Page 54 of Captured By the Russian Wolf

He smiled, a cold, twisted smile that sent a shiver down my spine. "No, Lily. I'm just a man who knows how to protect what's his."

Before I could react, he released my arm and reached inside his coat, pulling out a sleek black pistol. My breath caught in my throat as he raised it, the barrel aimed squarely at my chest.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," he said, his voice eerily calm now. "But you're about to find out. Now, are you going to do what I say or not?"

I froze, every muscle in my body locking in place as I stared down the barrel of the gun. My father had always been dangerous, always wielded power like a weapon. But this? This was different. This was madness.

"N-Nikita won't let you get away with this," I stammered, my voice shaking. "He'll come for you."

He laughed, the sound sharp and bitter. "Nikita won't get the chance. I'll put a bullet in him before he ever sees it coming."

Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I couldn't show weakness. Not now. Not when everything was spiraling out of control.

"You don't have to do this," I whispered, pleading. "Please, Dad. Don't make this worse."

His smile faded, his face hardening into something cruel, something monstrous. "I gave you everything," he spat, his voice rising. "Everything! And this is how you repay me? By running off with a man like Nikita? A man who will destroy you?"

"You're wrong," I said, my voice shaking. "Nikita isn't the one destroying me. You are."

His expression twisted with fury, his grip tightening on the gun. For a moment, I thought he was going to pull the trigger, that this was how it would end—here, in this cold, empty warehouse, at the hands of the man who was supposed to protect me.

But then, something shifted. The rage in his eyes flickered, replaced by a brief flash of doubt, of hesitation.

"You'll regret this," he whispered, his voice hoarse now, almost broken. "You'll regret ever crossing me."

I shook my head, my throat tight with fear and sadness. "No, I won't. This is the only choice I have."

His eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, we stood there in the suffocating silence, the gun between us like a final, unspoken threat. And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the hesitation vanished. His face hardened again, and the cold, calculating man I had always known returned.

"You're going to walk out of here," he said slowly, his voice regaining that dangerous calm. "You're going to leave him, or I'll make sure you both end up in the ground."

I opened my mouth to respond, to try to reason with him one last time, but the words caught in my throat. Because behind me, the door to the warehouse creaked open.

And standing in the shadows, his eyes burning with fury, was Nikita.

CHAPTER 21

Nikita

Ipushed the accelerator harder, the engine roaring as I sped through the empty streets. My heart pounded, a knot tightening in my chest as my mind raced. Lily was with him. Alone. Face to face with the man who had ruined her life—her father, the one who had manipulated her, lied to her, and twisted everything.

I had learned about the meeting too late, and every second that passed felt like it was slipping through my fingers. I should have been there, should have stopped this from happening. If anything happened to her because of him…

I clenched the steering wheel tighter, forcing myself to stay calm. Focused.

The warehouse loomed ahead, dark and foreboding. I slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching as I pulled up outside. My pulse hammered in my ears as I threw the car door open and bolted toward the entrance. The silence inside the building was deafening, thick with tension. Something wasn't right.

The door creaked as I stepped into the shadows, and that's when I saw them.

Lily stood a few feet away, her face pale, her body tense, every muscle in her frozen as she stared at Nicholas. He stood across from her, his eyes blazing with a madness I hadn't seen before. His arm was raised, a gun in his hand, aimed directly at her.

My blood turned cold.

Nicholas's face was twisted in fury, the same cold sneer he'd worn countless times before, but this time, there was something different—something more unhinged. His grip on the gun tightened, his knuckles white as he glared at Lily with a venomous hatred.

"You'll never be free of me," he growled, his voice shaking with rage. "You think you can run to him? You think he'll protect you? You're nothing without me, Lily. Nothing."

Lily's breath hitched, her eyes flicking to me for the briefest second before returning to her father. She stood tall, but I could see the fear in her eyes. She was trying to keep it together, but Nicholas had pushed her to the edge.

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