Page 12 of Paved in Fire

Roman groans and then grimaces when I press harder. “Are you trying to fucking kill me?”

“I should for that stunt you just pulled.”

He tries to laugh but can’t manage it. Turning from me, he looks at Alina and smiles at her. He lifts a bloody hand and cups her face. “I’m sorry it took so long to find you. We tried so fucking hard.”

Alina squeezes his hand while tears stream down her face. “I knew you’d find me.” She starts to sob as she whispers, “I’m so sorry. Don’t leave me, Roman. I can’t lose you again.”

Roman tries to say something, but I can tell he’s about to pass out. Lev gently pats his face, trying to keep him conscious.

“Stay awake, brother.” He gives a forced laugh. “Emily is going to kick our asses for this.”

“Fuck yes she is,” Vitaly agrees. “So thanks for getting your ass shot, Roman. We’re never going to live this down.”

“Sorry,” Roman whispers.

The music is too goddamn loud to hear him, but his lips are easy enough to read. I lift my head and yell, “Someone turn off the fucking music!”

When the song cuts off, the silence is deafening. We hear the doctor on Dominic’s payroll come rushing in, and when he sees Roman, he immediately gets to work. He says something in Italian as he checks for an exit wound and then starts packing the wound and using a pressure bandage. Three other Alessi men come over. They’ve got a stretcher ready to go, and within minutes Roman is on the damn thing and being rushed out of the room. Lev kisses the top of Alina’s head and Danil gives her a quick hug before they run to catch up with Roman, and I know they’ll text us as soon as they know anything.

“Where are you taking him?” Alina asks.

She’s still crying and clutching my arm, and when I feel her body start to shake again, I pull my hoodie off and start to put it on her. I’m still wearing a T-shirt, but Dominic eyes the burn scars on my arms, only hesitating for a second before saying, “We have a room outfitted for surgery at my house. He’ll be safe there.”

Alina threads her arms through the hoodie that’s way too big for her, and when her head pokes through the top, our eyes finally meet. “Matvey,” she whispers and then starts crying again. Everything comescrashing down on her, and when I feel her legs start to buckle, I pick her up and hold her against me.

Vitaly pats her back and gives her shoulder a squeeze. “It’s good to have you back, Alina. We’ve missed the hell out of you, little sis.”

She starts to cry harder when he walks away with Dominic to give us some privacy and to help make sure the club is secure. The men are being forced onto their knees in a line near the back wall while the women are being herded into the back. They’ll be taken to a safe house that Dominic owns for now until we can get them back to their families.

She’s still crying, but I can’t stand the sight of that fucking collar on her for one more goddamn second. Setting her back down, I pull my knife out and gently push her hair aside. “Don’t move, baby,” I tell her, slipping the blade under the leather. Using my other hand, I keep it secure so it won’t dig into her skin any more than it already is. The blade is sharp, easily cutting through the collar, and when she feels it fall from her neck, she lets out a soft, shaky breath. Putting my knife away, I pull her back against me.

“I’ve got you,malishka,” I whisper against her neck, breathing in the scent that I feared I’d never smell again. She’s crying too hard to speak, but I feel her nod her head as she tightens her arms around me. “I’m never fucking letting you go.”

“How fucking sweet.”

Her body freezes at the sound of Konstantin’s voice.

“I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re doing,” he continues, “but you’re not going to get away with it.”

I turn to face him, eyeing him on his knees with his hands zip-tied behind his back. “We already have.”

He laughs, and I’ve never wanted to cut someone’s mouth off so badly in my life.

“I take it you know Nadia.”

“That’s not her name, you stupid fuck.” I keep my arms tight around Alina, refusing to turn even slightly, because I don’t ever want her to have to look at him again.

“Doesn’t matter what your name is, does it, pet?”

She flinches at his words, and I stroke her back and kiss her cheek.

“I’d shut the fuck up if I were you,” Vitaly tells him. “Your death is already going to be a slow one.”

Konstantin laughs again. “Killing me won’t change the fact that I’ve been fucking the girl you love for the last two years.” He smiles at me and runs his eyes over Alina. “In fact, we fucked right before we came here tonight, didn’t we, sweetheart? I bet she still feels me sliding down her goddamn thighs.”

Alina lets out another sob and buries her face in my neck as Vitaly pistol-whips the fucker, knocking him out so she doesn’t have to hear another goddamn word from the bastard. Osip watches and wisely keeps his mouth shut.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers against my skin.

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