Page 82 of Beautiful Enemy

But then Ivan lifts up a gun and fires at me, making me duck back into the hallway. Matteo comes running up the stairs. “Boss?”

“Stay back.”

Matteo hunkers on the other side of the hallway. “I told you to be careful.”

Ivan keeps shooting. He’ll run out of bullets eventually and then it will be my time to strike.

Then, the gunshots stop. I hear the click of the chamber as he tries shooting but nothing comes out. Perfect.

I enter the bedroom and point my gun right at Ivan’s head. “You shouldn’t have stabbed me.”

“Please don’t,” the girl cries. “Please.”

“Elena, shut up,” the woman hisses, making Elena flinch.

I hesitate. “Elena, is it?”

Slowly, she nods through her tears.

“Do you know what your dad has done?”

“No. But he doesn’t deserve to die. He’s a good man. I love him.”

Even though she reminds me of Nadia – even down to the brown hair – they have one thing not in common. Elena loves her father. Nadia doesn’t.

If I killed Sergei, I’m not sure if Nadia would be that upset by it but with Elena, I can tell she would be devastated if I killed Ivan right now.

Ivan looks so middle aged with his sweater vest and glasses. He doesn’t look like a Bratva man. He just looks like a family man.

This is a man who’s built a life and has a family. I have none of those things. It never bothered me before but now… now I can’t help but wonder what having a family would be like.

Having a family with Nadia, specifically. Me as a father. As a husband.

A warmth spreads through my body at the thought. I don’t hate the idea.

But to achieve that, I would have to put aside my anger and I’m just not sure I can do that. I need Erik to pay. I need Ivan to pay. I need them all to pay.

“Please,” Ivan says, drawing me out of my thoughts. “I was just trying to protect my daughter. Elena is only eighteen. She needs me. Don’t make her live the rest of her life without me.”

“She’s eighteen,” I growl. “Soon, she’ll be married. I’m not sure how much she’ll need you.”

“Ivan may have made a mistake,” the older woman says, “but don’t make me into a widow. How pathetic would that be?”

I look at the woman with her upturned nose and pinched lips. “Would you even cared if your husband died?”

“Of course I would. How dare you ask that of me!”

I turn to Elena. “You would care if your dad died. Yes?”

“Yes,” she sobs, clinging to Ivan’s arm. “Please. Don’t do this. Please.”

“Just let my daughter live,” Ivan blurts out. “You can kill me. Just let my wife and daughter live.”

“How noble.” I’m not impressed with Ivan’s sacrifice. Most men would let themselves be killed to save the women they love. But then again, I’m not sure Nadia’s father would sacrifice himself for her life. Maybe Ivan is special then.

Maybe he doesn’t deserve to die.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” Ivan says. “But can you do it in a different room? I don’t want my daughter to have to see me die. Don’t do that to her.”

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