Page 90 of Beautiful Enemy

Dante

“Hello, Sergei,” I say, once I’m in the doorway. Sergei is fast approaching the house.

“I’m here for my daughter.”

“I’m impressed you managed to find this place.”

Behind Sergei are two men I don’t know. Expendables in my eyes.

“Call Aiden and Finn,” I murmur to Matteo, who nods and quickly does as I tell him to. “So, Sergei. What can I do for you?”

“I already told you. I want my daughter back.”

“See, that’s interesting, because I’m not sure she wants to go with you.”

“I’m sure she does. Why would she want to stay with the man who kidnapped her? She belongs with her family.”

“Oh, you mean the father who hates her guts and prefers to beat her rather than show her love? That family?” Knowing I’m standing before the man who has hurt Nadia makes my blood boil. There’s no use in denying: I don’t see Nadia as my enemy anymore. She hasn’t been for a long time.

Honestly, I think the moment I saw her cry that very first day, I realized she was just an innocent woman caught up in a deadly game. She was never the one I hated. That would be reserved for Sergei and Erik.

Sergei flushes and stammers for a moment before he snaps his lips shut into a thin line. “I am coming for you.”

“Then shoot me.” I spread my arms out wide. “I’m right here.”

To his credit, he doesn’t waste time drawing his gun and firing it. Except, he doesn’t hit me because Matteo hits Sergei in the arm with a bullet, making him drop his gun.

“Fuck,” Sergei screams, holding onto his now bleeding arm. “Get them!”

His two other men start firing. Matteo pulls me back into the house and kicks the door shut.

“Were you just going to stand there and get shot?”

“No. I was just having some fun. Give me that at least.” Casually, I go into my bedroom and slip on a shirt and shoes and grab my gun. “Let’s kill these motherfuckers.”

Matteo glances down at his phone. “Aiden and Finn are on their way but they might not make it here in time.”

“Then we better kill Sergei before it’s too late.”

“Is Nadia ok with that?”

I look at Matteo like he’s fucking insane. “Why does that matter?”

“Because I know you care for the girl. I see it every time you look at her.”

“We don’t have time to talk about our fucking feelings,” I hiss. “We have some fuckers to kill.”

Sergei kicks down the front door, which is impressive for his older age. I’ll give him this. He’s a formidable figure. I’m sure he was terrifying in his youth but now all I see is an insecure old man who’s desperate to get his daughter back just to hurt her.

And I can’t let Nadia get hurt. I think I would rather die than let that happen.

What the hell is happening to me?

Matteo and I stay hidden in the bedroom as we wait for Sergei to get closer.

“Come on out!” Sergei shouts. “Face me like a man.”

I huff. That’s rich, coming from the man who beats his daughters.

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