Time seems to slow, everything around me blurring into a haze. The deafening crack of the gunshot slices through the air like a bolt of lightning.


    Konstantin’s roar rips through the chaos as he attempts to push me backward.


    Nate’s bullet whizzes by, so close I can almost feel the heat of it. My heart ms in my chest, adrenaline pumping as my instincts take over. My hand moves, drawing my gun up in one fluid motion and pointing it directly at my brother.


    I still can’t make sense of it.


    How can he do this to me after everything we’ve been through? How can he want me dead? And for what?


    When he takes a step toward me, I aim the gun higher. “Stay back, Nate. I don’t want to do this, but I will if I have to.”


    I’ll do anything to protect my baby.


    Heughs, a sick, twisted sound that feelspletely foreigning from him. “I can’t believe you actually fell for him, Em.”


    Nate’s words cut through the air, his eyes flicking briefly to Konstantin, who’s trying to stand, but struggling, the drugs still working against him.


    “I thought you were the good one,” he continues with a sneer. “You always did the right thing. Arrested the bad ones. What happened? Fell to the dark side?”


    Each word stings, each one sinking deeper than thest. My anger continues to build, but it’s overshadowed by something heavier, something like grief.


    Konstantin growls low, his body trembling with the effort of pushing himself up. “I’m going to rip your tongue out.”


    I catch his eye, silently pleading for him to hold back. There’s still time to fix this, still a way to stop things from going too far. Nate will pay for his actions, but I don’t want him dead.


    He looks at Konstantin with a mocking grin. “You’re not in a position to do shit right now, Marinov. I almost blew your brains out after I shot your men, but the boss wanted it this way.”


    The boss? Does he mean…Gerardo?


    I shake my head, disbelief gripping me.


    What the hell are you doing, Nate?


    Confusion stirs with rage. “Are you working with Gerardo and the DeLucas?”


    Then it hits me.


    “Oh my God. Are you the one who sent Konstantin that photo of me?”


    He snickers, the sound harsh and mocking, a reminder of how far he’s fallen. “Maybe.”


    “I can’t believe…after everything I did to try to save you! How could you fucking do this to me? You’re my brother!”


    “Yes, I am, and I fought for everything I had. And I’m not about to let you take it from me.” Heughs dryly, shaking his head. “You never saw the full picture, you know that? You and Riley were so sure of everything, but you had no idea.”


    “What didn’t I know?”


    He blows out a breath, like he’s already grown tired of this conversation, and I swear it hurts. I don’t know who this is. Because this isn’t the Nate I knew.


    “Tim was never a part of this.”


    “What?”


    “That’s right, sis. Because I was! Me!” His eyes gleam with dark satisfaction, and it’s like I’m looking at a stranger. “We just made it look like it was him. But he had iting. He was gonna rat on us, so I had to take him out.”


    A cold shiver crawls up my arms.


    “You actually did it? You—” I swallow the bile rising in my throat. “You killed him while I fought like hell to free you?”


    My breathes in sharp bursts, fury tearing through me.


    “I know, and I am sorry about that, but it’s not like I made you.” His chuckle makes my blood run cold.


    “So how the hell did you end up in prison if you had Gerardo’s help?”


    He hesitates, his eyes narrowing. “Well…” He scratches the back of his head. “They decided I was a problem too when I started collecting evidence on their dirty work. Only as coteral, in case they tried to screw me over.” His gaze sharpens, his tone colder. “But I underestimated how far they’d go. Now if I want to stay out of prison, I only have one choice.”


    My gut twists, the power of his words choking me.


    “What’s that?” I barely manage to ask, the betrayal stinging deep within.


    His eyes lock on to mine, cold and ruthless. “I have to kill you both.”


    An inhale sticks to my throat. I can’t even process what he’s saying, the air in my lungs freezing over. How can he even think those words, let alone say them?


    “Kill me, but let her go,” Konstantin mutters, gripping my hand tightly. He leans in, whispering urgently, “Give me the gun.”


    I shake my head, my sp tightening on the weapon. Even if he wanted to, he can’t shoot straight. But I can.


    “I didn’t want to,” Nate adds, like that makes it any better. “I tried to tell Gerardo there had to be another way. But he said this was it. I had to prove my loyalty.”


    Every inch of me is ready to copse. There’s no one left to trust. No one but Konstantin.


    “You kept making things worse without even knowing,” Nate continues. “Once Gerardo found out you remembered about that cop he killed, he needed you gone.”


    I just didn’t think you’d be the one to do it.


    The thought hits with an ache so deep, I can’t evenprehend it.


    “Gerardo was Mom’s biggest supplier back then,” he goes on. “I get that you were young and didn’t know, but yeah, that cop was our neighbor. He knew him because they worked together. He didn’t want Gerardo giving her any more drugs and he was gonna rat, so Gerardo took care of him.”


    “Wait a minute…”


    Something doesn’t sit right with me.


    “How did Gerardo know I remembered what he did? You told him?”


    I mean, it wouldn’t even be the worst thing he’s done.


    “Nah.” He throws a hand in the air. “I didn’t tell him shit. Your therapist, Margo, did.”


    “What?” I stumble back a step. “I don’t understand.”


    Margo? The one I confided in? Trusted? The one I went back to after I hurt myself?


    Oh God… I’m gonna be sick.


    He raises a brow, his expression almost amused. “He’s banging her. That’s why he sent you to her. He sends everyone to her because she spills everything. She sent you to the other one she knows, that hypnotherapist, to get information for Gerardo.”


    “Oh my God.” The room spins, but I force myself to stay upright.


    “I’m sorry, Em,” Nate says, his tone quieter now. “You know I love you. But I need back in. Showing them that I can take care of a threat, no matter who it is, is how I do it. This is how I survive.”


    The words hammer through me, digging deeper than anything he’s ever said before.


    “You’re really going to kill me?” A part of me still hopes that maybe, somehow, this isn’t real. That I’m dreaming.


    Konstantin groans, words still rough and groggy. “Shoot him, Emilia. Do it.”


    He mutters something in Russian, but I barely hear it, the sound lost in the deafening rush of blood in my ears.


    “I have to, Em,” Nate says, his voice thick with something like resignation as he points the gun at me. “It’s what has to happen. It’s what they want.”


    “Sh-shoot him, Emilia,” Konstantin cuts in, trying to take the gun from me, but I don’t let him.


    “Turn around, Em.”


    Aching emotions continue to pound through me, my heart literally ripping in two. I love him. I’ve always loved him. But this isn’t him anymore. This is the monster Gerardo created. And I can’t save him from that.


    I almost pity him. But it doesn’t change anything.


    “No, Nate.” I stand straighter, curling an arm around my belly. “You will look me in the eyes as you pull the trigger.”


    He pinches the bridge of his nose, his shoulders rising and falling with slow, shaky breaths. I witness the conflict in his eyes as he raises his weapon. But it doesn’t matter. I won’t turn away. He needs to face this.


    As his gun lifts higher, as he’s about to pull the trigger, I aim at his center.


    And fire.


    But it’s not the shot that knocks the breath from me. It’s the fierce instinct to protect my baby, something my mother never did for me.


    Then I see Nate hit the ground, and everything inside me stops.


    “NATE!” I sob when blood leaks from his stomach and he staggers back, his eyes widening.


    And in that same instant, Nate’s bullet finds its mark, tearing into my arm. Pain erupts like fire, but I rush toward him just as Konstantin screams.


    “Emilia!” He forces himself to his feet, tripping back while I run toward my brother, dropping to my knees in front of him, tears pounding behind my eyes.


    “Nate!” A sob breaks free as he lies there, blood spilling from his mouth as he tries to speak.


    And all I see now is the young boy he once was, the one who protected me.


    “Oh God, Nate!” I cry, my tears falling freely for the first time in what feels like forever. “I love you. I’ll always love you.”


    His mouth trembles, but no wordse out.


    “I forgive you,” I tell him. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”


    His breath isbored, his chest heaving, until…


    He’s gone.


    I bury my face against his, sobbing as hisst breath fades, and all I feel is the emptiness of his body, refusing to say goodbye.