Page 66 of The Bratva's Bounty
My whole body quaked with the small aftershock of the bomb that caused my own heart to explode with happiness. The sight of everyone scattered on the ground, all dazed and groaning in pain, brought a twisted grin to my gleeful body. "Ooooh that worked out so well, definitely need to make note on that one to make more of," I commented out loud, mainly to myself.
I didn't even take note of Lev's concerned look until he spoke up, "Holy shit, you're a fucking psycho." I couldn't tell if that was meant in a good way or a bad way with how unchanging his face was. Although, when was a statement like that ever good?
Well, I didn't have to wonder for long because a crazed smile flashed across Lev's face right before he grabbed my face and kissed me. "I fucking love it." Then, he kissed me again. "But we are so going to talk about the fact you're walking around with bombs in your bag." He chuckled nervously after breaking the kiss. "Come on, let's—"
Without a thought, I shoved Lev out of the way, grabbing his holstered gun in the same action. Now, this whole thing went a lot smoother in my mind…
Bang!
Lev's cry of pain and anger shook the ground. "Blyat'! Nicole!" Glaring at me scoldingly, he snatched the gun away from me, flicking the safety on and holstering it. "Okay, new rule: you are not allowed to touch any kind of firearm," Lev gritted out, very unamused and ungrateful for how I just saved his ass just now.
"He was going to shoot you," I argued with a soft huff, letting Lev drag me to the car in a rush.
Grumbling, Lev threw me into the passenger seat and crossed the car to the driver's side. "You could have just shouted at me. I would've reactedin time," he said while buckling me in. "Hang on." Was the only warning I got before my body slammed back against my seat with how he floored it.
Rolling my eyes, I glared at Lev out of the corner of my eyes. "You had your back turned…" I continued to argue with him.
I should probably drop the subject, but I was rather proud of what I did.
Raising his voice slightly, he scoffed, "You fucking shot me!" At least he wasn't totally upset with how he mocked me almost playfully.
Slamming a door on my rising guilt, I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Not on purpose!" I defended myself in a shaky voice.
Sighing heavily, Lev ran a hand down his face and slumped in his seat. "Nicole, you don't ever shoot a gun unless you have a clear shot and are a hundred percent confident." And here comes the lecture. "Listen, I know your intentions were well, and I appreciate it, I do, really. But for the love of all that is holy and unholy, please don't ever do anything like that ever again until I've taught you how to properly handle a firearm and you've grown comfortable with doing so."
Okay, maybe it wasn't as bad as I psyched it up to be. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't thrilled about the lack of initial gratitude, even if my actions were rather mindless and risky. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have done what I did. If anything, the safest thing to do during that time would've been to shove Lev aside completely and let him handle the situation after he recovered enough.
Stewing in silence, I sat with my legs curled up on the seat. Awkwardly, I forced my concern out. "I didn't actually put a bullet in you… Did I?" I probably should've asked him earlier, but I was too irritated to think straight.
Breathing deeply, Lev reached over and placed his hand over mine, squeezing it softly. "Just a bad graze, so I'll live." There was some chagrin to his reassurance, not that I blamed him.
If the situation was reversed, then Lev's head would've been rolling down a hill by now. So, honestly, I'd count myself lucky with how tame he was in response to me.
Swallowing my pride, I sank in my seat a little as I gripped his hand. "I'm sorry." I had to force it out of myself, but it was genuine.
A long sighdragged out of Lev before I found my hand being moved. Then, the familiar ticklish feeling of his beard scratching the back of my hand preceded the warmth of his lips. "As long as you can promise me no more gun-toting Nicole, then I'll forgive you," he joked flatly with a very dry chuckle.
Humming softly, I nodded my head and leaned against his arm. "I'm tired…" Whatever adrenaline buzzed at my nerves took my energy away when it died down.
"Rest, don't fight the crash," Lev encouraged me with some more kisses to the back of my hand. "I'll be here to watch over you."
I tried to fight it, but a wave of dizziness forced my eyes to shut when I shook my head.
Needless to say, my eyes refused to open back up.
Chapter 30
Lev
~3 days later~
"Still can't believe this is where you've been the whole time…"
All this time, Nicole was literally right under my nose. My family's fucking vacation cabin. I literally could have just happened upon her at any time if I'd decided to take a decompressing trip!
Yes, my pride was a little hurt, I'd admit that. I mean, for being so observant to a fault, and a damn good tracker, I literally missed her when she was right in front of me. It never even occurred to me to check any locations the bratva owned! I don't know why. But also, why on earth would Nicole be hiding inmyfamily's property in the first place?
"Ã?i ca, are you still beating yourself up about all of that?" Nicole chuckled with pity as she looked at me apologetically. "It's nothing to get hung up on. I mean, the point of me being in hiding was to remain hidden. Besides, I had Angel's help, who had a lot of resources at her disposal because she married Nikolai." At least I could appreciate the effort she made to downplay my fault in this. "Also, it was just sheer luck you never found me here. I mean, like you said, if you had decided to take a vacation and picked this cabin, then thatwould have been either a very awkward meeting or the end of my days of freedom."