Mikhail

9

"Mikhail," I hissed, aiming my gun at him without thinking twice, "unless you're on a suicide mission, I suggest you leave us."

"I could say the same to you, sweetheart," he mocked, infuriating me further.

I cocked my gun and took a threatening step toward the two, unable to shoot yet without hitting Lucas as well, "the next time you call me that will be your last."

"You're too courageous for your own good," he tsked, dark eyes incredibly challenging as he mirrored my actions and pushed himself and Lucas to take a step closer.

A tear slid down Lucas' cheek as the gun pushed harder against the underside of his jaw, eyes pleading with me to do something.

"You would be a fine asset for us."

I scoffed out a laugh, not letting him intimidate me. "As something Mogilevich and his sick friends can pass around like a piece of meat? No, thank you."

I noticed the silencer on his gun, and knew then that Lucas' fears were genuine. I took another step forward, close enough now to confidently shoot Mikhail right between his pleased eyes.

"Vinnie," I called out, firm gaze unwaveringly on Mikhail, watching only as his amusement grew.

"They're occupied at the moment," he tilted his head up, dark eyes shamelessly travelling over my front. Heat rose in my body, and not just because of the fury I felt at him having ruined this simple mission.

"If you hurt any of them I'll make sure your death will be a slow and painful one," I closed the space between us and, for an unknown reason, Mikhail loosened his hold on Lucas, letting him slip away.

He had ignored my threat, unfazed by it, and instead caught me off guard with his hand wrapping around my neck.

He pushed me against the storage shelf before I had a chance to register what was going on, the large crates on it hitting my back painfully. I bit my tongue and pushed my gun against his jaw now, wanting to wipe that smug grin from his lips.

He was way too close right now, and I began to feel lightheaded for reasons other than hand his rough fingers wrapped around my throat, constricting my breath.

I could kill him right now, but something held me back.

"You're really begging for me to kick your ass," I taunted, glaring up at him as his gun pressed against my stomach, promising a very painful death if he were to pull the trigger, "is this the best you can do?"

Mikhail chuckled lowly, heated gaze fading all common sense from my jumbled mind. I didn't even notice Lucas beginning to rush away from us, until the giant man holding me in place glanced over and fired one simple shot.

My eyes widened, following the sound just in time to see Lucas falling limply to the ground, blood colouring his blonde hair.

"You're a coward," I seethed menacingly, glaring at Mikhail once more, my heart racing, "does that make you feel like a man? Shooting someone from behind?"

Despite the shot I heard no evidence of Vinnie and the others. No words, sounds or footsteps. At least no other shots had been or were fired, and I took the chance of believing they were still alive.

His hand tightened around my throat, and I gasped quietly as I struggled to catch a proper breath. I mustered up strength to keep my gun pushed up against his strong jaw while I brought my free hand to clutch his wrist, desperately attempting to rid it. He was quick to push his front against mine, not wanting me to have the chance to use my legs to fight him off.

"Since when does Wellesley give a kid a Rolex? He was one of Julio's. You should have your newbies checked."

He loosened his grip a fraction, audaciously leaning in to let his lips brush against the side of my ear. His hot breath made me shiver, my treacherous body frustrating me further.