Page 167 of The Last Hope

“I’m so proud of you, Selina,” Antonio purred, stroking my hair. “Now it’s my turn to clean up the Ivanov filth once and for all,” he said, turning back toward my sons and raising his gun at Alexei.

“No !” I cried out in my broken voice. Another gunshot rang out—different from the others, so loud that I gasped. Blood sprayed across my face, making me flinch, and a scream echoed through the warehouses—the scream of Antonio, now on his knees, a hole in his hand where his gun had been.

“Fuck !” he howled. His men scattered, searching for the threat. Then, three cars roared into view.

A sob of relief escaped me as Roman and Sasha leapt out before the tires stopped screeching, weapons in hand, sprinting toward my husband’s fallen body. He was alive—I knew it. I felt it.

I dashed to my sons, pushing them to the ground and covering them with my body. “It’s going to be okay. Your father and uncles are here. They’ll get us out,” I murmured, squeezing my eyes shut. Nikolai is alive. He is.

Bullets flew overhead, and each time one of Antonio’s men neared, he dropped with a hole in his skull.

“It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay,” I kept whispering as my heart thundered in my chest.

I screamed when someone grabbed me by the waist, struggling to break free—until I heard the voice.

“Selina,” he whispered against my ear, and I froze as his scent enveloped me. I looked up, unable to believe my eyes. “Nikolai.”

“I’m here,Solnychko. I’m here now,” he said, wiping the blood from my lips before turning to Mikhail.

“It’s going to be okay, son. You protected them well. I’m proud of you,” he said, stroking his hair. My heart clenched as I saw my son’s long-held tears finally fall as he nodded weakly.

“I don’t understand,” I murmured, confused, my hands patting Nikolai’s chest, searching for the wound. But there was none. He unzipped his jacket, and I gasped when I saw a black vest beneath.

“What…?”

“A bulletproof vest. We have Elif to thank for that,” he said with a faint smile, and I exhaled shakily. Even from afar, she had protected us. I would never be able to thank her enough.

“Mikhail !” Roman called as he reached us, still firing. He dropped beside us and examined my son’s wound as Alexei lifted his shirt.

“Nothing vital was hit,” he said.

“Yeah, thanks to Mom. She pushed me at the last second,” Mikhail explained.

My husband’s arm tightened around me. “Sasha, extraction,” Roman ordered, pressing his earpiece while rising to fire again.

A vehicle sped toward us, skidding to a stop. Sasha jumped out, hurled something toward one of the warehouses, and a few seconds later, an explosion shook the ground.

“Are you all okay ?” he asked, lifting Andrei to inspect his wound. “I protected Mom !” Andrei declared, clinging to his uncle.

“I’m proud of you,” Sasha said, rubbing Rafael’s back as the boy clung to his leg.

“Come on, let’s get you all out of here,” Roman added, opening the back door of the car.

“Watch out, Roman !” Nikolai warned as a man approached, but he was quickly shot down. “When did you find such a good sniper?” my husband asked, scanning the heights.

“We didn’t find anyone,” Roman muttered, reloading as bullets ricocheted off the car.

“Ferna,” I murmured, searching the darkness for her.

“Ferna ?” my husband repeated.

“Blayt’, they shot out the tires,” Sasha reported, straightening from beneath the vehicle.

“Shit,” Roman growled, assessing our surroundings. “There ! That warehouse is isolated enough,” he pointed to the smallest one, slightly apart from the others.

“David ! Cover fire!” he shouted, while Sasha ran toward the warehouse, carrying Andrei and Rafael in his arms.

“I’ll take Mikhail,” Roman said, and before I could protest, Nikolai pulled me up, Alexei slung over his shoulder.

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