THE GATEKEEPER

Chapter 41



I consider fighting. But I know too well how swiftly my life would end if that trigger went off.

"She's working with him," Nikolai growls.

"No." I seek Maykl's gaze. "I'm not, I swear. I'm sorry I didn't kill him. I should have."

"Ah, I see how it is now." Stepanov sounds delighted. "This is the man you seduced? Maykl ____?" He's dragging me backward as he speaks. "I did a little research on your lover, Kira. I found something out that might interest you."

I see the look of dismay in Maykl's eyes. "No. Let her go!" He shouts in Russian. "I'm putting my gun down, you see?" He slowly lowers his hands and stoops to put his gun on the concrete floor. "Put it down!" he yells at Nikolai, who slowly does the same.

"He doesn't want me to tell you. Do you see?" Stepanov is gloating now.

My skin crawls with gooseflesh. I don't understand what it is Stepanov could possibly tell me.

"Do you want to know who killed your father, Kira? I mean which man actually pulled the trigger?"

No.

My blood freezes to ice in my veins.

No no no no no.

"What?"

There's a wild rushing in my ears. My temples throb like icepicks have been stabbed in both sides. I can barely see.

Stepanov keeps walking us both backward.

"It's...it's not true, is it?" I seek Maykl's gaze, but all I see swirling there is guilt. Regret. "Maykl?"

"Kira, I'm sorry."

"Did you know?" I practically wail the words. Stepanov has now pulled me back to the mouth of the parking garage, to street level. "This whole time? You knew you killed my father?"

"I'm sorry. Kira-he sold your sister. He tried to sell you, too, in that moment when he was begging for his life."

Stepanov takes his gun from my head and fires at Maykl, striking him in the middle of the chest.

Maykl's thrown backward, onto his back.

Knowing he's wearing Kevlar and probably survived the shot, I slam my elbow into Stepanov's ribs, grab his wrist and swing the gun up in the air before he can fire on Nikolai.

Nikolai picks up his gun from the floor and aims it at Stepanov, but at that moment, a car screeches up to the curb and a door is thrown open. Stepanov throws himself into it, and it screeches off as he slams the door. Nikolai lifts his gun in frustration then turns to offer a hand to help a winded Maykl to his feet.

I can't move for a moment, my feet sealed to the concrete. I'm still trying to assimilate it all.

Maykl killed my father.

And he knew it this whole time.

I clutch my stomach, suddenly wanting to puke.

"Kira," Maykl croaks.

I shake my head. "Don't," I warn, but he goes on.

"I wanted to tell you. I did. I tried, do you remember?"

But I don't want to hear it. I can't. Maykl's moving toward me, but I can barely see him, my eyes are too blurred with tears.

I can't take any of this. I should have known happiness was not in the cards for me. It figures fate would deliver me to the door of my father's killer. God-if I believed there was one-must be having a great big laugh at my expense. "Don't!" I cry, holding my palm out, as if to ward him away. "Stay back."

He stops. Spreads his hands. "Kira, please."

Tears streak down my cheeks. "No, Maykl. Just...no. I can't. I...have to go."

I turn and run out onto the street. I don't even know where I'm going or what I'll do. I don't have any of my things with me. No money or passport. All I can think is that I need to get away from Maykl.

"Kira-wait! Kira!" Maykl calls after me, but I'm running fast and hard, slipping on the icy sidewalks and then catching my stride again, doing everything I can to just get away. Maykl

Nikolai grabs my arm. "Let her go."

I shake him off, even though moving pains my bruised ribs. "Kira!" I run out to the street in time to see Kira racing away toward the lake.

I start after her, but Nikolai calls after me. "Respect her wishes. Give her space."

That stops me. I don't want to disrespect Kira. I've already done plenty of that, starting with not telling her I killed her father.

Blyad'.

It guts me to stand and watch her go, though. Absolutely ruins me.

"Come. We need to check the bombs," Nikolai reminds me.

Double-fuck.

He's right. They were planting bombs to bring our entire building down.

I shudder to think what would've happened if we hadn't known they were coming.

But no, we still would have caught them. They were clumsy and disorganized and had far too few men to actually take us down.

Dima is already examining one of the bombs. "It wasn't armed yet," he reports.

Nikolai goes to the other one, and I carefully pick up the third to bring to Dima for inspection, since explosives aren't my area of expertise.

I hear the chatter on the comms. It sounds like the team who entered upstairs was quickly eliminated, as was the team who attempted to breach our air intake to pump in poisoned gas. Kuznets isn't among any of the men killed. Nikolai reports that three men got away, including Stepanov. He leaves out Kira also walking out.

I don't know if she was still considered our prisoner, but it doesn't matter. She proved her loyalty as far as I'm concerned. She disarmed Stepanov before he shot at Nikolai. And if Ravil wants to slit my throat for letting her walk, I'll offer it to him.

At this point, I'd almost prefer that fate to the terrible ripping sensation in my chest. The feeling of having my heart rent from my chest and dragged flopping behind me on a chain. And it isn't from the bullet bruising my ribs.


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