*Tallon*
Gunfire echoed through the room.
Ti felt as though it had stopped moving the second I’d lunged for Ivan. I knew a part of snapped when he went for his gun and pulled it on Natalia. Sothing may have broken inside of . Maybe it was my sense of control. Perhaps my ability to differentiate between right and wrong... or rather, what I wanted to do as opposed to what I needed to do.
I needed to gain control of the gun that had scrambled out of Ivan’s hands. But what I wanted was to smash his skull in with my hands.
I wanted to make him pay for all the awful things he put Natalia through. The thought of him pulling the trigger on her made my blood sizzle and my rage soar to unimaginable heights.
It was as if I was the one experiencing her life flash before her eyes. All those few shared monts we spent together—it wasn’t enough.
It would never be enough.
I realized a long ti ago that I wanted to be with her. But I wasn’t prepared for what it would be like if I lost her. When it was just the two of us, nothing else mattered. The horrors that I’d face sotis on a weekly basis were nothing compared to the sweet, happy nights we’d spend together.
I was not about to give that up.
My initial thought of wanting to find another way to deal with the Russians, aside from the ongoing violence and murder our families have known for decades, was fading quickly in my mind. The thought of coming to so sort of peaceful agreent did not seem possible.
This is all they knew—anger, violence, and murder.
I was perfectly aware that I had no right to pass judgnt when my own family used those sa tactics for God knows how long. But my family would never cross the line to openly kill a relative.
Ivan was ready to take Natalia out as if she was nothing. He didn’t care about her wellbeing. He didn’t care whether she lived or died.
It was utterly disgusting. The madman inside of was enraged over this fact.
I kept myself as low to the ground as possible while I was still trying to gain control of the gun that flew out of Ivan’s hands. Dozens of bullets continued to fly through the air above us, amazingly none of them hitting or Ivan in the midst of our struggle.
My n knew to rush in after the sound of the first gunshot.
And that was exactly what they did. The place was swarming with n from both sides of this never-ending battle. The sound of guns firing off consud the air around us like a symphony of total catastrophe.
They ca from all different directions, surprising each one of Ivan’s n due to their out-of-character disguises. A spark of smugness erupted inside of . I relished in knowing that we’d outsmarted Ivan and his band of morons.
The fighting continued with full fervor. When soone ran out of bullets, they would resort to using either a knife or their fists. But as long as Ivan and I continued to fight over the gun that scattered between us, the war went on with no end in sight.
Soon enough, n were falling. There were casualties on both sides, but it was clear which side was gaining the upper hand. Ivan’s n were crumbling to the ground left and right as more shots went off.
Ivan’s face contorted with seething anger as I managed to show my elbow into his side. I knocked the air from his lungs and wheezed. He cursed his breath and proceeded to strike my jaw with a curl of his fist.
It was a nasty, almost childish, fight between the two of us–two grown n grappling over a fucking gun.
“You’d kill your own niece? What kind of fucked up psychopath are you? ” I hissed bitterly.
Ivan had the actual audacity to let a manic laugh slip past his lips.
“That useless bitch is no niece of mine,” he gritted between his teeth. “She had one damn job. And she went ahead and screwed that up by falling for a fucking Italian–a Valentino, no less!”
His spiteful words only enhanced my burning desire to see him dead. There was truly no telling what I’d do once I got my hands on that fucking gun.
“I would have had better luck training and putting my trust in a fucking dog rather than that stupid, little bit—”
The sharp tips of my knuckles smashed into Ivan’s face. I was fairly certain that I had knocked a few of the bastard’s teeth loose when my fists t his mouth. Blood filled the spaces between his teeth, making him look even more unsightly than before.
I didn’t care.
I wanted to make him choke on those words. My stomach clenched with every insult he’d thrown in Natalia’s direction.
“If she was so useless, then why even drag her into this shit in the first place?” I snarled. “Why expose her to this terrible business?!”
Ivan could barely speak between the blood that was pooling in his mouth and the excessive fight over the weapon. But I wasn’t looking for an actual answer.
I just wanted sothing to take my anger out on at this point. There was a mont where I nearly disregarded the gun completely just so I could go for Ivan’s throat. Thankfully, I wasn’t that far gone to make such a mistake. The thought was very tempting.
My mind was still focused on Natalia’s involvent with her family’s idiotic revenge plans. I know she told about her wanting to help her and her mother, but her relatives were just as guilty. They’d roped her into a job that left her drowning in guilt and resentnt. And when she wanted out, they threatened her.
It felt like they intentionally destroyed the innocence that surrounded her and left her shattered by the consequences. And there was a very good chance that Natalia would never be the sa once all of this insanity was over. She was just as much a victim as those who’d been attacked by Ivan and his minions.
My vision was on the edge of blacking out again. But instead of letting my rage get the better of , I used it to my advantage.
With Ivan practically on top of , I bent my arm out in front of and snapped it back with all the force I could muster. I heard a blood-curdling crunch and a sharp hiss of pain from above . Ivan hastily abandoned his attempt to get his hands on the gun and rolled off my side. He covered his face with his hands as more blood ca gushing out.
At that sa mont, I reached for Ivan’s gun and grasped it tightly in my hands. I aid it straight at his head.
“It’s over,” I snarled. “Call your n off.”
Ivan snorted in response as if he still held the power in the situation. I watched the arrogance fade from his eyes when I cocked the top of the gun back and pressed it further into his face.
“Tell them you’re surrendering.”
Ivan’s bloody mouth turned back into a sneer, yet he turned his head to speak to what few n of his were still left standing. They all lowered their weapons and tossed them aside for my n to gather.
I felt my sanity start to co back to as I heard my brother and Vinny slowly approach .
“Tallon.”
“Boss.”
I didn’t think either of them had ever seen in such a manic state. I tried taking several deep breaths in order to regain my composure. But a part of was having a difficult ti believing that it was truly over.
I sucked in another breath and made it back onto my feet. I still kept the gun aid at Ivan, not trusting the bastard a single mont not to pull sothing.
My head tilted toward Vinny and Alessandro. “Give numbers.”
“Only a couple of casualties, none dead though,” Vinny told .
“What about his numbers?” I asked, gesturing to Ivan, who kept his hands over his broken nose.
Alessandro ca up to my side and offered an accomplished smile.
“The Zaytevs are down fifteen.”
A malicious, prideful smirk curved my mouth. I was feeling arrogant and sly as hell. To think I was the one who’d left his weapon at ho and walked into that place completely unard. I was almost certain that today would have been my last.
“You lying, cheating bastards!” Ivan growled through the cracks of his hands. “Here I thought you were going to do the honorable thing and show up alone.”
Both Vinny and my brother scoffed.
“And just what the fuck would a rat like you know about ‘honor’?” I questioned sharply. “You were so ready to kill Natalia—your own niece! And you dare to talk about honor.”
I could sense Vinny and Alessandro tense at my side. They shared a look of disbelief on their faces, and they nearly pulled their guns out again.
“You’re lying?” my brother muttered under his breath. “There’s no way he’d actually kill her.”
“Natalia broke free from her restraints and fought back,” I explained with a chard smile. “Ivan here quickly overpowered her and went for his gun. He had every intention of ending her right then and there.”
Vinny’s lips twisted into a disgusted sneer.
“Your own niece?”
“Jesus Christ,” Alessandro sighed.
I didn’t want to let go of the high that was coursing through my body. It was like a huge weight finally lifted off my shoulders and I could breathe easy again.
“Vinny, round up whoever’s not dead and move them to one of the warehouses,” I said. “I’ll check in later.”
Vinny went off without another word while my brother turned to .
“Tallon, where’s Natalia now?”
My brows lifted and my shoulders dropped. I finally lowered the gun in my hands and quickly glanced around the room.
Nothing.
“Check down a few of those side halls. I’ll take these,” I told them.
He nodded his head and made his way toward the left side of the building while my eyes continued to scan the other half of the room.
Maybe she’d made it out while all the shooting was happening. It must have been terrifying to watch the whole erupt in a shootout. I wouldn’t have been surprised to find her huddled sowhere with her head tucked between her knees.
Instead, all my eyes took in was a decent number of dead bodies and nurous patches of blood. But what really caught my eye was one spot that led off into a long, dark red trail that led out of the main room and down a smaller hallway.
I followed it.
I expected to see one of Ivan’s n, trying to escape, but instead, I saw Natalia.
She looked one second away from slumping over where she stood. Her body sagged against the wall while her knees were shaking from trying to keep her up.
“Natalia....”
I could barely recognize my own voice as my mind struggled to process what was happening in front of .
She stopped moving and turned to face . Her face was ghostly pale. My terror-filled eyes dropped from her complexion down to her trembling hands that were covered in blood.
Her mouth curved into a gentle smile that was ant to ease my nerves, but it did no such thing.
“T-Tallon.”
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