Page 240 of Sexting His Assistant

She screams.

Everything becomes simple.

I draw my gun and fire once.

The shot cracks through the room.

The prisoner drops before he reaches the first step.

His body hits the floor hard, face turned toward the stairs, one hand still reaching.

Nina stops screaming.

Pavel straightens slowly, one hand against his side.

Two guards come rushing in through the lower door, weapons drawn, but there’s nothing left for them to do. The prisoner is dead on the floor. The blood spreads quickly beneath him, dark against the concrete.

I look at Nina.

She’s staring at the body. Then at the gun in my hand. Then at me.

Her face changes in a way I will not forget.

Shock first. Then horror. Then something worse. Not fear exactly.

Disgust.

I lower the gun. “He was coming toward you.” My voice sounds normal. Too normal.

Nina does not answer.

She looks at me as if I’m someone, she has always known was dangerous but has only now truly understood.

I want to explain. I want to tell her there was no time, that he had already hurt her once, that he was moving toward the stairs, that I would make the same choice again if the alternative was letting him reach her.

“Don’t be shocked,” I murmur. “You’ve seen me kill before.”

Her eyes flash. I know she remembers the garage, and I hate myself more for reminding her of it. But she needs to remember, she needs to know who Luka Kazan is.

I put the gun back into its holster. “Take her upstairs.”

Nina flinches at the command.

I hate myself for it immediately.

“No,” she says. Her voice is thin but clear.

“Nina,” I warn.

“No,” she says again. “Don’t order me around after that.”

Pavel looks between us and says nothing.

The guards stay still.

I cannot do this in front of them. I cannot look at her and see that expression on her face while the dead man lies between us and Misha’s name is still fresh in the air.

So I do the worst thing.