Page 47 of Dark Promise

“Come on, Ivanov! Don’t make us wait! Or maybe you’re just a coward after all.”

My fingers brush the grip of my gun, my mind calculating every angle. He’s exposed, his back to me. Two more thugs are spread out, their attention split between the cabin and thewoods. The fourth is stationed near the tree line, his rifle raised but his posture relaxed. Arrogant. Reckless.

They have no idea they’ve already lost.

I inhale slowly, steadying my pulse. Every movement from here needs to be precise, calculated. I give a slight nod to Luca, then to Cassio. Their weapons shift, their focus narrowing. We’re ready.

The leader’s finger twitches on the trigger, and I make my move.

The first shot cracks through the air, sharp and decisive, silencing the storm for a heartbeat. The thug at the tree line drops, a clean bullet wound cutting through his skull. Blood sprays against the snow, his body crumpling with a soft thud.

Chaos erupts.

The leader whirls around, dragging Sabina up as a shield. His eyes widen in shock, then fury. “What the—”

Before he can finish, Luca and Cassio unleash hell. Their bullets carve through the clearing, each shot deliberate and lethal. The thug closest to the cabin barely has time to react before he’s hit, a round tearing through his chest. He collapses, his weapon falling from his grip as he gasps for air he’ll never find.

The remaining thug dives for cover behind a tree, his movements frantic. The leader tightens his grip on Sabina, pressing his gun harder against her head. His face is twisted in rage and desperation.

“Stop!” he roars, his voice cracking. “Stop, or she dies!”

I step into the clearing, my gun raised, my gaze locked on the leader. He turns his focus to me, his smirk returning despite the blood staining the snow around him.

“There he is,” he sneers. “The great Nikolai Ivanov.”

“Let her go,” I say, my voice calm, cold. Deadly.

“Or what?” he taunts, his grip tightening on Sabina. “You’ll shoot? Go ahead. See if you can hit me before I pull the trigger.”

I take another step forward, my focus unyielding. “You’re surrounded. You’re outnumbered. And you’re out of time.”

He laughs, sharp and grating, but there’s a flicker of doubt in his eyes. “You think I’m scared of you?”

“Maybe not,” I reply, my lips curling into a faint smile. “But you should be.”

His smirk falters, his confusion flickering to fear. He doesn’t see Luca shifting, doesn’t hear Cassio reposition. He doesn’t realize his own men are already dead or dying.

He doesn’t know he’s standing at the edge of his own grave.

Luca moves first, his shot precise. The bullet rips through the leader’s shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon with a cry of pain. Sabina twists free, her knee driving into his stomach as she wrenches herself away from him.

I’m there in an instant, pulling her behind me, my gun trained on the leader as he stumbles back, clutching his shoulder. He glares at me, blood dripping from his wound, his defiance crumbling under the weight of his failure.

“This is for threatening her,” I say, my voice low and lethal, the sharp precision of my words slicing through the icy air. My first shot tears through his knee, the crack of the bullet echoing like a judge’s gavel. He collapses into the snow with a howl, clutching at the mangled joint as blood pours freely, staining the pristine white.

I take another step forward, every movement deliberate, my gaze fixed on him with cold focus. “This is for touching her.” My next shot shatters his elbow, forcing a broken scream from his throat. He writhes in the snow, his body jerking.

But I don’t stop. I can’t stop.

The world around me contracts, leaving only the battered figure in front of me and the fire roaring in my chest. Justice isn’tenough—not for this. Retribution demands more. He frightened her. Touched her.

“This is for even thinking about her,” I say, my voice devoid of mercy. The next bullet slams into his other knee, the sharp crack of bone followed by another agonized wail. His body convulses, his movements sluggish as the blood loss and pain drag him closer to oblivion.

I lower my weapon slowly, the click of the safety a cold punctuation in the frozen air.

He’s gasping now, his breath ragged, his eyes wild with pain and terror. His remaining hand claws weakly at the snow, trying and failing to drag his broken body away.

I crouch beside him, close enough for his bloodshot eyes to lock on mine.

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