Page 76 of Sinful Union

He finally collapses, his body crumpling across broken furniture. I pull in a shaky breath, my mind reeling.Piotr is gone. My old friend. Kat’s brother.

The gunfire continues but it’s now less concentrated. A few final bursts come from the far side of the hall, and I realize those must be the last of Piotr’s men. Over the next minute or so, everything quiets. I crouch down, helping Kat with the pressure on Vlad’s wound. He’s barely conscious, blood still pulsing beneath our hands. Kat’s frantic but determined, refusing to let him slip away.

Suddenly, a hush falls over the room. My ears are still ringing from the onslaught, every nerve twitching in readiness for more shots, but the corridor remains eerily quiet. I lift my head, scanning the room. Broken furniture, bullet holes, bodies.My office has been completely destroyed.

The stench of gunpowder, blood, and death saturates the air. Men in black vests edge in, rifles lowered, carefully checking for survivors. I recognize them as my own, Nikolai’s team.

“All clear,” one calls out, stepping over a corpse near the doorway. “Boss, you in here?”

I exhale, heart pounding. “Here!” I yell back. “Get a medic—Vlad’s hit!”

Nikolai emerges from the smoky hall, eyes wide with alarm. He sees Kat and I pinned down over Vlad, my body braced protectively in front of them.

“Christ,” he mutters, gesturing two men forward. “Get him to a doctor.”

Kat refuses to budge until they physically ease her aside. She cries out, letting go of Vlad’s shoulder with trembling hands. Blood coats her palms, her shirt, her tear-streaked cheeks. I swallow a wave of nausea at the sight but manage to help her up.

Vlad moans, eyelids fluttering when the men shift him onto a makeshift plank. His wounded arm dangles limply, and my gut seizes with fear that we might be too late. He’s still breathing, but his condition is grave.

“Get him to a hospital now!” I snap at the men. “There’s no time to waste.”

They nod, carrying him gently but quickly through the wreckage. Kat hovers, wanting to follow, but I hold her in place.

“Wait,” I tell her. “Let them handle it. You’re in shock.”

She wipes at her face, blinking rapidly as she glances around the room. That’s when her gaze lands on Piotr’s body, sprawled over a half-crushed coffee table. Her breath catches.She stares, torn between horror and heartbreak.

“Piotr,” she whispers. “No…”

Guilt gnaws at me. I shot him to protect her, but seeing Kat’s grief shreds me. She steps forward, slipping out of my grasp to go to his body. I quickly intercept, blocking her line of sight.

“Don’t look,” I say quietly.

She tries to push past me, tears glistening. “He was my brother,” she chokes out. “I…just let me…”

I can’t deny her. Reluctantly, I shift aside. Her eyes fix on Piotr’s glassy stare, at the bullet hole in his forehead. She presses a hand to her mouth and sobs, a strangled sound ripping free. My heart aches for her. Piotr became a monster, but first, he was family.

Kat crouches down but she doesn’t touch him. She only stares, her body shaking in silent sobs. A moment passes. I swallow hard as I place a hand on her shoulder.“I’m sorry,” I say. The words feel woefully inadequate.

She nods, trembling. “I know he tried to kill us; I know he killed our parents…” Her voice breaks. “But he was still my brother.”

I let out a slow breath, glancing around the ruined office. The place is unrecognizable. Bullet holes are everywhere, the furniture destroyed, bodies strewn across the floor. My men carefully step around the debris, checking to see if any of the attackers are still alive.

None of them is. Piotr’s men paid the ultimate price for his ambition.

Kat’s eyes flash with terror. “Ana, Camille. We need to find them! What if he sent men looking for them?” Her expression shatters anew at the potential reality.

“Oh God, Ana!” She looks around wildly. “Where is she? And Camille?

“We’ll find them,” I reassure her.

I’m sick with worry, but I don’t let it show.I have to find my daughter.

Nothing else matters.

Chapter 35

Pavel

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