Page 140 of Cruel Promise

But there’s no chance for me.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I never should’ve bought Ava from her father. I never should’ve forced her to marry me. I never should’ve brought her into this dark, dangerous world.

It’s because of me she’s sitting next to my chef, who just got shot by my old enemy. That’s the fucked-up world I live in.

I can’t let Anton win, but I also can’t lose Ava. I have to do right by her and my staff.

I set my gun down and slide it over to Anton.

“Great,” he says, picking it up. “Now, I just came here to talk with you, Nik. But you’ve proven yourself to be a bit more of a nuisance than I hoped for. So, I think I got what I needed from here.” He angles his gun at my leg and fires.

The pain explodes within my thigh, and I fall over.

“Nik!” Ava screams.

Anton throws his head back and laughs like he’s the fucking Joker. “Good luck, Nik. I think I’ll leave you alive. I want you to feel the pain of knowing I won again.” He heads to the door.

I can’t have that.

With a growl, I stand up on my good leg and barrel into him from behind. Together, we fall to the floor, grappling with each other.

I roll on top of Anton and begin to punch him again and again until his face is a bloody fucking pulp. The wound in my leg is making me woozy, but I don’t let it stop me.

“You never should’ve come back, Anton,” I growl. “You never should’ve come back.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have.”

And then another gunshot goes off.

And I feel the pain in my stomach.

I grunt and roll off Anton. He has his gun in his hand. The fucking bastard shot me. Twice.

“Nik,” Ava whispers running over to me.

Anton wobbles as he stands up, making his way to the door.

Camille runs over to my gun on the floor and tries shooting him, but Anton ducks out of the way and runs upstairs. “He can’t live. He’ll come back and try to hurt us again.”

“No,” I whisper. “He won’t. Anton loves his games. He won’t be back if he thinks he’s losing.”

“Just breathe,” Ava says, sitting beside me. “Just breathe. Mom, call for an ambulance.”

Camille hesitates.

“Mom!”

“I got it,” Mrs. Brown says, taking out her cell phone. She quietly calls for help.

“Hang in there, Nik,” Ava whispers, cupping my cheek, her hands bloody from Claude. “Hang in there. You can’t die. You just can’t.”

I smile up at her. “I love you, Ava. You need to know.”

“Nik,” she gasps.

My eyes flutter closed, and everything goes black.

AVA

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