What the fuck is he waiting for?
I get up and walk over to Lorenzo, Ivan’s gun on me the whole time. I check him out, and he seems okay. He’s out of it, but he should come to soon. If we make it out of here alive, he’s going to need to see a dentist.
“Settimo,” Alex says. I look her way and fresh pain twists my gut when I see the tears in her eyes and the fear in her expression.
“You’re gonna be okay.” I try to smile, but my face is bloodied enough, I’m sure it’s useless.
“Settimo!” Nikita yells. “Back over here.”
I ignore him and stay with Alex until Ivan comes up and puts the gun to her head. My lip curls and I glare at him, but I get up and walk a few feet back toward the stage.
We wait. What we wait for, I have no idea, but a while goes by and Lorenzo wakes back up. I can tell he’s in pain, but it looks exaggerated. He can take a hit.
The door to the church opens and in walks what we were waiting for. Or I should say,who.
Nikita stands, and Sophie ambles up the aisle, her eyes scanning the space in fear.
She spots me when she gets closer and freezes. “Nikita,” she says, shaking her head. She runs up to me and falls to her knees. “What are you doing?!” she shrieks, her gaze snapping to Nikita.
“Here he is,” Nikita says, stepping our way. He gestures toward me. “Now you can get your revenge.”
“Revenge?” Sophie shakes her head and covers her mouth. She stands and backs up slowly like I might strike her. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” Nikita bites. He points to me. “He ruined your life.”
“Jesus, Nikita.” She runs her hands through her blonde hair. It’s as silky as it was twenty years ago. Her face has laugh lines and sun blotches, and it does the strangest things to me. I stare at them, picturing her laughing, picturing her basking in the sun, and it brings me comfort. I don’t care what happens to me. I’ll give her my life if it means she can take back hers.
“We werekids,” she says, tears streaking her cheeks. “We fucked up. It was anaccident.”
Nikita scoffs. “An accidental abortion?”
She looks at me, and her lips pull into a frown like she’s back there, experiencing it all over again. “We made the wrong choice.”
“Hemade the wrong choice. He forced you to do it.”
She whips her head to him. “He was a fucking kid! Just like me! Why are you doing this?” She closes her eyes, and more tears leak onto her face. “Why can’t you let this go?”
Nikita steps up to Sophie and grabs her shoulders. He forces her forward, and her eyes open. They walk until they’re right in front of me, and then he points to Alex. “That’s hisfiancée, Soph. She’s Russian. He asked aRussiangirl to marry him and told you it wasn’t possible. Does that seemfairto you?”
“He’s a grown man now. He was a—”
“He knew what he was doing!”
Sophie flinches and cries, and it’s enough for Nikita to let go of her. He takes a step back and tugs at his hair, his muscles tense. This isn’t going the way he planned.
“What do you think she has that you don’t, Soph?” he asks, his voice softer this time. “Do you think she’s prettier than you? You were carrying hisbaby. What makes her so...”
Nikita’s mouth stays open when his own thoughts cut him off. His eyes widen and he looks between Alex and me. “She’s fucking pregnant, isn’t she?”
I don’t respond, and Nikita stomps toward me. “Did you get another girl pregnant, you son of a bitch?!”
Nikita punches me in the face, and I feel a tooth loosen. I don’t even fight it. Part of me wants this. To finally pay for my mistakes.
“Stop!” Sophie grabs Nikita’s shoulders, and he rears back, knocking her to the ground.
His spine stiffens when he realizes what he’s done, and he spins and falls to his knees in front of her, his hand reaching out. “Soph…”
She responds with nothing but cries. This would be the perfect time to take them out. I’m here. The gun is so lazily held in Nikita’s hand. Ivan has four people to worry about.