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“Nikolai,” Eden pleads, her voice trembling. “Don’t let Dad take me before I can talk to you.”
“I won’t let him take you,” I whisper urgently, my voice displaying strain.
I suck in my breath and nod, wondering if she’s considered the possibility that Zakhar could be dead already. It’s the only reason why we may still be alive. I look at the ceiling and wonder who was shooting from the building and if they’re watching us now, toying with us. Smirking in the dark, pleased that I will soon be dead.
Eden tugs at my arm as we approach the door. “I have to tell you first. In case I can’t tell you later.”
I turn to face her. “Tell me what?” My voice is impatient, and I instantly regret my harshness as her lip trembles, but then the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I stare into Eden’s eyes, wide and frightened.
“Look out!” she shouts, and I spin around to see the gun pointed at my chest.
Zakhar steps out further from behind a stack of boxes—a clear shot to the heart. His eyes burn with hatred and something else … something calculating that sends a chill down my spine. Like a hunter who’s cornered his prey.
I reach to push Eden out of the way, leaving my Glock in my waistband.
“Daddy!” Eden screams. “NO!”
Her desperate shriek echoes through the cavernous building and mingles with the sharp report of Zakhar’s gun as she steps in front of me.
72
EDEN
“Look out!”
My dad emerges from a shadowy hallway as if summoned by retribution, but he doesn’t hear me call him. His face is contorted by a madness that frightens me. The look of hate in his eyes makes my legs freeze in place to see that chilling expression on a face I love.
I try to call out to him again, but my voice catches in my throat. His relentless glare is locked onto Nikolai as if I don’t matter. And I feel that none of this brutality has anything to do with me. Dad points the gun directly at Nikolai, but I refuse to let fate happen.
“Daddy, NO!” In a split second, propelled by love and desperation, I step in front of Nikolai as the gunshot rings out. A white-hot sledgehammer slams into me, and I shriek as I fall to my knees.
Nikolai screams my name. His voice echoes through the building as I crumple onto the concrete floor. Someone yells something that I can’t hear over the ringing in my ears. An intense,searing pain radiates from my side as I gasp for breath. Stinging sensations lance into me and refuse to dissipate.
When I can’t will the pain away, that’s when I realize what just happened.
I’ve been shot.
Does my father realize what he has done? Does he know he shot me?
Gunshots ring out, but it’s Nikolai who’s shooting now. Soon, Pavel joins his side. They aim into the darkness, and the horrible, noisy booms reverberate across the empty space, filling the space with tiny shock waves that leave me sick to my stomach.
But no one shoots back.
Dad’s gone.
My hand feels wet as blood quickly soaks through my thin dress and covers my hands. Nikolai’s strong arms wrap around me, pulling me close to his chest as he lifts me up and carries me away.
“Stay with me, Eden,” he begs, his voice thick with fear. “I’ve got you.”
The pain tries to claim my consciousness, but I fight back, refusing to slip away. Every step he takes sends jolts of pain through my body, but I grit my teeth and hold on tight. Blood seeps through his fingers, staining Nikolai’s cuffs dark crimson, and I close my eyes so I don’t have to look at it.
“Eden! Stay with me!” Nikolai hisses as we race outside behind the building. “Where’s the fucking car?”
“Over there.” Pavel hurries out to join us. Whenever he looks at me, his worried expression scares me.
“Eden, you’re okay. Stay awake.” Nikolai’s voice is commanding, and I open my eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Promise me?” I ask shakily, unable to hide the fear in my voice.
