“Have you been stealing from us, Boris?” a tall man asks.
“No, no, come on—I’ll give the money back. I was investing it on your behalf,” he stammers.
Van lets out a low, savage growl and takes stronger aim at Andrei. His finger squeezes against the trigger, but before he has a chance to take a shot, someone shoots him in the head.
Blood erupts like a fountain from the back of his skull, and suddenly, all the women are screaming, people are running, and everyone is threatening to shoot.
Boris grabs me closer and uses my body as a shield as he tries to shove his way through the crowd, using the panic to hide and make an escape.
“Andrei,” I scream his name and search in panic for him.
“Let her go, Boris.” His voice is commanding.
Boris spins towards Andrei and grabs me around the throat. “Let me go or she dies,” he snarls, pressing a gun into my skull.
“The problem is Boris—I believe you, and I can’t let that happen,” Andrei speaks calmly as Boris shifts and aims the gun at him instead.
The bullet explodes from Andrei’s gun and moves in slow motion towards my brother’s head.
There is a wet thud; his body jolts and his fingers spasm against my neck before he collapses to the ground.
Warm blood splatters against my cheek, and I squeeze my eyes shut in shock.
Boris’s body hits the floor next to me with a soft thud.
Andrei is right at my side.
“Tia, are you okay?” he asks. “Tia, look at me, are you ok?” His voice is wild with care and panic.
I force my eyes open and stare directly at Andrei, refusing to look down at my half-brother’s dead body. My breathing is heavy, and my chest is tight.
Andrei wipes his sleeve over my face to try and get rid of the blood, but I can smell it. Iron, metallic and raw.
He pulls me into his arms and holds me against him while I fight tears. I’m in shock. I wrap my arms tightly around him, hugging him as though I will never let go.
Andrei sways, his arms around me loosen.
I lean back and look at him. “What’s wrong?” I squeal, only now noticing the sticky feeling on my arms.
I look down and see blood coating my arms and the front of my dress.
“Andrei?” I scream his name as his legs collapse beneath him.
“Andrei, can you hear me?” I drop to the ground, kneeling next to him to push my hands over the gunshot wound in his stomach.
Men surround me, pushing me out of the way to get to him. They lift him, shoving people aside as they run, carrying him towards a car outside.
Nico grabs my hand and yells at me to stay close.
No one tries to stop us from leaving; no one cares that Boris is dead.
They lift Andrei into the car, and Nico drags me towards his car. “I want to drive with him,” I say, flooded with anxiety.
“There’s no room, Tia. I’ll take you to the hospital, we’ll follow right behind them, I promise. The men who are with himare all trained to deal with this. They are his best chance of surviving until we get to a doctor. Do you understand me?”
I nod, tears streaming down my face.
He pushes me towards his car, and I pull the door open to climb inside.
