Andrei is in the front seat. He’s a part of this. I could have killed him twice now for trying to put his hands on Sofiya, but I didn’t. I only punished him instead. Clearly, he didn’t learn his lesson.

Now that I know Andrei is involved, I can find his other property holdings. Boris doesn’t have anything in Moscow to hide the women. It’s up to Andrei.

I’m coming for him, and I’m going to end this once and for all.

I am going to save my wife because she needs to know I’ll always do that. She can always depend on me. No more hiding who I am from her. No more hiding my past from her.

Sofiya will be back safely in my arms because that’s the kind of husband I am.

SOFIYA

“So, what will happen after Boris and Mila leave?” I ask Andrei.

“Do you want me to give you a sneak peek now?” He grabs my hand and kisses my fingertips. It’s so … strange that I almost want to laugh. “You will become mine in every way.”

I resist the urge to shudder. “How long have you wanted me?”

“Ever since Mikhail married you. I saw you in that wedding dress and knew you needed to be mine.”

“Why didn’t you make your move before Mikhail had me?”

“You know Mikhail.” He drops my hand and steps away. “Always loves being in control. He’s too powerful. At first, I thought he would share you. We’ve shared a lot of women before. So, when he said no to that idea, I was surprised. It only made me want you more. And now, I have you.”

Not yet, I want to say, but I hold it back.

“I have a secret to admit,” I whisper. He leans in close to me. “I’ve wanted you, too, but Mikhail prevented that from happening.”

Andrei’s smile is so self-assured it’s almost comical. Can he really be so obtuse? It’s working for me either way. “Once Boris and your sister leave, we’ll have all the time in the world to be together.” He stands back, leaning against the wall without a care in the world.

I glance behind me to the kitchen, where Boris is on the computer. Getting plane tickets for New York, presumably. Now’s the time to act.

I grab Mila’s hand and squeeze it. She looks at me curiously, and I subtly nod, hoping she’ll understand my silent cue.

Standing up, I approach Andrei. “We don’t have to wait for my sister and Boris to leave.” I trail my fingers down his chest, trying to fight back my nerves.

“I don’t want to wait either,” he admits before leaning down to kiss me.

Closing my eyes, I let him touch his lips to mine. Mila gasps behind us. The feeling of his lips is honestly gross. Cold and wet. But I need to do this.

Slowly, I place my hands on his shoulders, raising them higher and higher until I touch his face. Andrei kisses me deeper.

Without wasting another second, I rip his sunglasses off and dig my fingers into his eyes. He screams and tries to fight back, but I hold on tighter.

“Mila, help!” I shout. Mila runs over and kicks Andrei in the shins, making him stumble forward, allowing me to press my fingers deeper into his eyes.

The scream that escapes him is chilling.

Boris comes sprinting into the room. “What is going on?”

I let Andrei go, shoving him away. He bows forward, clasping his hands over his eyes. I run right for Boris and jump onto him before he can scramble for his gun. We fall to the floor.

Boris tries reaching for his gun at the same time I do. His fingers wrap around it, and he points it at me, but I grab the handle and turn the gun toward the ceiling. It goes off, raining plaster down on top of us. Boris tries bucking me off him, but I’m not letting go this time. I’m not going to be weak. I may be a woman, but I can fight.

Mila joins the fray and rips the gun from Boris’s hands. With trembling fingers, she points it at him.

“Shoot him,” I tell her.

“But I could hit you!”

“Just shoot him, Mila!” I dig my elbow into his stomach as Boris backhands me across the face.

I roll off him, and he gets on top of me, wrapping his fingers around my throat. “Mila,” I choke out.

But she just stands there, frozen in fear.

Then something shocking happens.

Andrei gets up and pushes Boris off me. “Don’t kill her,” he snarls. “She’s mine!”

I use the distraction to my advantage and jump up. Running over to Mila, I grab the gun from her and aim it at the two men.

They both stop short.

“Give me the gun, Sofiya,” Boris says. “You don’t want to kill us.”

“Don’t I?” I ask in a hysterical voice. “You’ve both tried to hurt me too many times. You’ve both hurt my sisters. You two are horrible, horrible people.”

“And you think Mikhail is any better?” Andrei asks. “He’s murdered people in cold blood without a second thought. I’ve seen him do it right before me.”

“I’ve seen him do it, too,” Boris adds. “He’s not a good man. You can come with us, Sofiya.”

“I’ve seen Mikhail kill people,” I say. Both of them look at me with surprise. “I know what my husband is capable of, and I still care for him. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s the truth. Neither of you are good men, but unlike Mikhail, you are both trying to hurt my sisters and me. I can’t have that. You need to die.”

“You really think you can pull that trigger?” Boris asks. “You don’t have the guts.”

Maybe he’s right. Taking someone’s life must change things. But I refuse to be a damsel in distress any longer.

“This is for trying to kill me.” I aim the gun at Boris’s shin and fire. He screams as the bullet rips right through his leg, and he drops to the ground. Andrei jerks back in shock. “And this is for trying to hurt Mila.” I raise the gun to Boris’ head and shoot again.

I land a shot through his head, killing him instantly.

Mila stares, mouth gaping open.

I can’t believe I just did that. I just killed Boris. Holy …

“Drop the gun,” Andrei says, drawing my attention back to him. I startle when I see he’s pulled his own gun out and has it aimed at Mila’s head. “If you don’t, I’ll kill your sister. I only want you, Sofiya.”

“Don’t,” I whisper.