Page 190 of Wicked Savage

“We have to wait until your father’s men are gone.”

He nods, arms tightening around his knees.

I stand to free Tatiana, but before I can reach her, Dinara suddenly screams.

“Gregory!”

Everything happens in a flash.

One second, I’m kneeling beside Tatiana.

The next, I’m charging toward the door.

Roman is there, gun raised.

The shot fires.

I throw myself in front of Gregory without thinking.

Pain tears through my side, burning deep, but I don’t stop. I raise my gun and fire.

Roman jerks back, collapsing onto the floor.

I fire again. And again. And again as I get closer. I want him to suffer. I want him to feel the agony she’s felt.

But the sound of her cries rips through me, stopping me cold. “Gregory! No!”

I turn.

He’s on the ground. Blood pooling.

And I know…

I was too late.

* * *

DINARA

I can’t let him go. I won’t.

Clinging desperately to my little brother’s lifeless body, I hold him as tightly as I can, as if I can somehow will him back to me. His blood seeps through my shirt, soaking into my skin, but I don’t care. My mind refuses to accept the brutal truth.

He’s gone. This is how his story ends.

How is that fair? He was only ten.

“Dinara.” Konstantin’s voice cuts through the thick silence, and that’s when I realize they’re all here: my cousins, the Quinns.

The gunfire has stopped. The battle is over. While all I can hear is the pounding in my head, my own ragged sobs, and Tatiana’s broken cries beside me.

“We have to get you and Tatiana out of here,” he says gently.

“No.” I shake my head, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks. “I can’t leave him. I can’t leave him here.”

Cillian stands beside Konstantin, grief etched into his face. He reaches for me, a comforting palm on my shoulder, but it does nothing to soothe this agony.

“He won’t be left behind,” Konstantin promises. “We’ll take him with us. We’ll give him a proper burial.”

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