ALVARA

xxiv

KAISER ―

THE EARSHATTERING MUSIC CONCEALS THE GUNSHOT, but me and Nikita tense immediately. It's not until a second shot goes off and a woman screams do people start realizing what's going on. And when they do, chaos ensues.

Without a word, Nikita pushes himself off the barstool and wrestles his way through the crowd towards the entrance. I follow him, pushing past the bouncer with half a thought.

I see Alvara immediately in the throng of people gathered outside and scan her for injuries. She appears unscathed, eyes on the ground.

I follow her gaze, dread like lead in my stomach at the unmoving body.

"Break it up, break it up," comes Nikita's bored voice. He looks anything but bored, however, when he shoves aside a guy with unnecessary force.

I hear his breath quicken when he sees Igor lying on the ground. There's no blood anywhere, which is strange, because how does someone shoot and miss twice?

Imani hurries towards us, white-faced, while Nikita crouches next to Igor, checking for injuries. "Is Igor okay? Is he hurt?" It's the most emotion I've seen the stoic woman show.

Alvara says something, her voice drowned out by the hysterical screams from partygoers. Irritation surges through me, and I bark, "Can the lot of you clear out? Yeah, I'm talking to you." I glare at a sallow-faced man that barely comes up to my chest. He scurries off with his girlfriend.

Little by little, the crowd filter back into the club until only me, Alvara, Imani, and Nikita remain.

"Get Ivan over here, I can barely see anything," Nikita says irritably after a second.

While Imani scurries off to find who I can only assume is a doctor, Alvara begins to describe what happened. She's shaking in the cold, only wearing a lace black corset and silky pants. Wordlessly I hand her my jacket.

"... I was hauling Aleksander back into the limo when I heard a gun go off. It was much too dark to see anything, but I think Igor was talking to a red-haired girl the last time I saw him -"

"Annaliese." Nikita's face dawns with comprehension. His eyes narrow. "What are you implying?"

Alvara shrugs helplessly, swaying slightly on the spot. Automatically, I move closer to her and try to hide my surprise when she leans her head on my shoulder. "I don't know," she confesses. It's the most unsure I've heard her. "Everything was so dark and... and..."

Nikita's gaze softens when he notices how much of an effort it's taking Alvara to speak. "We'll discuss then when we get home."

Imani hurries over to us with Ivan hot on her heels. He takes one look at Igor slumped on the ground and without a word, takes the burly man in his arms.

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IGOR'S CONDITION IS STABLE, THOUGH HE'S STILL unconscious. No bullet is found in his skin, though there's a lot of bruising on his neck, and he's got an ugly bump on the back of his head from where he hit the ground.