Page 26 of Immaculate Deception (Romanoff Bratva)

There’s just enough time for him to recognize me and for his bushy eyebrows to shoot far up on his forehead.

“Dima, you fucking—!”

Then the elevator door closes.

What a shame. I’m sure he had something incredibly insightful to share.

Arya clutches the baby close to her chest. “Can we get away? What are we going to do?”

I grab the gun from my hip and cock it. “We’ll get away.”

Arya whimpers and kisses her baby on the cheek.Ourbaby.

“What’s his name?” I ask as I check the clip.

It’s not important. But just in case something happens… I want to know.

She kisses him again. “Lukas.”

“Lukas Romanoff,” I murmur.

Arya inhales sharply like she recognizes the name—not that that’s possible—but she doesn’t say anything. I don’t either. I have more important things on my mind.

Like getting us all out of here alive.

As soon as the elevator doors open, I push Arya’s wheelchair forward at full speed. A family is standing just on the other side of the doors. They scream and scatter as we fly through the doors and take a hard turn down the main hallway of the hospital.

A security guard is yelling from his post next to the front desk. “Slow down! Are you crazy? You need to—”

Then I hear the crack of gunfire.

Everyone dives for the edges of the hallway as a glass window up ahead shatters. Fyodor & Co. must’ve taken the stairs.

Arya throws her arms on top of the baby and folds herself over as a protective shield. I lower my head and run faster.

I’ll only return gunfire if I have to. I don’t want to risk hitting a bystander. Unlike Fyodor and his goons, I have a moral code.

“Get them!” Fyodor commands his men from far behind us.

The automatic front doors open slowly. Too slowly. The wheelchair catches on the right one.

The whole thing tips to one side. Arya screams, Lukas wails, Fyodor barks more orders, more gunshots crack out, but I manage to straighten everything and keep going before we spill over.

As soon as we are outside, I drop into a dead sprint.

Bulletstingoff the cars next to us. I spin around and fire a few shots back towards the hospital. I mostly aim towards the ground to avoid hitting anyone inside. I’m just hoping that shooting back is enough to keep Fyodor and his men at a safe distance for now. At the very least, safe enough that Arya can get in the car before they catch up to us.

The vehicle is a few spaces away from a large black SUV, which I now recognize as one belonging to the Bratva. I was so distracted walking into the hospital that I didn’t even notice it.

So many fucking mistakes. Each one threatening to kill me and my newfound family.

I can’t let that happen.

I give the wheelchair one large push towards the car, letting go of the handles. “Get in the front seat!” I roar.

Arya’s hand slaps against the side of the car to keep her from careening into it and then she gingerly makes her way to the passenger side, Lukas still cradled in her arms.

While she does that, I reload my gun, then fire at the back two tires of the SUV and each of the windows.

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