Page 148 of For a Price

His men spring into action first, opening fire. Bullets fly as Roman and the two remaining soldiers of the pakhan shoot ateach other. Roman catches a bullet in the shoulder before taking down both men and then advancing toward me and the pakhan.

He’s fuming at the sight of us together. He’s slicked with sweat, his thick muscles gleaming, his eyes a dark and violent storm.

“Ya dolzhen byl znat’, chto ty eto sdelayesh’. Ty trus?*.”

The pakhan smirks, wrapping his arm around my hips to pull me closer. “Ya umnyy, Zver. Umneye tebya?*.”

Roman breaks out into a stride, but he cuts him off with a click of his tongue.

“Uht, uht, Zver. Stay where you are… or she will suffer the consequences.”

I’m holding Roman’s gaze, trying to keep it together. My body refuses to comply. Nerves have sprung free, racking through my body in a deep shiver.

It only makes Roman more enraged. More feral like an animal.

“Let her go,” he growls. “Get your fucking hands off her.”

“But why?” the pakhan asks, nuzzling the side of my face. “She remembers so well what it feels like for me to touch her.”

Roman howls and launches into another fast stride.

The pakhan drags me back with him several paces and points his gun at my head. “Uht, uht. Take one more step, Zver. Such a beautiful woman. Such a pity for me to kill her.”

It’s what finally makes Roman truly stop in his tracks. He’s caught between wanting to black out and go into pure beast mode and the possibility that he wouldn’t be quick enough. The pakhan will pull the trigger first.

“She was up here by herself,” the pakhan goes on with a light chuckle. “Your precious kitten wanted to get me. But as you can see, she is still just that. A harmless kitten.”

“Release her. We will handle this the two of us.”

“I am in control of the situation. You will drop your rifle and kick it away.”

Roman grits his teeth but does as he’s told. The automatic assault rifle slides across the floor in our direction.

“Good,” the pakhan says. “I knew you could obey. Your father could not tame you. But I will.”

“You are pathetic,” Roman spits. “You are no leader of men. You need to hide behind women because you’re a fucking coward. You can’t stand on your own. You don’t deserve to be pakhan. The bratva is weak because of you.”

“And yet look at me and look at you. I am winning. You are losing.” He leans closer to place a kiss on the apple of my cheek, making my insides roil in disgust. “I will make her suffer and you will have no choice but to watch. I will break you?—”

A strangled scream rips out of me as I make my move.

The move I was counting on the pakhan never expecting.

As he leans close to kiss and grope me, taunting Roman in his sick way, I use the pocketknife I’ve hidden and jam it straight into his gut.

* Ya dolzhen byl znat’, chto ty eto sdelayesh’. Ty trus -I should have known you would do this. You’re a coward.

* Ya umnyy, Zver. Umneye tebya -I’m smart, beast. Smarter than you.

CHAPTER 44

Roman

It isa victory that defied the odds and that many would say was impossible.

But it is a victory that we achieve by the end of the violent, bloody night.

Katerina was brave enough to risk her life, stabbing the pakhan in the stomach. I was on them at once. I speared into him before he could even react to the knife sticking out of him and pull the trigger of his gun. Tackling him to the ground, I quickly knocked the gun from his grip and held him down.

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