Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“National outcry,” said Calahan. “They’ll bring in a hundred agents, a thousand. They won’t stop until they’ve dismantled every last piece of your empire. Every business you own, every street you control.”
“They’ll do in two weeks,” I said, my voice quavering, “what Ralavich couldn’t do himself in two years. They’ll wipe out the Gulyev name forever.”
“And then Ralavich will come in and fill the vacuum,” said Konstantin. “That’s why he has so many men in New York. This is what he was waiting for. And the fires... the fires were to make people afraid, so they wouldn’t dare protest when he takes over.”
He released his hold on Christina. And that was his mistake. She ducked low, sprinted forward, and slammed into Calahan, sending him staggering backwards. He growled and regained his balance, started to grab for her—
And froze. We all froze.
Christina was holding Calahan’s gun. She must have pulled it from his holster when she crashed into him. Now she had it pointed at Konstantin. She backed up a little towards the doors that led to the balcony, so that she could cover all of us.
“I’m sorry,” she told him, her voice sugary-sweet. “But Ralavich will be here any minute: that’s why I was running. He’s mad at me because the plan went wrong. You were never meant to get arrested until after the assassination. If you actually stop it happening, it’ll be even worse for me.” She shook her head grimly. “I’ll be in one of his fucking rape clubs by tonight.”
“Cut a deal with us!” said Calahan quickly. “We can protect you!”
“No one can protect me from a man like him,” Christina told him. “But if I kill you three, everything works out just fine. We can make it look like Konstantin paid you to help him escape, and then you killed each other in a fight over money. The assassination goes ahead, Konstantin still gets the blame for organizing it, the FBI still take apart his organization and Ralavich takes over. I’ll be back in his good books. He might even reward me.” She pointed the gun right at Konstantin’s face.
My insides went ice cold. No! God, no, not Konstantin! I started forward, but the gun twitched towards me and I froze.
Konstantin looked at me and shook his head, determined to protect me.
“Pity poor Konstantin,” said Christina. “Gets fooled by one fake, then falls for another.”
Konstantin glowered at her. “This time,” he said, “it isn’t fake.”
I drew in my breath. Christina’s lips tightened in jealousy.
“And you,” Konstantin told her, “are not my perfect woman.”
And then he looked at me. And there wasn’t a shred of the cold gray left in his eyes, just blue that shone with warmth and love. I felt myself lift... and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Calahan react, too. Just a tiny, heartbreaking, lowering of his eyes. Acceptance.
Christina gave a roar of fury. Her finger tightened on the trigger and—
Suddenly, I was charging at her, my guttural yell filling the room. I wasn’t brave and I didn’t know how to fight. I had no plan. I just knew I wasn’t letting her take him.
Christina swung the gun towards me and I heard it go off. There was a hiss of air next to my cheek. And then I was slamming into her, my momentum taking us across the room. I was trying to push the gun up, away from my face. It went off again, deafening me, and we staggered on. She was in front of me so I couldn’t see where we were going. There was a jolt as Christina’s back hit something and I heard a set of doors swing open. Cold air engulfed me: we were outside—
“Hailey!” screamed Konstantin.
Christina hit the balcony handrail and we tipped—
And then we were falling through the air together, five stories up.
63
Konstantin
SHE DISAPPEARED over the edge, dropped out of view….
And then she was just... gone. Icy fingers crushed my hammering heart to a dead stop. No…. No, God, not again. It was sheer panic and loss on a level I hadn’t felt since that day in the river.
Then I saw Calahan rush past me and I got myself moving. We reached the balcony at the same time, looked down….
And saw the twin splash as they hit the pool.
I turned and ran, sick with worry. What if hitting the water from that height had knocked her out and she was sinking to the bottom right now, water filling her lungs?
I pounded down the stairs, jumping the last few of each flight, pinballing off each corner, picking up bruises. But five flights still felt like it took an eternity. I found the hallway that led to the front of the building and sprinted down it. Crashed through a fire exit and—
She was kneeling by the side of the pool, panting. Her hair hung down in wet ropes. Her mascara had run in long streaks and that ugly FBI suit hung shiny and heavy from her body, streaming water. She’d never looked more beautiful. I picked her up and crushed her against me, the chill water soaking my shirt and then the warmth of her body against mine. “I thought I—” The emotion choked off my words. “I thought I—”