“This is not the time to be stubborn.”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me why you’re helping me.”
“Because.” She raises her eyebrows. Not good enough. “Because when this is all over, and I never see you again, I don’t want to worry about if you’re dead in a ditch somewhere.” She scowls and presses her fingertips over her mouth, looking down.
“What?”
“This is what we’re going to do?”
“What? Kira, we have to go.”
“You’re lying to me, but I think you’re lying to yourself too. I think I’ve done that so much that I know what it looks like.” She takes a step closer to me. “Sounds like.” Her eyes toggle between mine, and I tense my brows and shake my head with a parted mouth because this isn’t the time or place to have such a revelation.
“If you never want to see me again, I can respect that. Thank you for helping me.” She takes a step back, and that electric pull between us doesn’t give up. I want to tell her that I don’t think that’s what I want, that in a million lifetimes, I could never find someone like her, and I wouldn’t dare try. But instead I take her hand and pull her out the door.
We run to the exit sign plastered on the cement wall and step right out into the cold, misty afternoon air. We don’t stop running until we hear gunshots. Kira shrieks, and I nearly lose my mind as I look down to see blood.
“Where?” I look around wildly, trying to find where the bullet has hit, and then after another round of shots, I drag us behind a car. Bullets ping off it, and by their heat, I know they’re getting closer. I reach down to the hem of my jacket and tear off a long piece of it with my bare hands. It’s instinctual, purely adrenaline.
“I’m fine.” Kira pushes my hands away as I'm trying to find the wound that's clearly on her leg.
“You’re fucking bleeding. Would you stop being so stubborn for once in your lif—” Someone jumps beside us and me, and I nearly whip out my knife before I see that it’s Koa.
“I brought back up.” He grunts, and then he sees his sister’s injury. Before I can say anything, he rips the fabric out of my hands and finds the wound on her calf. After he ties it off, she nods.
“I’m good. I can stand. Give me a gun.” He studies her for a second, looks at her open hand, splashed with blood, and I think he’s feeling what I am. It’s all too real, and these guys are aiming to kill. It’s them or us, and I will be damned if I let it be Kira. Koa makes eye contact with me, acknowledging the role we now play.
“Let’s get these motherfuckers.” He hands Kira a gun, and as we stand, I see the Mikhailov brothers in the distance. Nikolai must still be in the show. It’s a pity. I would have loved to be the one to blow his head off for even thinking about fucking with Kira.
Guess I’ll just have to make his vermin spawn pay instead.
27
KIRA
Getting shot is not new to me, but being pursued by my own ‘family’ has a certain sting to it, almost surpassing the pain of my gunshot wound. The gun in my hands will serve its purpose, and Romeo, Koa, and I will blow these fuckers out of the water. After another bullet pings off the wall behind us, Kias growls.
“It's a little hard to see you while you’re hiding behind that car.” Kias shouts to us after missing another shot.
“I doubt that’s why you keep missing— bad-aim-bitch.” Romeo taunts.
“Shut the fuck up, Romeo.” Kias’ younger brother Sky calls, and I hear someone reloading their gun already.
“The fuck did you call me?” Kias pipes up in a delayed response that makes me roll my eyes as Koa nudges me.
“What?” I whisper.
“We stand.”
“Hell no.” Romeo butts in just after taking a shot at the group as they continue to walk toward us like they’re in slow motion.
“We have a real chance here. I can take the younger three, you,” he points to Rome. “Get Kias and his bodyguard Sky—”
“And I’ll get who?” I shake my head.
“Yeah, bad plan.” Romeo jumps up and takes another shot.
“You two realize I’ve successfully evaded the Russians and am literally living a double life, right?”