Page 102 of Victor's Lethal Desire
Dimitri screams, his body convulsing as the bullet tears through his joint. He collapses back onto the floor, his cries filling the space.
He turns his head toward Danika, his eyes wild with desperation. He starts speaking again, his words a frantic jumble of Russian.
She laughs.
"What did he say?" I ask, looking at her.
"He'll give me anything I want if I help him. He'll forget all about this if he lives," she says, not looking at me, just keeping her eyes fixed on Dimitri.
I look back at Dimitri as he slowly bleeds out, his frantic pleas to Danika falling on deaf ears.
After a few moments, I look back at Danika, and then she looks at me, her blue eyes meeting mine.
She nods and raises her gun, aiming at Dimitri. "Together?" she asks, her voice calm.
I walk up beside her, my gun raised at that piece of shit on the ground. "Like everything from now on, Danika."
We both fire.
The synchronized shots tear into Dimitri, his body jerking violently before going still. Blood pools beneath him, spreading across the floor in a dark red puddle.
I take another step and empty the rest of my magazine into his body, each shot a release of the pent-up rage I've carried for weeks.
For Elena.
For Adrian.
For my family.
When the slide locks back, the empty clicking noise is the only thing I can hear.
I stand over Dimitri's ruined body, my chest heaving, my arm throbbing. The rage is gone now, replaced by a hollow sense of relief.
It's over.
I lower my gun and look over at Danika.
"Let's get the hell out of here. You ready?" I ask.
She lowers her weapon and smiles, a beautiful, relaxed expression amid the blood and destruction.
"With you, I always am," she says.
30
DANIKA
Ican't believe Dimitri Volkov is dead.
We just killed him.
I just killed him.
The thought cycles through my mind on repeat, a loop I can't seem to break. My finger pulled the trigger. My bullet tore into him. I watched the light drain from his eyes, watched his body jerk and collapse in that final, terrible dance of death.
I've killed before. Dozens of times. But this, this is different.
This was family.
