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KATARINA
I’m in the middle of putting together a business plan for my own record label when Nik unexpectedly comes home. I rise from his office chair, which I’ve been using as mine. My brows furrow in confusion as I wonder why he’d leave work during the day, especially with so many things to take care of in order for us to start our life together.
He stops in the middle of the room and studies my expression. His blank, unreadable gaze gives me no hints, though it’s clear that something’s wrong.
“What’s going on?” I ask nervously.
“Something’s happened,” he starts, and then pauses, searching for words.
“For fuck’s sake, Nik. Just spit it out,” I demand.
“Your brother came to see me,” he says. “He claims the Gargarins attacked them. Your father got hurt. It’s . . . not looking good.”
“I don’t understand,” I mutter, shaking my head in disbelief. “What do you mean he was attacked? Attacked how?”
“Shot. He wants to say goodbye.”
The blood in my veins turns into ice, my body stiffening. For a moment, I forget to breathe, incapable of understanding how my situation changed so rapidly in such a short amount of time.
“I have to go.” I snap out of my haze at last, my voice cracking at the finality of my words. “I have to see him. He’s dying, Nik.”
“It’ll be dangerous to go. Are you sure you want to risk it?”
“I’m going,” I declare, and wince, regretting my harsh tone.
Nikolai doesn’t protest or react. He watches me and remains strangely quiet.
“It’s going to happen whether you approve of it or not,” I add in a gentler voice. “I don’t need your permission anymore to leave the house. You gave me your word, remember?”
“I won’t go back on it, serdtse,” he says softly. “But I will go with you.”
“What?”
“You’re not going alone,” he repeats, as if his words weren’t clear enough the first time. “I’m going to drive you to your father’s house so you can see him.”
“But what if they kill you?” I breathe, realizing that it’s now him I’m worried about.
“For you, I’ll risk it.” He shrugs and takes a deep breath, then places a possessive kiss on my lips.
“Nik, they’ll kill you,” I whisper against his lips. “I’m the only reason you’re still alive.”
I pull away and stare him in the eye.
“Let’s hope you’ll be able to stop them before they pull the trigger,” he muses, but I don’t find it funny.
“You can’t joke about that,” I warn him. “I’m not taking you with me just for them to blow you away.”
Nikolai shakes his head, dismissing my warning. “That won’t happen. They’ll understand that if any of them even point their weapon at me, they’ll be signing their own death warrant. They won’t dare harm me because they know damn well my men won’t stop until they’ve ripped them to shreds. Today’s no exception.”
Reluctantly, I go get dressed while Nikolai makes a phone call. I start putting on the heels I kicked off earlier, and within minutes, I’m ready to go.
“Everything will be alright,” he promises, and kisses me on my forehead. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Do you promise to be careful?” I question with a worried look. “I don’t want to raise this child alone.”
He doesn’t respond, probably because he knows that no promise he could make is guaranteed to be true. In our world, a violent ending is a possibility for everyone.
I’m jittery and shivering on the entire drive over, blood pounding in my ears. Nikolai is constantly glancing at the rearview mirror, checking if we’re being followed.
