Chapter 10 - THE RISING STORM
The weeks that followed were like a dream.
Mikhail visited the diner often.
Sometimes he came late at night after his business meetings, sitting at the counter drinking coffee while I closed up.
Sometimes he brought Misha, who would sit in the booth doing his homework while eating slices of apple pie.
Slowly, effortlessly, the three of us grew closer.
Misha began looking at me with affection, calling me "Miss Elena" with a bright smile.
And Mikhail...
Mikhail treated me with a gentle, fiercely protective devotion that I had never experienced before.
He never brought his violent world into my diner.
When he was with me, he was just a man.
A father.
A man who was slowly falling in love.
And I was falling for him, too.
However, peace in the underworld is always temporary.
One rainy November evening, Mikhail arrived at the diner earlier than usual.
His expression was dark and tense.
Viktor stood right behind him, his hand resting near his concealed holster.
"Mikhail? What’s wrong?" I asked immediately, setting down my rag.
Mikhail walked over and gripped my shoulders tightly.
"Elena, you need to pack a bag," he said, his voice urgency personified.
"Why? What happened?"
"Liam O'Connor," Mikhail gritted out.
"He discovered that I bought your debt."
"He knows how much you mean to me now."
My heart dropped into my stomach.
"He is moving against us," Mikhail explained grimly.
"My intel suggests he plans to target this diner tonight to send a message."
"I will not let you stay here."
"No!" I cried, looking around the diner. "My father's diner... they'll destroy it!"
"The building can be rebuilt, Elena!" Mikhail said firmly, cuping my face in his hands.
"Your life cannot be replaced."
"You are coming to my estate where it is safe."
Before I could reply, a sudden sharp sound shattered the silence.
CRASH!
The front window exploded into a shower of glass!
A brick wrapped in black tape crashed onto the floor, followed by a small metal canister.
Hissing white smoke began billowing out instantly!
"Tear gas!" Viktor shouted, pulling a firearm from his coat. "Get down!"
Mikhail reacted in a fraction of a second.
He wrapped his body around mine, throwing us both behind the heavy oak counter as gunshots suddenly echoed outside!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The terrifying noise rang out like thunder in the enclosed space!
Glass shattered everywhere!
Bullets ripped through the walls, splintering the wooden shelves and smashing ceramic coffee mugs!
I screamed, covering my ears, buried under Mikhail's heavy frame.
"Hold your position!" Mikhail ordered his security team through his radio, his voice lethal and cold.
"Protect the rear exit!"
The terrifying sound of automatic gunfire erupted in the street outside.
Mikhail's guards were returning fire.
Mikhail pulled a sleek black handgun from his waistband.
His eyes, which had been so soft and warm just minutes ago, were now terrifyingly cold.
The apex predator had awoken.
"Stay down, Elena," he whispered fiercely, kissing my forehead.
May you like
"Do not move."
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