to the van. I cut off her words with my other hand around her throat. She gasped and sputtered, but I didn’t say anything as I leaned in closely and whispered into her ear. “Sometimes I wonder if you say these things to get a rise out of me,” I admitted. “Because we both know that they aren’t true. You’re mine, and Iamthe boss of you. You might not be inclined to listen but make no mistake. There will be consequences when you intentionally disobey me.” A smirk pulled at my lips as I nipped her ear with my teeth, drawing a gasp from her. “And, Solnishko, you just disobeyed me in a way that will havesevereconsequences.”
Chapter Twelve
Ciara Gilroy
I jerked at my wrists, but his hand around my throat tightened just a bit more, showing that he had all the control of the situation. I wanted to rage at him for being selfish, but the heat between my thighs at his talk of consequences surged and begged to learn precisely what he had in mind.
