Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Kiss me.”
“What?”
Dmitri ignored Keira’s protest and shrugged off Pavel’s hand on his shoulder. “Let her go first.”
Mae considered him. “Pavel has his gun on her. You try anything and he’ll shoot her in the stomach. You know what a stomach wound will do.”
He knew. Keira’s chance of survival would drop astronomically. “Let her go.”
Mae released Keira and stepped back, watching him closely. Keira started for him, but he shook his head. “Go back inside, moya koroleva.” Go to safety.
Her hazel eyes shone and she started for the door, her fingers brushing his as she moved past him. She got two steps when Pavel blocked her way. “You’ll watch.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Keira glared up at him. “We trusted you, Pavel.”
“You trusted wrong.”
The longer they stood on the street, the greater the chance that something could go sideways. It felt like they’d been there a small eternity, but Dmitri suspected they were still well within the window of the previous tech blackouts John Finch had reported. He marched to Mae and hooked the back of her neck. She shoved her gun against his thigh, but he ignored it and kissed her. She tasted of cigarettes and rage, and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to snatch the gun from her hand and put her out of her misery.
But there was Keira to think of.
He’d kill Mae, but Pavel would kill Keira.
Unacceptable.
Once the appropriate amount of time had passed, he raised his head. “You disgust me.”
The lust bled out of Mae’s eyes and she sneered. “You say that now.” She leaned into him, the gun never moving from where she had it pointed—right at his femoral artery. “You’ll change your tune before too long.”
“Dmitri, no.”
“Keira, get back in the house. Now.” He didn’t look at her, couldn’t look at her. I love you, moya koroleva.
Seconds passed, and she finally cursed and shoved Pavel out of the way. He pinned the man with a look, daring him to make a move as she stalked down the sidewalk and into the house. Safe. Keira was safe. He could bear any punishment Mae would deliver because he knew she was out of that bitch’s grasp.
“Let’s go, Romanov.” She laughed again, the sound dark. “I’m going to enjoy the hell out of playing with you.”
Keira couldn’t wipe the picture of Mae forcing Dmitri to kiss her out of her head. That bitch is going to pay. And Pavel, too. Traitor. Enemy. She’d trusted him, had worked with him to secure the reception, and he’d been planning to betray them all along.
Mae had Dmitri.
Keira bypassed the ballroom—she’d get to them in a moment—and headed straight for the lounge where the guards spent their time. She threw open the door, startling half a dozen men into reaching for their guns. A quick sweep of the room, and she found Alexei situated by a monitor. Only get one shot at this. If she didn’t play it right, they wouldn’t follow her, and Dmitri would be as good as dead. “That bitch took Dmitri.” She let the pause drag out a beat. “But we’re going to get him back.”
She held up a hand when Alexei started to speak. “Mae took Dmitri. She took Mikhail. She will kill them all if she’s given the chance, which means we can’t fuck this up.”
One of the men, a blond whose name she couldn’t immediately place, spoke up. “Why should we take orders from you?”
Keira iced over her tone the same way she’d heard Dmitri and her brother do. “Did I fucking stutter?”
He tried to hold her gaze, but chickened out halfway through. “Nyet.”
“Dmitri is gone.” She met each of their eyes in turn, holding their attention just long enough to make them uncomfortable. “That means I am in charge for the duration. He’s my husband, and I want him back. Alethea and her bitch daughter will pay for the insult they dealt us, and they’ll pay fully. I don’t give a flying fuck what you think of me, but don’t you forget for a second that Dmitri chose me. He married me.” He saved me. “That’s all that should fucking matter to you. Obey and you will be rewarded.” She lifted her chin, focusing on ensuring her hands didn’t shake and her voice never wavered. “If you can’t guarantee you will obey, then get the fuck out of the way for the men who will.”
Not a single one of them stepped back, but she didn’t allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief. “We need to clear out our guests. I’ll handle it—just follow my lead. Then we’ll find Dmitri and deal with the Eldridge threat once and for all.”
Keira’s phone pinged, and she almost ignored it. But when she looked, she found a text from Dmitri.
I’m sorry, moya koroleva. This wasn’t how it was supposed to play out.