Page 97 of Sins He Taught Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 3)

It takes everything I have not to rush forward and tackle him to the ground. My hands twitch at the thought of bashing his head in until I see bone. The marks around Victoria’s throat are evidence that he’s already put his hands on her once, and the sight of the bruises makes me want to cut those very hands from his fucking wrists.

“But I don’t love her,” I say.

“Yes, you do.”

I put my hands up, pointing the gun at the ceiling. “She’s the one that let you into the house. If anything, she should be punished for her stupidity. I could never love a woman so oblivious to the dangers of this world.”

Rogers seems caught off guard, and I can see just a hint of hurt in Victoria’s eyes. “You came all this way. You love her,” he insists.

“I came all this way because Nikolas wanted to give her his favorite toy to play with. He wanted her to play with it one last time.”

Her eyebrows knit together, and I stare at her hard, slowly reaching into my pocket. Rogers looks confused out of his mind, and I seize the chance to pull out Dmitry’s pocketknife. In one quick motion, I throw it at Victoria. She snatches it midair and flicks it open faster than Rogers can react.

He howls when she turns and stabs him in the side with the blade.

Roaring in pain, Rogers brings his gun down to aim at her, and at the same time, I fire off bullet after bullet into him. Victoria ducks out of the way, dropping to the floor as my men and I fill him with shots. He stumbles backwards from the force, grabbing the wall.

As he slides down, he draws lines of crimson down the flaking white paint.

Victoria throws herself into my arms and I pull her close, breathing in her scent. She’s been through hell, but the feeling of her in my arms is better than anything I’ve known before. She steps back to look at me, and over her shoulder, I just barely see Rogers raise his gun one last time.

I push Victoria out of the way and my chest explodes in pain.

Victoria screams.

The world tilts.

I hit the ground, hard. Flat on my back, I see Victoria’s face come into view. She drops to her knees beside me, cupping my face and crying, but I can’t speak. I can’t form words. All I know is the agonizing pain in my chest. The rasping breaths I’m taking. I’m going to die.

My vision darkens, and the last thing I see before I close my eyes for the last time is Victoria bending over me, screaming. Then everything fades away.

---