Page 33 of Savage Little Lies

“Who the fuck could be behind this?” Dmitri grits out to himself as gunfire still sounds from the front of the resort, accompanied by screams and tires squealing as people flee.

My blood turns icy as I ponder who has a motive to attack Dmitri’s convoy. The Ivanov family has a lot of enemies, but my father is one of their greatest. Knowing how cocky Sean can be, he isn’t above a public attack like this.

He knew that I was coming here with Dmitri and Annika. I reported that to him yesterday and asked if he would be here. So, if he staged an attack tonight, he knew that would’ve put me in danger too.

Would he have risked me anyway to take out his rival?

My stomach twists and turns at such a sickening thought.

“Fucking finally,” Dmitri says as one of his SUVs rushes into the lot. He throws open the door to the backseat and ushers me inside before climbing in as well. “Go!”

The driver slams his foot down on the gas pedal and peels out of the parking lot, joining the traffic on the nearby street. “We lost two men, sir. Everyone else is accounted for, including Ms. Suyunov.”

Oh, right. Annika. He just abandoned her.

That’s pretty telling about their relationship. It’s about as sturdy as a house of cards.

And I’m going to blow it all down.

Unless my father gets me killed first.

“Are you okay?” Dmitri asks as he turns to me, cupping my cheek as his concerned eyes inspect me for injuries.

My thoughts scatter for a second at the feeling of his warm hand on my face, a small comfort with all the worry swirling around in my head. “I…um…I…”

Dmitri’s frown lines deepen. “Did you hit your head when we went down?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“You saved my life, Cara,” he whispers with what sounds like awe as his deep blue eyes lock onto mine.

I saved my father’s greatest enemy.

I didn’t even hesitate.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks again.

“I’m fine,” I tell him as I fight to catch my breath, my chest feeling uncomfortably tight. “I just…I want this night to be over.”

Dmitri nods. “I’ll take you home.”

He has his driver drop me off in front of my apartment, and without much of a goodbye, they speed off to handle the situation as soon as I’m inside the building.

I wait until I’m safely inside my apartment before calling my father, my heart slamming against my ribcage a little harder with each unanswered ring. “Come on. Pick up!”

“Hello?” he answers on the fourth ring.

“Did you attack Dmitri and his men?” I question him, my voice threatening to shake. I could’ve died tonight!

A beat of silence passes before Sean answers. “No. Why? What happened?”

“I was almost killed tonight because someone started firing on us when we were leaving the gala!” I tell him.

“Well? Is Ivanov still alive?”

“Yes!” I exclaim, unable to believe that’s what he’s most worried about after finding out I could’ve died. “Do you swear that you weren’t behind it?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with any shootings. Too bad Dmitri didn’t eat it, though, yeah? That would’ve made things much simpler for us,” Sean replies with an agitated huff. “And you need to watch it with your accusations.”