I felt connected to Slavik.

I didn’t want it to end.

Of course, being part of the Volkov Bratva came with problems.

I jerked back as screams and the sounds of bullets rained down in the room.

Slavik pushed me to the floor at the same time as Ivan.

Glass shattered. The bullets wouldn’t stop.

I reached to cover my ears.

Slavik yelled for me to stay down.

I closed my eyes, trying to stop the panic.

My very first kiss and it ended in gunfire. This was so not fair, and I wanted to scream at whoever was ruining it. I stayed perfectly still even as Slavik’s weight eased off me. Even as I told myself to keep my eyes closed, to stay down, I couldn’t. Curiosity got the better of me.

I opened my eyes and glanced around. Men and women were on the ground. One of the waiters had fallen close to me. His eyes were wide open, and I screamed, jerking back as I saw half of the back of his head had blown off.

Sickness swirled within my gut, and I scrambled to my feet. Just as I did, more bullets came tumbling down. I covered my head, whirling around, looking for a weapon.

All of a sudden, a large body slammed into me, and I was taken to the ground, landing on the broken glass, which impaled my skin.

I whimpered, struggling against the man who was on top of me. Fear worked its way down my spine. Whoever it was slammed their fist against my face.

Everything went numb for a second as I struggled to gain focus. Pain exploded at the back of my eyes.

“You’re a traitorous bitch,” he said.

The gun was cocked.

I was going to die. I always knew I’d have a short life.

Five months into my marriage and here was my death.

The blow came, but I was still alive.

The man fell onto me. A bullet hole in the center of his head. I scrambled out from underneath him, screaming.

Arms wrapped around me, and I started to flail against him, fighting him off.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

Slavik’s voice calmed me. Another surprise of the day. He shouldn’t be the one to calm me.

What the hell was wrong with me?

My heart raced. I felt sick.

We’d been attacked at a party full of civilians, including politicians and wealthy businessmen. What was even scarier was I knew the man who had attacked me. He worked for my father. This attack came from my old family, and as I looked up into Slavik’s eyes, he knew as well.

The sound of police sirens filled the air.

Neither of us spoke.

Slavik handed me over to Sergei. “Take her home. A doctor will be by to look at her.”

I didn’t have any wounds, just cuts from landing on the glass. I followed Sergei without argument. Slavik didn’t follow. Within seconds, I was in the back of our car and Sergei drove us back to his penthouse suite. There was no time to waste.