Page 143 of Emerald Vices

Then I hear the gunshot, and I run faster.

I blow through the door of the shed, and there’s too much happening to process.

Misha, bruised and battered on the floor, trapped underneath Nikolai’s boot.

But Nikolai’s eyes are fastened on the woman standing a few feet away in the shadows, her arm raised.

A gunshot cracks through the scene and Nikolai falls to his knees, eyes still locked on the woman I can’t look away from, either.

Natalia steps forward, shattered light falling across her face. She’s harsh and beautiful, an avenging angel with a babe clutched in one hand and a gun in the other.

“You are done hurting my children. You’ll never touch them again.”

Why did I think I needed to race over here and rescue her? This woman doesn’t need rescuing.

Nikolai opens his mouth, but only blood spurts from his lips. Natalia stares at him in cold disgust.

But the second she looks away, her face softens. She drops to Misha’s side and clutches his face.

He grabs her wrist. It takes him a few coughs to find his voice again, but when he does, he asks, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she assures him. “And so is Grigory. Because of you.”

“Lastochka,” I murmur, stepping into the cool gloom of the shed.

Misha’s face breaks into a relieved grin when he sees me, but Natalia eyes me carefully. “I had to come, Andrey, and I’m not apologizing for it.”

Like she thinks I could be upset with her right now. After what I just saw. I cup her face in my palm and press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m not asking you to apologize. You did brilliantly, little bird.”

Grigory cries, and I press a kiss to the top of his head, too.

Then there’s a groan from behind us.

Together, we turn to face the man bleeding out on the floor.

“Misha,” Nikolai mumbles. His eyes are apathetic despite the fact he’s on death’s door.

Misha sidles closer to my side.

“You’d side with the people who killed your father?” Blood colors Nikolai’s teeth a ruby red.

Misha shakes his head. “You were never my father. A father is someone who chooses you. Like Andrey did.”

Nikolai’s eyes spark with anger. “You would take his name? The name of my enemy?”

Misha glances towards Natalia and me. “I already have.”

“He’s our boy, Nikolai,” Natalia claims proudly.

It’s as though the light drains right out of him. He looks like a living corpse. But through sheer force of will, he keeps breathing.

“Just answer one thing for me,” he hisses through clenched teeth. “Will you kill Slavik?”

I pull out the knife I’ve sheathed within my boot and squat down in front of Nikolai. “He’ll be next in line behind you to get into Hell.”

Nikolai nods. “Then?—”

Before he can get the words out, I slice the knife across his throat.

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