Page 99 of Vows of Blood

“I’ve got him,” Enzo confirms, gun pointed at Mikhail’s head, and only then do I allow myself to drop my guard and spin to face her.

Sienna's sobbing, clutching at my jacket and trying to speak, but no words come out as her knees give way. I lead her to a chair and drop her into it, falling to my knees before her, running my hands over her, checking for wounds, but relieved and surprised to find nothing life-threatening.

“Want me to bring him outside?” And end him, is the rest of the sentence Enzo doesn’t want to speak out loud in front of my traumatized soon-to-be wife.

Ignoring him, I focus on Sienna, stroking her hair and making sure she’s not going into shock.

"You're okay." I press my lips to her cheeks, her nose, hugging her close. "You're okay. I've got you."

"He was going to..." She can't finish, big hiccups racking her tiny body as panic threatens to overwhelm her.

"I know." Lifting her chin so she looks at me, I inhale deeply, encouraging her to do the same. We breathe together, pushing through the panic, until she can catch her breath, and her eyes have lost some of their wildness.

Standing, I put my body between her and Mikhail. "Stay there."

Sienna nods, dropping her gaze to stare at her hands.

I turn and move to Enzo’s side. “Help Tony.”

Enzo does a double-take. He doesn’t want to leave us alone with Mikhail, not even if he’s only fifty feet away, for fear the notorious assassin will launch another attack.

“I haven’t frisked him…”

“I have. Go. Take Tony to the hospital with Nico. This is beyond Doc.” I turn to the man who tried to take my wife from me, to ruin my world, to steal the only thing worth living for. “Mikhail and I need to have a little chat.”

Mikhail is on the ground, back against the wall, blood seeping between his fingers where he clutches his leg. He looks up at me with nothing but vast, hollow grief behind his eyes.

"Just do it," he says. "Put me out of my misery. I have no desire to hear your excuses."

I raise the gun. My hand is steady. I've killed before, men better than Mikhail. Every instinct screams at me to pull the trigger, to watch the life drain from him, and to make him pay for every second of terror he’s put Sienna through.

But I don’t.

“Fuck,” I curse loudly. "FUCK. I should," I say, and I mean it. "And maybe I still fucking will. But first, I need to show you this." I growl then raise the gun once more. “The others. Where are they?”

Mikhail's brow furrows, confusion breaking through the emptiness as he stares down the barrel of my gun once more. "What?"

“Just answer the fucking question. Because if you’ve hurt Carmella…”

Mikhail shakes his head and raises his chin, keeping his two hands wrapped around his thigh. “Drugged. In the pantry.”

Good. And yet… I was hoping he’d give me a reason to finish him off.

"Get the fuck up." I keep the gun trained on him but step back, giving him room, while keeping my body between him and my wife. “If you even look at her, breathe in her fucking direction, I won’t blink, won’t hesitate for even a second. Do you understand?”

Mikhail shrugs. He understands, he just doesn't care, which makes him even more dangerous for now.

"Nico. Enzo. Get Tony out of here. He needs a hospital."

“Are you sure…?” Enzo is still reluctant to leave, but I wave him off. Reluctantly, they leave us, and a minute later, we hear heavy footsteps and grunts as they carry him out.

A car starts and tires squeal on pavement as they race to get Tony to someone who can help. And then it's just me, Sienna, and the man who tried to kill her.

"Get up," I repeat.

Mikhail stares at me for a long moment, not understanding why his brain isn’t already splattered all over my walls. Then slowly, painfully, he pushes himself to his feet, leaning against the wall for balance.

Blood runs freely down his leg, dripping onto the marble, but he doesn't seem to notice. “What are you going to do with me? No torture is worse than what I’ve already endured. I welcome the pain.”