Page 65 of Bound By Longing

“You could die,” Sofiya says.

“I’m tired of being a damsel in distress. I want to help, and two people are better than one. Get to safety. Protect your baby.” I turn to Damien. “I’m coming with.”

“I’d rather you go with Mikhail.”

“It’s not up to you to decide, Damien. You’re not my husband, remember?”

A flash of guilt crosses his face before he nods. “Fine. No use arguing. We’ll get Viktoriya.”

“Once Sofiya is safe,” Mikhail says, “I’ll help.”

Sofiya grabs my hand. “Mila, think about this.”

“I have.” I kiss her on the cheek. “I love you, Sofiya, but I have to do this.”

When I look at Damien, I see pride mixed with fear in his eyes. I don’t linger on it before walking back out the door.

Chapter

Eighteen

MILA

“Where do you think they’ll be?” I ask as Damien drives us away from the safe house.

“Knowing Lev, he wants to draw me out and kill me. So, if they have your sister, they’re probably at her house, waiting for me to show up.”

“It’s a trap, then.”

“Yes. Which you have to be careful, Mila. You can’t fight like I do. You don’t have a gun. These men have already shown they want you dead.”

“I’m tired of sitting back and letting everyone else fight for me. I want to fight for myself for once. I’ll let you handle it because you know what you’re doing. But I still need to try.”

He nods. “All right. Just be careful.” There’s a tightness to his voice that warms my heart. Despite everything, I know Damien cares for me. I just don’t know if he can be my dream man.

When we arrive at Vik’s house, everything is quiet. Damien gets out, his gun drawn. “Can I convince you to stay in the car?”

I want to burst through those doors and make sure Vik is all right, but Damien has a point. If I go in there, I could be used against Damien, and he needs to focus right now.

“All right. I’ll stay. But I’m coming in if I need to.”

“Duly noted.” He’s stealthy as he heads for the front door, glancing around and pointing his weapon in different directions. But no one comes out. I watch him open the front door and step inside.

My heart pounds as I wait to see what happens. Vik is inside, possibly hurt. Or worse. No, I can’t think like that. She saved my life before. She has to be ok.

I wait and wait and wait, and still nothing happens.

And then I hear it—gunshots.

I open the car door and lean out. What’s happening inside?

The front door opens, and Vik runs outside. The sight of my sister alive fills me with relief. Until I see Dimitri chasing her.

Without thinking about it, I jump out of the car and run over to Vik.

“Mila!” she says, grabbing my arms.

“This way.” I lead her to the car, but we don’t make it before Dimitri fires at us. A bullet lands in the car door, making us both jump back.

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