Page 67 of The Den of Sin
Raphael’s eyes returned to Isabella and observed her pensively. Maybe he was comparing her physical features with ours. Everyone knew Nikolaev family members had pale eyes and blonde hair features. Isabella couldn’t look any more different from us. Or was he seeing something else?
His hand’s grip loosened, and I could see Isabella inhaling deeply for the oxygen.
“Who are you?” Raphael questioned her, his eyes on her. Inwardly, I cursed myself. I should have taken Isabella to my house. I promised her mother to keep Isabella safe from the Santos family, and there she was in his grasp.
His men had their guns pointed at her, my brother, and me. The odds were bad but that wasn’t what worried me. It was ensuring Isabella came out alive. She was my priority.
“Tatiana’s friend,” her voice trembled. She was barely able to speak. “We went to college together.”
A silent relief spread through me, and I sent a prayer of thanks that she withheld her name. My sources told me that Raphael Santos searched for his half-sister relentlessly, but he didn’t have a single picture of her. He was looking for her blindly.
“Do you work for them?” He tilted her head, observing her with a frown creasing his eyebrows. Like he was trying to solve a puzzle. If he knew how important she was to me, he could decide to make her the payback. Or if he realized who she was, he’d take her with him.
“She knows nothing about ourbusiness,” I chimed in, emphasizing the last word. It was true, and he would understand the meaning behind it. Isabella’s eyes shifted between the two of us in confusion.
“I- I don’t work in real estate,” she murmured, her voice still slightly shaking. “I’m an ER physician. I-I was just visiting.”
If I asked Isabella to convince Raphael that she knew nothing, she couldn’t have said a better thing. My company owned real estate but wasn’t exactly in a real estate business.
“Let her go, fucker.” Sasha was starting to get on my nerves. If we got out of this intact, I’d have to beat his ass. He was getting out of hand.
“And you fucker,” Raphael gritted out, “-should learn to listen to your big brother and keep your fucking mouth shut.”
Of course, my brother was always so trigger happy. But Raphael had fast reflexes and was an excellent shot. He shot my brother. Same instant, I pointed my gun at Raphael, with a precise aim ready to pull the trigger. He knew I never missed, although for the first time in my life, I feared pulling that trigger because Isabella was in the vicinity of my target.
“We can call this even. For my father,” Raphael announced, his eyes on me. He wasn’t a fool. Probably knew Sasha killed him.
“Fucking Colombians,” my brother moaned, bleeding on the ground. My damn idiot brother could be on his deathbed and he’d still find his last breath to curse at Santos.
“You are still alive, you fucking Russian, which is more than can be said for my father,” Raphael growled. I couldn’t argue with that point. “You should be kissing my ass and thanking me.”
“You wish I’d kiss your sorry ass,” Sasha hissed, although I was more inclined to think it was from pain than anger.
“Let the woman go, Raphael,” I spoke to my enemy, my gun still pointed at him. Just one bullet and he’d be dead. But I wasn’t willing to risk it, not with my woman within an arm’s reach of him. “We can call this even.”
“Not by a long shot! But I don’t need a fucking war with you right now,” he grunted. “I’ll let her go. My men have their guns aimed at her head and your brother’s. Try something stupid, and she’s dead.”
“Point taken.” I would never risk her life like that.
He removed the gun pointed at her and let go of her neck completely.
“Go to him, woman.” For a brief second, Isabella stood there, as if she was scared to move; expecting it to be a trick and then someone would kill her anyhow. I didn’t like the way Raphael's eyes studied her.
“It’s okay,” he urged her. “Nobody will hurt you.” She blinked and looked my way. I nodded, trying to assure her without words. “Nobody is to shoot at the woman,” Raphael added loudly and thank God, she finally moved.
One step. Two steps, and when she realized nobody was in fact shooting, she ran towards me and I opened my arms, my heart thundering in my chest and my ears.My Isabella. She threw herself into my arms, her body trembling. All the years I tried to keep her safe and now I pulled her straight into the underworld.
This was never supposed to be her world; it was the reason her mother kept hiding them.
I wrapped my free arm tightly around her but kept my gun aimed at the Colombians, just in case.
“Don’t make me regret this, Nikolaev.” Santos’s threat lingered in the air, and he disappeared into the night along with his men, leaving behind bodies, shattered glass and my bloodied brother.
“It’s okay, malyshka,” I comforted her. “They are gone.”
Her eyes came up to me. “What was that about?”
“Revenge.” It was the closest to the truth I could tell her right now.
