Page 79 of The Russian's Kidnapped Bride
“After all the waiting I’ve done, you don’t get to do this. You’re in no position to talk down on me now,” he utters, unable to hide that burning resentment any longer. “I’ve waited years to see you and your brothers fall from that golden pedestal. You made me look like a fool time and time again. But not anymore…now it’s your turn, and you’re going to suffer—”
A crack cuts through the air, and something moves by us so quickly that I almost miss it. That sharp, unnatural sound makes my ears ring, and I jolt. Mikhail’s hand on me tightens instinctively.
To our left, Maxim staggers back a step, blinking through a fit of confusion. Then he looks down, nearly guiding our attention to it.
The fabric of his shirt darkens against his chest, gleaming beneath the floodlights as it seeps outwards.
He’s bleeding. Heavily.
Glancing back, it registers as Aldo stands with his arm still raised, eyes set coldly on his supposed business partner. He doesn’t even blink.
With wide eyes full of betrayal, Maxim stumbles back, hand pressed to the wound. He sputters for a moment, and then, without any final word, he hits the ground in a defeated heap. His limbs twitch before he succumbs to the blood loss.
I want to say something…anything. But the shock has its grip on me, and the same applies to Mikhail.
Slowly, Aldo lowers the gun. “He talked too much.”
As that disbelief slowly melts away, and the situation becomes more complicated, Mikhail pulls me away from the wall, keeping me behind him while he aims his weapon at Aldo and his man. His hold on me is protective and wordless.
It’s two guns against one, now.
“What the hell was that?” Mikhail asks, voice a touch rougher than it had been.
Aldo sighs. “He served his purpose.”
“And what purpose was that?”
“Do you think I needed him for his brilliance?” He chuckles, allowing that stone-cold face of his to warm slightly. “Maxim was an idiot, but he was the real bait. He gave me the information I needed on all the key players in Vegas, especially you and your family. I needed him to lure you in, Lukov, and he did that by taking that wife of yours.”
Aldo’s gaze slides to me for a moment, and my stomach clenches. I hate how it feels.
“Maxim was your pawn. You took what you could from him and used him as your fall guy.”
“And you fell for it. In fact, you made it too easy,” he murmurs, continuing with that easy confidence. “You waved your little prize around like a signal for us, showing her off and putting her in the center of your world. You made her important. How could I resist?”
Mikhail grounds out, “Touch her, and you’ll never know a day without pain.”
“I believe you,” Aldo says with a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “But this isn’t entirely about her. She’s just leverage, and potentially a message too. When the others see the mighty Lukovs can’t even protect their own wives, they’ll see it as openseason on everything you’ve made. Your empire will weaken, and I’ll be waiting at the gates to claim it for my own.”
I feel the tension shifting in Mikhail’s body while he calculates. He’s poised, ready to make his move, but he’s waiting for an opening. The one opportunity that will change it all.
I’m ringing with adrenaline, gripping the back of Mikhail’s shirt like it’s the only anchor I have left. Even if I should pull away and give him space to handle it, I can’t. I have half a mind to think holding on tighter will keep him safe. That it’ll keep us safe.
Before, I would’ve given everything to get away from Mikhail and his world. I was prepared to run at any opportunity. But now, I can’t stomach the thought of anything happening to him.
I can’t go through it. I can’t experience that kind of profound loss again, not when I was just starting to understand what it means to care for him. Not when we were starting to build trust.
But there isn’t anything else I can do.
I have no weapon. No skills that could help us here and now. I only have hope that feels more precarious with every passing moment.
As Aldo and his man raise their guns again, my whole system tightens up while I brace myself for the inevitable.
My eyes squeeze shut.
Then, another crack splits through the silence, making my heart stop.
But it doesn’t come from Aldo’s gun. Not from his man, either.
