Heart of My Monster (Monster Trilogy #3) by Rina Kent

Oh. My. God.

No wonder that sniper was so focused on me. If Kirill hadn’t been there—in Russia and in the forest—I would’ve died for sure. Same for Anton—if Maksim and Viktor hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have been able to escape with a mere hand injury.

“So it was you.”

Everyone’s attention turns to the newcomers, Anton—the one who spoke just now—Maksim, and…Konstantin.

He’s standing there without a single bruise on his face. Their grim expressions indicate that they heard the entire thing.

Only Babushka is still gaping at her second-born as if he’s a ghost.

Or perhaps a demon in human form.

The guards glance at my uncle, probably waiting for an order, but if he tells them to go after the three who just arrived, that means they’ll have to let go of Kirill.

Given that, shouldn’t they have more guards around here?

“That’s also why you didn’t come to my rescue all this time,” Anton continues. “You hoped Kirill would kill me while you convinced Babushka that you were working on the logistics. An excuse you always use whenever you need more time.”

“Aren’t you the bright one?” my uncle says with a note of mockery. “You should’ve died with your parents, but you refused to, even after they put three bullets in your body.”

“You…” Babushka’s voice sounds raw, haunted, as she chokes on her tears and raises her cane in his direction. “You murdered my children…and my grandchildren… I will tear you limb from limb, you ungrateful bastard—”

Her cane hits the floor first as a bullet lodges in her forehead. I scream as she drops to the floor, her lifeless eyes staring at nothing.

“I told you to shut the fuck up.” My uncle sighs and shakes his head. “Now you’ll be silent forever.”

Anton runs to Babushka, followed closely by Maksim. “Babushka…”

“You’re next.” My uncle points the gun at him. “And then Sasha and her bothersome husband. That way, no one will be in my way to get to the throne.”

Anton glares up at him and brings out his own gun. “Put down your fucking weapon. This place is surrounded.”

“Nonsense,” Yulia says. “Didn’t your men make sure Kirill came alone, Albert?”

The man in question, Kirill, looks at the guys holding him. “Are we going to do this nicely or not so nicely?”

They exchange a look but hesitantly remain in place.

“Not so nicely, then.”

He effortlessly removes his shoulder from one guy’s hold and starts to kick the other away, but Yulia steals a gun from one of the guards and points it at Kirill.

“Not another move. I won’t allow you to keep living.”

“Mother, stop!” Konstantin rushes to her side.

“Don’t even try to change my mind, Kosta! He locked you up and tortured you.”

“He didn’t. He just wanted to prove something.”

“Prove something?” she echoes.

“The fact that you used Makar to try and kill my wife,” Kirill says with harshness that chills me to the bone. “You made him tell me it was Konstantin and even forged evidence for it. You provoked me to hurt him so that you could save him and prove that I don’t care about him. You wanted him to come crawling back to you because you’re the only one who loves him. But what to do, Mother? I’m one step ahead of you. I pretended to fall for your trick and made everyone in the house believe it so your spy would give you the right information. I forced you to reveal your true colors to Konstantin.”

“You can’t possibly believe this devil, Kosta,” she says with calm determination. “Everything I did, I did for you.”

“Then stop it, Mother,” he pleads. “Just stop it already. I never wanted anything you gave me. Never asked for it, either, so stop forcing it on me.”

“How…how can you say that?” She glares back at Kirill. “It’s all because of you! I knew you’d be a damn nightmare from day one, you fucking devil spawn. Just die!”

“Nooo!” I scream as she takes the shot.

Everything happens too fast.

Uncle shoots at the same time, and then a few more shots follow.

Blood spills.

And more blood.

And it splatters on me.

No, it’s coming from inside me.

My head gets dizzy as I look down and find my thighs soaked with blood.

Someone calls my name, but my head rolls back, and everything goes black.





27





SASHA





A nightmare startles me awake.

I don’t know what it’s about. All I remember is floundering, gasping, and choking in a pool of blood.

“Sasha?”

I blink the moisture from my lids, and my breathing returns to normal as I meet Karina’s bloodshot eyes. Anna stands beside her, a compassionate look covering her usually stern features.

Alarms blaze in my head, and I start to sit up. The IV tube digs into my arm, and Anna helps me straighten.

I stare down at the hospital gown and recall the blood between my legs.

Memories attack me all at once. Being strapped to the chair helplessly as Kirill got—

“Where’s Kirill?” I blurt.