Page 83 of Killer Love

He shoves the door open. My ears pop from the change in pressure as the wind howls and the plane lurches in the sky.

With a firm kick, Fox jettisons Gio outside. I listen to the pleasant sound of him screaming until I can’t hear him anymore.

Goodbye, Gio.

Fox yanks the door closed and the plane goes quiet again. He steps over the bodies scattered around the floor on his way to me. As he kneels, he slides his mask off, making me feel far more at ease. “Are you okay?” he asks, barely out of breath.

I nod, unable to speak.

He opens the box beneath the bench again to retrieve the keys to the handcuffs. He gives them to me before grabbing the revolver from a dead man’s hand and entering the cockpit.

“Turn around,” he tells the pilot. “Go back.”

The pilot blinks with recognition. “Fitzpatrick?”

“Just do it.”

“We thought you were dead.”

Fox pulls the hammer back with quick flick of his thumb. “I am.”

The pilot looks into the fuselage. “You definitely will be.”

“Land the damn plane.”

They say nothing more and a few minutes later, the Lutrova estate comes back into view. I don’t dare breathe any easier until the landing gear touches the grass.

Fox opens the door for me. I hop outside, happy to feel the earth beneath my toes again. I turn back and wait for him to follow me out, but he disappears into the cockpit instead.

Two gunshots echo from inside.

A few moments later, Fox appears again and joins me in the grass. He walks around me, taking wide strides to lead me back to the estate.

“Fox,” I say, finally finding my voice again. “Thank you.”

He nods as if I never needed to say it in the first place. “You’re welcome.”

Chapter 25

Luka

I always knew that someday I would have to bury my father, but I didn’t expect that day to happen so soon.

Sofia takes my hand. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think her touch was the last bit of warmth left in the entire nation of Russia — except for that feeling I have whenever I hear my son laugh.

She balances Lucian on her hip with her arm hugged around him, occasionally whispering in his ear to keep him calm while the priest says his words. I reach out and I push a bit of hair out of his eyes. He looks up at me and smiles. Good. I don’t want my son to experience grief like this yet. If he’s anything like me, he’ll immerse himself in it.

I open my arms and Sofia turns to pass him along to me. Lucian doesn’t make a peep, not a single sound of discomfort or mourning for being out of his mother’s embrace. I hold him close to me, breathing in that perfect scent of him while he tugs at the lapel on my suit jacket with curiosity in his silver eyes.

A father protects his family.

I get that now.

I look at my mother standing between me and my brother. Each time I glance at her, she hasn’t moved at all. Her eyes sit straight ahead, dry and unblinking. Her chest barely rises with her shallow breaths. Brave and strong, even today of all days. I would expect nothing less from Nina Lutrova.

I catch sight of Fox across the cemetery as he walks by again. Keeping today a private family matter was a top priority. There’s no one else I’d trust more right now than him and his sharp eyes to keep unwanted pests out of here. I take an easy breath and squeeze Sofia’s hand a little tighter, thankful that I chose not to kill him.

Once the casket has settled, I turn around. Markov stands behind us with his hands in his pockets, years of experience keeping a cautionary hand on his pistol hidden inside.

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