Page 176 of Ruined Vows
Joanne finds me in the chaos. Her face is pale and shaking. She has scapes and is winded.
I grip her shoulders tightly and make her look me in the eye.
“Are you okay?”
Her breath catches. She nods. “I’m fine. Winded, but fine. You?”
“I’m fine. A bit sore,” I say, I scan the horizon. Dragan stumbles toward me. He received more of the blowback. I touch his face. His pupils look okay, but he has a gash on his arm. Sirens wail in the distance.
“I texted Vukan. I’m taking you home, he’ll meet us there,” Dragan states.
He hails a cab, and we hit the gates of the Petrovic estate. The guards don’t even ask questions. Before they even look at me, I know they’re ready to kill.
Inside, I storm into the war room, where Luka’s alreadypulling satellite footage and Dragan’s halfway through a weapons check.
“Where is he?” I demand.
Luka blinks. “We’re narrowing down locations?—”
“Not fast enough.”
I grab the edge of the table. I’m all nerves and venom. There’s no softness, there’s no forgiveness. I’m pissed. “He tried to blow me up outside a fuckingchildren’s shelter.With civilians. With Joanne. Withour child.” I growl.
The room goes still. Luka’s mouth parts slightly. Dragan’s head lifts.
But still, I don’t flinch. Yeah. They heard me.
“You’re pregnant,” Luka says softly.
“I want Milan dead. So, unless you want to deliver me his severed hand for dinner, I suggest you get Vukan on the goddamn phone and tell him I want Milan dead by noon.”
“Bianca—” Luka starts, but I don’t let him finish the thought.
“No,” I snap. “Don’t coddle me. Don’t placate me. I’m not asking for vengeance. I’m demanding it.”
I turn to Dragan. “Get me a clean list of Milan’s assets. I want to bleed him dry before we bury him. And don’t bother telling Vukan to keep me out of it. He lost that right the second Milan targeted me instead of him—with a bomb!”
Dragan nods once. “I’m on it.”
The silence afterward is thick and heavy. Rage simmers under my skin. There’s nothing like a new brush with death to bring me to my senses. I’m fixated on the mission. I’m focused.
Milan fucked with the wrong woman.
Without realizing I’ve done it, I rest a hand low on my stomach.
Milan tried to end me, so now I will endhim.
And I won’t stop until Milan falls.
I want him to hurt, to bleed, and to know that I signed his death warrant.
But mostly, I want him to know he lost.
57
BIANCA
NO MORE RUNNING
