Page 80 of Crowned

“Stay here,” Konstantin orders, before heading over to join the others. I peer over the back seat out the rear window to watch what’s happening, my heart still pounding from the crazy ride.

Elyah drags a man who’s still kicking out of the wreckage one-handed, and Kirill shoots him in the head. Another passenger appears to be dead already, and a third lays partly concealed in the twisted wreckage. Konstantin has his arms folded as his two friends pull the man the rest of the way out and prop him against the vehicle.

I see silver hair flash in the sunlight and my heart freezes over. It’s Dad, wearing a tailored gray suit. His hair, threaded with silver, is spilling over his forehead and blood is running down the side of his face. He holds a gun in his hand, and he points it from one of my men to the next, trying to keep them back.

I fumble for the door handle and walk down the road toward the crash. If he’s here, then I need to talk to him. We can’t go on like this.

Konstantin notices me coming, and while he doesn’t look happy, he doesn’t say anything.

From Dad’s expression as he watches me draw closer, he’s beyond feeling anger or fury He glares at me like he wishes he could turn me to ice.

I stop a few feet away, and Elyah moves to shield me with his body. He has his own gun pointed at Dad.

“You sent assassins after me?” I ask him. “You’re trying to kill me?”

“Vavilov is the one who wants you dead,” Dad says through his teeth, not bothering to say hello either. “He had his chance, but I knew he would screw it up. The man can’t do anything right.”

“You gave him photos of me to give to his hitmen?”

“You killed his son, you stupid bitch. He wanted to marry you.” Dad’s face transforms in disgust, as if the idea of anyone wanting me is preposterous.

“I wouldn’t have laid a finger on him if he hadn’t tried to assault me.”

“Bullshit,” Dad seethes. “Stop playing the victim, Lilia. You killed him so he wouldn’t blow your cover.”

“Believe your daughter when she tells you something,” Elyah growls. “She is no liar.”

Blood trickles into Dad’s left eye and he wipes it away, laughing. “You really believe that? You utter fool. Lilia speaks nothing but lies. She learned all her tricks from her bitch of a grandmother.”

Dad grasps the car door and hauls himself to his feet. He’s got a cut on his forehead and is favoring one leg, but other than that, he seems unscathed.

“I didn’t come here to fight. I’m not here to talk to you either, Lilia.” He turns to my men. “I have come for a discussion with you three. A deal.”

Kirill gestures at the dead men. The wrecked car. “You are in no position to demand anything.”

“I make no demands. I have an offer.”

Konstantin, Elyah, and Kirill exchange glances. I wait for them to tell Dad to go to hell, that we have a plane to catch, but suddenly they don’t seem to be in a hurry to get out of here.

“We’re listening,” Konstantin says.

“Don’t listen to a word—” I begin, but Konstantin holds out his hand to silence me.

What the hell? I knock it away with a glare.

Dad smirks at me. “They’re businessmen first, Lilia. Let the men do their business.”

Revulsion crawls up my throat. If I didn’t have the baby to worry about, I think I would try to punch him.

He turns to Konstantin. “I’ll get straight to the point. I’m not a young man anymore. I don’t have time to hold on to grudges when there are bigger, more important things on my mind.”

What a lie. Dad is the king of holding grudges.

“I want my daughter back. From the looks of things, you three seem to have bonded with her. You might even believe you love her. But we all know women are easy to come by.”

“Then why is she so important to you?” Kirill asks slowly, his eyes narrowed.

Dad gives him a cold smile. “I should say, women are easy to come by, unless you are a father. Lilia is the only daughter I have.”

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