Page 73 of Devil's Bride

“You'll find out soon enough. But rest assured, your trip will not be a pleasant one,” he says with a voice that is so calm it is chilling.

As they begin to lead me out of the room, I remember the baby inside of me and the tears start to flow again. I’m void of any of the hope I had before. No one will come to save me if Alexei dies. He’ll never know we’re having a baby, and our child will never get to meet him.

A shot rings in the air just as we reach the hangar and when I turn my head to source of the sound, Alexei is standing a few feet away from us with a few of his men at his side.

The look in his eyes is feral and dangerous. He points his gun to Paulo and growls, “Get your hands off my wife.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Alexei

The roar of the jet’s engines fills the night air as I sprint across the tarmac, my heart pounding in my chest. I can see Irina struggling against Igor’s grip, her eyes wide with fear. My men clash with Paulo’s bodyguards behind me, but my focus is on her. I won't let her be taken. Not again.

“Paulo!” I shout, drawing his attention. He sneers, yanking Irina from Igor and pressing a gun to her temple.

“Alexei,” he taunts, “always so predictable. I have to give it to you though, I did not see this one coming.”

I raise my gun, aiming for his head. My finger hovers over the trigger, but his grip tightens on Irina, his eyes daring me to make a move. I can't risk it. I can’t lose her.

“Make one stupid move and the girl dies,” he threatens.

“I can say the same about you. You’ve always been a coward with some stupid trick up your sleeve.” I swallow at the sight of Irina writhing against his grip.

“Drop your weapon,” he commands, his voice cold and steady.

My gaze bounces between him and Irina.

“Drop it now or I shoot her!”

Reluctantly, I let my gun fall to the ground and signal my men to do the same. My hands are up, my heart is racing. “Let her go, Paulo. This is between you and me.”

He laughs, a cruel, mocking sound. “Oh, it’s far too late for that.”

“What do you want, Paulo?” I ask.

“Nothing, this is just fun.” Paulo shoots at me, I dodge the bullet and quickly grab my gun from the floor. I evade more bullets as we both fire.

The hangar erupts into chaos. My men tackle Paulo's men, the sound of more gunfire accompanies the thud of punches.

Nikolai shoots and his bullet punches a hole through Igor’s head.

Igor’s eyes remain wide. Blood trails down between his eyes as his body falls lifelessly to the ground.

I roll behind a stack of crates, narrowly avoiding another shot from Paulo. My ears ring with the sound of gunfire and shouts.

I pop up from my cover and fire a few shots in Paulo's direction. He ducks behind a metal support beam, returning fire. The bullets chip away at the crates around me, splinters flying. I grit my teeth. “Fuck, Irina.”

Paulo is using her as a human shield. That sick bastard.

“Irina, stay down!” I shout as I calculate the distance between me and her. I need to get to her.

Irina drops to the ground, crawling behind a large metal container. I see one of Paulo’s men making a move towards her, but one of mine intercepts him, dragging him into a fierce struggle.

Paulo steps out, firing rapidly. I return fire, each shot calculated, aiming to force him back. One of my bullets grazes his arm, and he snarls in pain, ducking back behind cover.

“You can't win this, Paulo!” I shout over the din. “It's over!”

“You think this is over?” His voice is filled with manic glee. “This is just the beginning!”

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