[NIKOLAI'S POV]I always kept my guard up. Since the day I was born, I've got a sixth sense for danger. I was hyper-aware of everything around me. As I grew older, I trained harder to hone my senses and stay at alert. I could smell trouble a mile away. I could tell when someone's about to take a shot at me. Shockingly, I could even dodge bullets if I have to. Kwame once joked that I've got Spider-senses. Bullshit. I trained my butt off to never loose my guard. In this shady business, you create tons of enemies, and those enemies are always trying to kill you when they got the chance. That is why I'm always on my guard. But whenever I'm with Hazel, I let my guard down. I let my guard down around her because I wanted her to be my end. She's the only person I'll permit to take my life. I misjudged Hazel. It appears she wasn't so weak after all. She could still be a lioness in a kitten's form.After successfully stopping the bleeding, the nurse started stitching up my wound. Wh
[HAZEL'S POV]The meeting ended on a sour note the moment Nikolai's scary aunt left. She was terrifying. She reminded me of the Disney adaptation of Cruella from the One Hundred and One Dalmatians. "Leave us," Nikolai ordered the rest of his family, standing infront of me like a shield. His voice was ruthlessly dangerous. One by one they rose to their feet and left for the elevator until Nikolai and I were the only ones in the big room. Nikolai ran his hands over his face and let out a deep breath. He wandered over to the bottle of scotch on the table and poured himself a drink. "Some family meeting," he bite off each words as if he was suppressing the rage boiling inside him. "Forget you ever saw that."I didn't say anything. I stared at the hand print his aunt had left him on his cheeks. Somewhere inside me, I felt a strong impulse to hunt that woman down and tear her guts opened for hitting him. But I suppressed that urge because he deserved it. His aunt did mentioned he ki
[NIKOLAI'S POV]Fuck this. I entered my office, pulled opened the drawers and retrieved my pistol. As usual, it's weight felt heavy in my hand. Almost as if I were lifting a dumbbell. I checked the bullets, satisfied they were loaded. Good. Then I locked the drawers and plopped down on my chair and waited. Minutes dragged by as I stared at my gun. In my twisted mind, I wondered why I haven't done this a long time ago. The demon on my shoulder whispered darkly to me, "Take that bullet and die."I remembered my vow. A vow I'd pledge after pulling a bullet through the head of my father. I vowed to never use a gun again nor spill another drop of blood. In the heat of the revolution I started in the Romanov Clan, I had pledged this very vow before every members of the Clan as I took control as it's new head. A vivid image of me standing on the balcony, facing a hundred members of the Romanov Clan, my father's decapitated head in my hand, flashed through my mind. It's been four y
(HAZEL'S POV)"Come to the bathroom with me! I'll teach you how to kill a man!" He ordered. For some odd reasons, I followed him towards the bathroom without questions. The walls were made of shimmering glass and the shower room was big enough to accommodate four people. There were multiple showerheads mounted on the walls and ceiling. I breath in a sweet fragrance of lavender as we walked further in, stopping right before a jacuzzi tub. The water in the large oval-shaped tub was already warm and inviting. Makes me wonder what promises of pleasure awaits me inside those waters. Nikolai turned around and gazed at me, his crimson red eyes burning with a maddening desire. I took one step back, my eyes wary, my arms wrapped around myself. Why was he looking at me that like that? It's too intense. I don't like it. "W-we're here," I stuttered, breaking eye contact with him. "So how do you kill a man?""First things first, Hazel. Look. At. Me," he commanded, his voice soft. My lips
[NIKOLAI'S POV]"The heat is on, Nikolai," Anton's voice crackled over the line. "These secret police bastards are invading our clubs and bars and hotels.""The crates," I massaged my shoulder where Hazel stabbed me. "Let them search all they want. They won't find the crates there."Anton was grumbling badly. "I don't like this, Nikolai. You're playing with fire. Tell me what you're planning.""Tell Vladimir and Kwame to catch the next available flight to Manhattan," I instructed. "And also, double the guards at the safe house."Anton grumbled loudly. "I hope you know what you're doing, Nikolai. We don't mess with the secret police and the military. Those guys are poison.""Goodnight, Anton," I replied curtly and hung up. I drowned my whiskey and leaned back on the sofa. Hazel was sleeping on the bed like a harmless little child. At least she could sleep. Sleep was the only luxury that I couldn't afford. The whispers of the ghosts of my victims underneath my bed wouldn't let me. Th
[HAZEL'S POV]The moment I shut my eyes, I had a dream. A recollection of my past that's been buried at the back of my mind since I was eight. Philip and Thomas, my twin brothers, and I were playing hide and seek. There was this perfect hiding spot I found in Dad's study, and I crawled into it. I must've been crawling forever because the small space seemed to extend further and further. My small body could fit through the small hole and out of curiosity, I kept crawling, determined to reach the end of this narrow passage. It was dark and I had found myself in an underground tunnel. There was no way out. I cried, calling out for my mom and dad and my brothers. I had no idea how to escape. I was trapped. For the next one hour, I wandered aimlessly around the tunnel, shivering from the harsh cold and eerie darkness. The air grew thinner the more I delved further into the tunnel until I was swallowed by a thick fog of darkness. I suddenly snapped my eyes opened, sitting up and br
[HAZEL'S POV]This bastard really meant what he said last night. At first, I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. After I turned his advances down, Nikolai had me on handcuffs from midnight to the break of dawn. When I had breakfast, I was still on handcuffs. What peeves me the most was the fact that he was enjoying himself. He relished in my frustration as I struggled to eat, bath and dress with my hands bound. I swore within myself to get back at him. I'll make him suffer. An idea dropped in my mind on how to do that. The opportunity came when he announced we were going somewhere. "Where are we going?" I demanded. He grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him. "You're in no position to ask questions while still on punishment. You would do as you're told."We left the Romanov Towers and drove off in Nikolai's dark Lamborghini. He sat behind the wheels while I sat beside him. As we drove passed the estates and busy streets, I saw people staring. They weren't staring at me
[NIKOLAI'S POV]Vladimir and Kwame had arrived in Manhattan earlier that morning.I had an idea Don Leo might try to pull something so I had Vladimir and Kwame tail Hazel and I to the firearm training center. I gave them one instruction not to make any move but to watch and alert me if they found any suspicious movement. My hunch was correct. "....they're trying to kill her," were the chilling words I heard from Kwame before I hung up and got Hazel out of the firearm training center. Someone must've dug deeper into the Flamecrest family file and figured out something. My bet again was on Don Leo. This girl, standing beside me was now a walking corpse. If words got around about the Flamecrest family secret, she wouldn't last long. She'll be long dead before she saw what's coming. That is precisely why I must protect her. When cornered, diversion is the key to survival and that was what I created— a diversion. The gunshots I discarded in the air sent the crowd into a panicked f