Page 48 of Ruthless Prince

“Where’s Vincent?” the assassin demands.

“Locked up in one of my cells,” Nico says.

“How fitting. I was hired to kill Vincent so he could never meet you.”

Nico frowns, holding his bleeding arm. “Why?”

“Because I work for Dimitri, Igor’s brother. He never wanted son and father to reunite. It was payback for you killing Igor.”

Nico bares his teeth at the assassin. “Because Igor kidnapped my son. I thought he was dead all these years!”

I’m frozen solid, watching this confrontation go down.

“And now, you’re going to die,” the assassin says. “I don’t think Dimitri cares if I kill son or father.”

My own father steps out of the way. “Kill him. I want him dead, too.”

I can’t believe how cold-hearted my father is. He would just let another man die because … why? It’s like I don’t even know him.

But one thing I do know is I’ll never be free of him. Vincent tried to save me, but he failed. Now, it’s up to me to escape and get back to my husband.

I think I love him.

No.

I know I do.

And I want us to spend more time getting to know one another. But I can’t do that if I’m trapped … or dead.

The assassin lifts his gun to shoot Nico, and all I can think about is how tragic it would be for Vincent to lose his real father just after he got him. I heard the pain in Nico’s voice when he said he thought Vincent was dead. It was pure and utter anguish.

He deserves to get to know his son, and Vincent deserves to know his father.

I act.

Running forward, I push my father toward the assassin, and he barrels into him, knocking the assassin back. The gun goes off, but the bullet lands in the ceiling.

Nico looks at me for just a heartbeat before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the front door. Even with his bloody arm, he still manages to be strong.

“Run to the car,” he tells me, stopping in the driveway to pull out his gun.

“What about you?”

“Do you want to see Vincent again?”

“Yes.”

“Then go, Ellie.”

I stumble away as Nico turns back to the front door. The assassin runs out and ducks behind a bush as Nico begins firing at him. I spy the assassin sneaking out around the bush to attack Nico from behind, and I call out a warning.

Nico spins and spots the assassin. He fires his gun.

The assassin jerks back and falls to the ground. There’s a bullet in his head.

“Come on,” Nico says, pulling me toward the car. “We have to leave, right now.”

We get in the car as my father comes running out of the house. He screams expletives at me as we drive away.

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