Page 148 of Vendetta Crown

Aurora presses closer to my side, her hand protectively curved over our children growing inside her. The weight of what we stand to lose crushes against my chest.

"Call in a bomb threat," I continue. "Get everyone out. We'll handle the rest."

"Ruslan, this could be a trap. The Triads could be?—"

"Eto moi prikaz!"

The words slip out of me before I can stop myself. There's a beat of silence before Artyom sighs.

"I'll be over in twenty. I hope you're right."

I end the call and turn to Aurora, cupping her face in my hands. Her eyes—those beautiful hazel eyes that have seen too much horror—stare back at me with unwavering resolve.

"We need to leave once the announcement is made," I tell her. "If Semyon is planning an assault, we can't be caught in the open."

She nods, no argument leaving her lips.

We stand there, breaths mingling, while unseen chaos slowly takes shape all around us.

Then, like a wave breaking, every phone in the vicinity buzzes simultaneously.

I glance down at mine:

EMERGENCY ALERT: BOMB THREAT AT GRAUMAN CHINESE THEATER. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

There is a momentary lull of silence, as if everyone is sort of absorbing the news.

Then, chaos erupts.

The crowd transforms from a glamorous red carpet gathering to a panicked stampede in seconds. Women kick off high heels, men shove past one another, all semblance of Hollywood etiquette abandoned in the primal need to escape.

"Stay close to me," I order Aurora, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as we push against the tide.

People are running in every direction, screaming into phones, trampling over dropped purses and jackets. I keep Aurora shielded against me, one hand pressed protectively over her stomach where our children rest. Every protective instinct in my body is screaming.

That's when something catches my eye.

A silver sedan speeding toward the theater. It's moving too fast.

The headlights blind me momentarily, and years of instinct ignite before rational thought can catch up.

"Aurora!" I yank her behind a concrete pillar just as the sedan crashes through the barricades where we stood seconds ago.

Metal crunches and glass shatters. The car door flies open.

Semyon steps out first, followed by four of his men. Even from this distance, I can see the murderous rage distorting his features.

"Run!" I shout at Aurora. "I'll cover you!"

I draw my gun from beneath my jacket as Semyon spots us and raises his weapon.

"Go!" I shout, squeezing off two shots that force Semyon behind his wrecked vehicle.

Gunfire erupts around us, bullets pinging off concrete as I return fire, keeping myself between Aurora and the spray of bullets.

"Ruslan!" she screams.

"Go! Now!"

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