Page 129 of For a Price

The second pair of feet, belonging to none other than JC, reveal why. He steps into the hall gripping Lucero from behind by the shoulder, a gun in hand.

“I’d get the fuck away from the door if I were you, Kat,” he says. “Now.”

“I’m so sorry,” blurts out Rosita. “But I… I had to. He had Luc.”

“Shut up!” yells JC. “Away from the door, Kat. I mean it! Hands up!”

I’ve frozen where I am, my mind going blank. I do as I’m told, lifting my hands carefully and slowly, showing I’m not going to make any sudden movements. Turning away from the door, I take a few steps toward the other three.

JC grins. “Good. Now sit the fuck down on the couch. You and Rosita. And if you think for a second that your Russian is getting you out of this, you’re fucking wrong. We’ve got you this time.”

CHAPTER 37

Roman

“I knew this was a fucking mistake!”I roar the instant Katerina’s at the door of Rosita’s apartment.

Me and my men charge from our observation point, crossing the street within seconds to make our way to her.

I hear every word being said.

Katerina asking who the fuck is hiding in the apartment. Rosita’s tearful apology. JC’s cocky fucking commands.

I should’ve known better than to let Katerina do this. Every instinct told me it was a bad idea. Every bone in my body sensed it was too dangerous no matter what she said.

But I’m a foolish man in love who wants to make her fucking happy. I’ve seen how she’s struggled in recent weeks and it was agony watching the light dim in her.

A woman strolling down the sidewalk screams as she looks up to find six large Russian men with weapons drawn barreling toward her. She leaps out of the way as we hurtle past her, busting open the door to Rosita’s apartment building.

We race up two flights of stairs to more screams from residents who happen to be on their way down.

None of them matter. They’re non-factors as we fly up the steps to the third floor.

I’m closing in on the door that’s Rosita’s apartment when JC reveals he’s got a gun and that no one’s going anywhere.

“Now sit the fuck down on the couch. You and Rosita. And if you think for a second that your Russian is getting you out of this, you’re fucking wrong. We’ve got you this time.”

“The fuck you do,” I growl in answer from the hall outside.

“Zver!” Oleg says. “If you go in there?—”

He’s drowned out by the roar I release. I charge toward the door and kick it open with the heel of my combat boot. The door bangs against the wall, barely kept on its hinges.

JC jumps back clutching the handgun and the little boy tighter.

“I knew this fucker was around here somewhere!” he yells. “There was no way Kat would come out of hiding without this dude lurking nearby.”

“This dude is a fucking beast, you sack of shit,” I bark at him, heaving air in and out of my lungs. I take several more steps toward him. “Did you think hiding in an apartment like a pussy would work in your favor?”

“More like we knew you’d be setting a trap!”

“Who’s we, idiot? Be a man and speak clearly!”

JC hacks out a laugh, shaking his head. He cocks the hammer on his gun and points it straight at Katerina and Rosita on the couch. “You think I’m going to tell you? That’s what you really want, right? You want to know who’s been fucking you over? Guess what? I’d rather die than tell you!”

“My pleasure,” I growl, stepping toward him.

“Come closer and I blast her. Don’t be dumb enough to think you’ll make it in time. One pull of this trigger and it’s BANG-BANG-BANG! Dead little kitten.” At the clench of my jaw, he laughs again. “What? Surprised I know about your dumbnickname for her? We’ve had laughs about it. You know when they sold her they billed her as the kitty cat?”

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