When he came at me again, he took me by surprise with a hard left hook just before he swiped with his knife. I felt a sharp burn spread across my forearm and knew he’d cut me. Reacting fast, I drove an uppercut into the fucker’s jaw, followed by two quick jabs. The force of the punches knocked him back several steps, dazing him.
Glass shattered from inside my office.
Fuck this.
Time was running out.
As Dimitri steadied himself on his feet, I flipped my dagger over to grip the tip of the blade. He gnashed his teeth like a deranged, feral creature and charged.
Taking aim, I hurled my weapon.
It hit him square in the chest. Just below the sternum.
His eyes widened in surprise as he dropped to his knees. He looked down at the hilt sticking out of his chest, his hands lifting as if to pull it out.
Then he collapsed facedown…and didn’t get back up.
Refusing to waste any more time on him, I whipped back around to Lexi. “Can you make it down the stairs?”
She stared at Dimitri’s body, brow furrowed in pain. “I think so.”
Christ, her voice was too weak. When she broke into another vicious series of coughs, it scared the fuck out of me. Her chest shook with every lungful she grasped onto, but it wouldn’t be enough until I got her outside.
She’s not suffocating in here.
The force that suddenly hit me from behind and tackled me to the ground came straight from the flames. Straight from hell.
“You fucker!” Dimitri roared.
“Nico!”
How the hell was this bastard still alive? The goddamn dagger was still sticking out of his chest, for shit’s sake.
Rolling us over, Dimitri pinned me down. My hand was on his throat, holding him off, when he raised his arm into the air, knife clutched tightly in his hand. It started to arc downward, heading straight for my heart, when gunfire erupted around us.
Dimitri’s arm slumped.
The knife clattered to the floor.
Blood poured from the new hole in his chest.
I pushed him off me and scrambled to my feet as he began to cough up blood. Lexi still had her .357 magnum revolver pointed at him when I turned to her. The rest of her body trembled, but her hand remained steady on that gun.
He never took his eyes off Lexi as he whispered, “Do zavtra, kotyonok.”
A tear tracked down her cheek, her lower lip quavering. “Do zavtra…staryy drug.”
I knew those last two words meant old friend.
His mouth curved into a smile, and his eyes fell shut. Then his chest stopped moving.
Dimitri Novikoff was dead.
I knew the man had once meant a great deal to her, and I couldn’t imagine how hard that had been to do. But I couldn’t feel sympathy for the man who’d threatened the life of the woman I loved.
When I carefully took the gun from her, she looked relieved to be rid of it. “Told you I wouldn’t hesitate the next time.”
My heart fractured into pieces at the devastation in her voice.
“Let’s get out of here, legs.”
She managed to get down the stairs on her own, but as soon as her feet landed on the first floor, her knees buckled. I caught her just before she hit the ground. Her body was no longer able to hold her upright. All her energy had been going into helping her breathe. My next breath got trapped in my throat when her chest was once again wracked by violent coughing.
“I’ve got you.”
The taproom was so clouded with smoke, I couldn’t see anything through the haze. Relying on memory to guide me through, I clutched Lexi tight and—
A loud groaning sound from above drew my attention.
Another rafter was about to collapse.
And if this one fell, it would completely block our path. We’d be trapped.
I fucking ran for it.
Using every last ounce of strength in my legs, I lurched our bodies forward as fast as I could. Cris and the others stood at the front doors, frantically waving me toward them.
“Nico, let’s go! Hurry up!”
The rafter crashed to the floor the second I made it through the door.
I placed Lexi gently down on the sidewalk as I collapsed next to her. And I didn’t let go. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to again. I pushed hair out of her face as my arms remained wrapped around her.
Her eyes were closed.
“Lexi! Come on, legs, open your eyes for me.”
Her lids shuttered.
“Breathe,” I commanded.
She sucked in a greedy gasp that sent her coughing all over again. She moaned,