Chapter Ten
Rhia took several breaths and locked eyes with Indigo. One wrong move and she knew Indigo would make good on her threat. Rhia looked on in horror as the crazy lunatic smiled, her finger firmly pressed against the trigger. She gulped air, the pressure of finality against her chest unbearable. Her lungs quivered as she fought for control.
Just beyond the point of sight shadows lingered and then suddenly everything went dark as she fell to the floor.
Unable to see and gasping for air, Rhia raised her gun with shaky arms. Fire filled her lungs, and with a pounding heart she shot off several rounds into the hallway and hoped at least one hit something. She didn’t wait to find out.
Grabbing in the direction of the back door, Rhia flung open the flimsy slab of wood and didn’t stop running.
Growls of rage and pissed-off hisses nipped at her heels and sent her feet moving faster. Laser-focused on the fence in front of her, she tucked her gun in the belt of her pants and did her best imitation of an Olympian vaulter over the six-foot structure. Metal groaned and swayed but held her weight. One foot over, she could see the lights of the taxi standing at the end of the alley and her freedom, when a set of beefy hands clamped around her waist and hauled her against a hard chest, knocking the air from her lungs.
“Let me the fuck go, you beast.” Elbow primed, she cranked it back and put all her weight into making the bastard who pulled her off the fence pay for his crime.
“Rhia, it’s me, kroshka. Hold the fuck up.”
The crack of a jaw meeting her elbow landed before Sevastyan’s words did. She whirled the second he released her. Gun aimed, she cocked the hammer, hoping she still had at least a round left for him. Tonight no prisoners.
Sevastyan’s hands went up, palms out as if he wanted to make himself appear harmless, but the clocked power of his inner monster gave away the lie with the dark glint to his eye and bunched muscles.
“It’s me. You’re safe.” Like hell she’d fall for the soft reassurance.
She hugged the fence at her back, cornered on all sides as Lucian, Roman, and Matteo stalked from the shadows. She told herself not to overreact and fire off her gun, wasting bullets. Heartbeats hammered in her ears, and blood rushed so fast she couldn’t catch her breath. “Like hell I’m safe.” She needed him breathing if she wanted answers.
“You can lower your weapon, kroshka.”
“Stop calling me that!”
Sevastyan matched her steps until she was pressed against the fence and he filled her vision. If only she could stop thinking of how mesmerizing she found his citrine eyes.
Because of her weakness for the mobster kings, the gun stayed leveled at his heart.
Warm air swept the clouds from the sky, and faint moonlight filtered through the deep shadows to glance off the sharp angles of Sevastyan’s jawline. Blood splattered across his neck and chin and that’s when she saw the blood slowly seeping through the white of his shirt sleeve from a long gash in the fabric. Had it been her bullet?
“You can trust us. Trust me.” Sevastyan lowered a hand to her outstretched arm, his voice a deep soothing rumble, and despite not wanting to fall for the way it made her feel, she nearly did just that. Another step and she had the barrel of her gun pressed against his chest.
“Maybe you’re a fool for trusting me.” It wasn’t that she objected to the arrival of the cavalry, but trust was becoming a scarce commodity. And not that she believed Indigo, but could she afford not to question Sevastyan’s involvement in her father’s death?
To his credit, he didn’t stiffen or look scared with her gun aimed at his heart. The oversized Russian just stared back at her unafraid. He shifted forward another step and she inched backward the last few inches. Between them, tensions grew thick as smoke.
“You know who I am now. Who I really am and I now know you killed my father.” Her voice came low but strong. She made eye contact with each man. “All of you did. I can’t believe I slept with you.” Each whispered word lashed across her soul.
Her gaze darted back to Sevastyan’s. Desperate for an answer yet fearing the truth.
His expression softened from hardened warrior to dark lover, but that crisp edge of darkness about him only shifted slightly.
His cologne, mixed with gunpowder and the heat of his body, broke down her defenses. The odd combination warred with her senses. She’d grown to love his masculine scent, and now her mind tore away at the comfort it brought.
She inhaled deeply, steadied her hands, and fought to keep her resolve intact.
Matteo drew up next to her. Then Lucian and Roman. They kept their hands up in front of them but she’d be a fool to think they were anything other than dangerous.
Her hands shook around the gun. All four men surrounded her, effectively cutting off any chance at making it past them. Matteo pushed wet hair from her face and tipped her chin his way. “No, cariña. We did not.” His vocalized denial warped her thoughts and beliefs.
“You know who we are,” Sevastyan took over. He rubbed his thumb across her lower lip, wiping away drops of rainwater.
She shook his hand off. “Do I? All I know is what I hear. You’re killers. Ruthless bastards who shared me once. And then you left me with the bodyguard.” She jerked her chin toward Roman. Hurt flashed across his face.
He cornered her on the right, her back pressed up against the fence. His palm went beside her head and he acted like she didn’t have a gun pointed at his friend. He pierced her with his dark stare as he loomed his large body over her. “They left you with me. A trusted friend. I cared for you when everyone else couldn’t.”