Page 125 of Beautiful Beast

“Go after her,” Dante hisses at his man, who holds his arm as he runs after Nadia.

I keep shooting at the guard until my bullet lands in his back. He grunts and falls to the ground. Nadia keeps running.

Dante peeks out from behind his car and looks between Nadia and me. We both know he can’t run after her without risking getting shot.

He runs around his car and dives into it before I can shoot him, but that doesn’t stop me from firing at his car. He revs the engine and backs out of the driveway at top speed. Shit.

He could easily grab Nadia off the street.

I quickly get into my own car and drive after him. I see his car reach Nadia, who still hasn’t stopped running. Good. If he wants her, he’s going to have to get out and grab her, and that will be impossible with me right behind him. I bump my car into his.

I can see Dante through the rear window. I can see the anger in his eyes. The frustration. I can see how he knows he’s lost.

For the moment anyway.

He keeps on driving until he disappears around the bend.

I stop my car next to Nada. “Get in!” She doesn’t object, doing exactly what I tell her to do. “Are you ok? Nadia?”

She shakes her head, breathing hard, her eyes squeezed shut. “I’m ok. Just exhausted from running so hard.”

“I’m going to bring you to my home. But first, we need to switch cars. I don’t want to risk Dante or any of his men watching us and finding out where I live.”

Nadia nods shakily. “Understood.”

I drive to the nearest parking garage I can find. After telling Nadia to wait in my car, I find a new, nondescript car to steal.I’ve stolen many cars in my lifetime. It’s as easy as breathing for me.

Once I get the new car up and running, I motion for Nadia to join me. She doesn’t say a word as she does. She’s the exact opposite of Anya. If Anya were here, she’d be demanding answers, but Nadia just does as I say. This world will eat this poor girl alive.

I drive us to my home. I don’t feel safe until we’re both inside and the gate is locked behind us. Dante can’t get in. He doesn’t know where I live. But that doesn’t mean anything. Dante has the full backing of the Mafia; if he wanted to find me, he could.

“Erik, what happened?” Anya asks as she rounds the corner, then stops when she sees Nadia. “Nadia?”

Without a word, Nadia runs into her sister’s arms and begins to cry.

“What happened?”

“Dante attacked us,” I answer. “I managed to get Nadia away, but Dante is still out there. He’s pissed.”

“I thought you were dealing with the girl my father kidnapped.” She’s stroking the back of Nadia’s head just like a mother would. It’s the first time I see how truly mother-like Anya is with Nadia.

“I was. I brought her back to her school, but that’s how Dante found me. By following me when I went to your father’s house.”

“But why did you do that?”

“Because your father and I are done. I’m done working with him. I can’t risk your safety any longer, Anya. I see that now. Which is why I went to his house to get Nadia. She’s going to live with us from now on. I should’ve done this sooner, and I’m sorry.”

Anya’s eyes light up as she holds Nadia to her tighter. “But she’s still only seventeen. That hasn’t changed.”

“We’ll deal with your father when the time comes. Because he will come here and demand I return her to him, but there’s nothing much he can do. He can’t call the police. Not when he’s so tied in Bratva business.”

“But won’t he make your life hell?”

“Probably. But I can deal with Sergei. For now, why don’t you take Nadia to one of the guest rooms. I’m sure you two want to talk.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have calls to make. I need to warn James about what happened. And I still have Dante’s home address. I need to get over there before it’s too late.”

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