Page 138 of Gilded Cage (Kovalyov Bratva 1)

I release the dirt. It falls through the air in slow motion and lands on top of my father’s coffin.

Next to me, I see Esme frowning out of the corner of my eye. Her gaze is fixed in the distance.

I start to follow it, to see what she’s looking at. And at the same time, I hear her say, “Who is—?”

The next thing I hear is the blast of a gun.

The bullet whistles past my ear, an inch away from ending my life. It strikes a bodyguard standing a few yards behind me.

He hits the ground without so much as a whimper.

Dead.

I don’t think. I just act.

What did my father always teach me to do in a firefight?

Grab what matters and take cover.

So that’s what I do.

Esme is next to me. She’s cowering low, her knees in the dirt and her hands covering her head.

I grab her arm. She gasps and tries to fight back before realizing it’s me.

“Artem!”

I don’t have time to reply. For the first time in my life, I’m running away from the fight instead of towards it.

Instead, I pull her to her feet and try and shield her with my body as we run from the burial site.

People scatter to the wind like flailing ants.

A fresh cacophony of gunshots is fired.

Esme stumbles, but I keep her up and moving, sprinting towards the black gates at the perimeter of the graveyard.

I sense more attackers coming before I see them. Grabbing Esme, I yank her into my body as I turn, my gun at the ready.

I fire off three shots and two of the men tailing us take hits. I’m pretty sure I’ve killed one, but the other is still alive, screaming with agony as the blood spurts from his abdomen.

Esme shakes against my chest but I don’t have time to make sure she’s all right.

I just need to get her out of here and somewhere safe.

We step onto the cemetery streets just as more men converge behind us. I pull Esme out of the line of another gunshot and fire back with three rounds.

The shooter drops to the floor but there are still two others coming.

“Get behind that car!” I order Esme, pushing her behind a blue Lexus.

Her hand clings to my arm in hesitation, but I look at her urgently.

“I will protect you,” I promise her. “But you’ve got to listen to me.”

She nods and ducks behind the car for cover. I go straight for the pair of men who’ve come for us.

I fire as I run, forcing them to go on the defensive. When I get close enough, I shoot one right between the eyes and plunge my fist right into the second attacker’s face.

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