My mother eyed the door as I used the knife to hack a hole in the drywall between Dmitri’s bedroom and gun room next door. “We don’t have long.”

I redoubled my efforts to quietly destroy the wall, my hands coated in white dust as I created a vertical slit with the knife. “Do you, um”—I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead—“do you scream sometimes?”

She hugged her arms across her middle, the white t-shirt we’d grabbed from the closet several sizes too large for her. “Yes.” Her wide, haunted eyes made me ache for her.

“Can you do that? I’m going to try to punch through here, and the sound would cover it.” I stood and lightly knocked on the drywall, double checking the stud locations so I could avoid them.

“I can scream.” She walked to the bed and sat, then closed her eyes. Her body shook, as if she were reliving one of the many traumas Dmitri had visited on her. A blood-curdling cry ripped from her lungs, one that would reverberate in my nightmares for the rest of my life.

I punched the wall, pain bolting up my arm with the effort. Another scream, and I hit it again, denting the drywall and pushing it inward along the path I’d scored with my knife.

A low chuckle came from the hallway, Dmitri’s henchman getting off on the pain. I fisted both hands and punched, my knuckles burning.

“Stop.” I shook my head and backed away. “It won’t work.” I’d barely made any progress, and a few of my fingers had gone numb.

“He’s usually done by now.” She covered her face. “They’ll come soon. They’ll find out, and they’ll kill us.”

I went to her and pulled her into my arms. I wanted to tell her she was wrong. But the reality was that we’d been shut in this room for hours. The guys in the hall would soon realize something was wrong, and when they did, we wouldn’t be able to stop them. Not with a dull knife and a chain against guns.

“What are we going to do?” The hopelessness in my mother’s voice spurred me onward. I had to keep trying.

“We’re going to fight.” Returning to the wall, I prepared to strike again, but an explosion shook the building.

The power flickered, then shut off completely as shouts and gunfire erupted from the hallway. Men beat on the door and yelled for Dmitri.

I grabbed my mother and pulled her into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it.

“What’s going on?”

“Nate.” I herded her into the sunken tub and joined her as the gunfire grew to a deafening level. “He came for me.” I wrapped my arms around her, both of us curled up as bullets flew overhead, easily piercing the walls. “For us.”

Yells tore through the air as the gunfire became more sporadic.

“No!” An agonizing wail. “You’re dead.”

A deep laugh from the hallway chilled my heart. “No, that’s you.” A single gunshot, then the thunk of a body falling to the floor.

I knew that voice. My nightmare. It was the man who killed my father right in front of me—Conrad Mercer.

“Jaysus at the blood.” An older man’s voice with a distinct Irish accent. “You boys didn’t even need our help, did ya? Angus called in the cavalry for no good reason.” Was it Angus’s father, the one I’d met at Nate’s house?

A yell, another shot, another thunk.

“He almost got the drop on me.” The older man whistled. “Thank ye, Con.”

“My pleasure.”

“Where the fuck is she?” Nate’s voice was edged with panic.

“Nate!” I yelled and started to rise from the tub.

“Wait.” My mother clutched me close. “Make sure it’s safe first.”

A bang told me someone had kicked the bedroom door in.

“Sabrina!” Nate turned the bathroom door handle. “You in there?”

“Yes.” I untangled myself from my mother’s arms as Nate burst through the door, the wood splintering from his assault.

He rushed to me, his face covered with cuts and blood running from a deeper slash along his throat. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fin—”

He stopped me with a kiss that seared straight down to my soul. Wrapping his arms around me, he lifted me from the ground and squeezed me tight, as if he were afraid I’d disappear.

When he pulled away, I gasped in a breath as he ran his hands all over me. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. It’s oka—”

“Did he…” His voice trailed away as his eyes darkened.

I knew what he was asking. “No.”

He finally took a breath, then looked past me at my mother. “You all right?”

She climbed from the tub. “I don’t know.” Her eyes darted around, then landed on the shadow across the doorway.

I followed her gaze, and my heart stopped. My nightmare stood there, his dark hair mussed, a scruffy beard on his face, and the same striking eyes—light blue, but hiding a darkness. I clutched Nate.

“I told you. Con’s a friend.” Nate smoothed a hand down my back. “He’s a good guy.”

Even Con arched a brow at Nate’s “good guy” pronouncement.

“Did you lasses make this mess?” Back in the bedroom, Colum, the Irish boss, toed Dmitri’s body.

“Yes.” My mother found her voice. “I’d do it again if I could.”

Colum grunted his approval. “I don’t blame you one bit. Nasty piece of work, this one.”

“He suffered, but not nearly enough.” The steel in my mother’s voice surprised me. “I wish I could have taken my time.”

“You and me both. I promised that fucker a painful death.” Nate shrugged. “But as long as he’s not breathing, I guess I can deal.”

I avoided looking at Dmitri’s dead eyes and turned my attention back to Nate. “You’re hurt.” Pressing my fingers to his throat, I tried to inspect the wound.

“Just a bullet graze. Bleeds like a motherfucker, though.” He pulled my hand away and kissed my palm, then pressed his palms to my cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It is. I should have figured it was Opal.” His jaw tightened as he said her name.

“You couldn’t have known. David vetted her, right?”

“Yeah. She’d been in the life for so long that we assumed she knew the penalty for disloyalty better than anyone.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re here. That’s all that matters.” I kissed him, soft and sweet. He answered, his tongue sweeping against mine as he pulled me tight against him.

Con cleared his throat.

Nate pulled away reluctantly and eyed the hitman. “Cock block.”

As the kiss haze cleared, I pulled Mom to my side, keeping her close.

“Nice to see you again, Sabrina.” Con kept his voice even as he turned his attention to me.

I couldn’t return the sentiment, so I stayed silent.

Con seemed to respect that, giving me a small nod before looking at Nate. “We done here?” He used the sight on his pistol to scratch his cheek.

“We’re even.” Nate nodded. “And you’re dead again.”

“Good. I’d like to stay that way. Dead, gone, dusted.” He grumbled and shoved his pistol into the back of his pants. “I only killed maybe a dozen or so. Pretty shitty haul for me.”

Nate smirked. “I got at least fifteen. Maybe you’re losing your touch.”

“Shut the fuck up. I saw your pansy ass taking pot shots from behind me.”

“Why do you think I called you, man? I needed a human shield.”

The corner of Con’s lips twitched. “I knew I shouldn’t have answered when I saw ‘Nate the dipshit’ on my caller ID.”

“Bullshit.” Nate swiped at the blood on his neck. “You were dying for some action. I bet you acted all butthurt to Charlie about having to come out here, but you had that same old hard-on for me like you always do.”

“Nate,” the warning in Con’s voice would have stopped any sane man in his tracks. Not my Nate.

“Do you put my picture on the back of her head while you’re doing it doggy—”

Con’s fist shot out faster than seemed possible. Nate’s head reared back, but the hit wasn’t much more than a tap. He rubbed his jaw. “Okay, I was mistaken. You still got it.”

Con gave a perfunctory nod.

Colum stepped toward Con. “I don’t suppose you’d want to come back to work for me and the—”

Con’s low growl shut him right up. “I’m dead. You never saw me. If I hear different, I’ll be back for you.”

The Irish boss’s eyes widened and he dropped his gaze. “Never mind then.”

Nate walked me through the bedroom and into the hall, my mom following with us. A contingent of Irish stood outside, their guns still at the ready in case any of the Russian corpses on the floor decided to show signs of life.

Everything that had happened over the past few hours rippled beneath the surface of my mind, some of the terrors breaching while others mulled around in the depths. “Dmitri set the house on fire.”

Nate squeezed my waist. “It’s a total loss. And there’s more. Peter got hit in the airport firefight.”

“Is he all right?”

Con opened a door to a stairway next to the elevator. Nate hustled me in first, followed by my mother.

“He’s in surgery. I’m not sure how it’s going to go.”

We took the stairs in silence, and when we finally emerged from the building, the cool night air was a balm on my nerves.

Colum directed his men into the waiting vehicles and told them to lay low for the day. Con flipped Nate off, then strode away down the street, turning into an alley and disappearing into the dark night without another word.

“The deal is done, Nate.” Colum held out his hand, and Nate shook it. “You won over Angus, and you’ve won over me, too. Let’s hammer out the details in a few days’ time.” He climbed into a waiting car as sirens started to wail nearby.

“Come on.” Nate opened the passenger door of his SUV, which he’d parked on the curb, and helped me inside, then assisted my mother into the backseat. Climbing into the driver’s side, he said, “I need to check on Peter. I can drop you two off at—”

“Not a chance.” I rested my hand on his. “I’m sticking to you from here on out. Wherever you go, I go.”

He pulled the back of my hand to his lips and kissed it. “What did I do to deserve you?”

I spent the ride to the hospital fussing over his cuts and the ugly gash on his neck, though he didn’t seem the least bit bothered by any of it and took every opportunity to drop kisses on my hands, my arms—anywhere he could place his lips. My mother sat quietly and stared out the window, as if her eyes were readjusting to life outside of Dmitri’s cage.

When we arrived, I checked my mother in at the ER for a full checkup. She balked at first, then gave in when a kind nurse helped me lead her to her room.

“I’ll be back.” I smoothed my hand along her blonde hair. “I’m just going to check on Peter.”

“I’m okay.” She squeezed my hand. “As long as you’re safe, I’ll be fine.”

I took Nate’s hand, and we walked to the elevator.

A couple of orderlies gave Nate some curious stares, probably because he looked like he needed a room. But he’d been adamant about refusing treatment until he knew how Peter was doing.

I hit the button for the third floor. “Have you had any messages from David?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what to expect.”

“We’ll get through it.”

He reached out and hit the stop button on the elevator. “I need to tell you something first.”

Cornering me against the wall, his intense gaze held me to the spot. “You’re everything to me. When I heard that Dmitri had taken you…” He gritted his teeth.

I pressed my palms to his chest. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” Shaking his head, he continued, “You’re my queen. I should have protected you. Without you, all this is nothing. Before you came back, I was just going through the motions. I was the boss, but in my mind, I was still the foot soldier who was only playing at being in charge.”

“But you’ve been so strong.”

“I’ve been strong because of you. When you walked back into my life—” He smirked. “Strutted, I suppose is the right word for your sassy little walk.”

I smiled and rubbed my nose against his.

“When you came back, I realized that what I’d built didn’t mean shit if I didn’t have you to share it with. Instead of playing at being boss, I became the boss. I stopped worrying about whether I was good enough, strong enough, because you believed in me.”

“I always have. From the day I first saw you.” I stroked his cheek. Nate was my touchstone, the one person in my life I would always depend on, because he always came through for me. Maybe that was the foundation of my love for him, but I’d built so much more on top of it.

“I’m going to work every day to earn that faith.”

I ran my fingers behind his ears and into his hair. “Every night, too, I hope.”

“Fuck, I love you.” He grabbed my ass and yanked me to him, his kiss rough and perfect. I lost myself in him—the messy, scarred, perfect man whose love I cherished above all else.