Chapter 19: Sierra

No, no, no, no…! This isn't happening.

I paced around the bedroom, absentmindedly chewing on my fingernails as I thought about what a great disaster this was.

Artem had been so furious when he left, and he'd made it clear that he was going to war with the Irish.

His words echoed in my head: That bastard is a dead man walking .

I wasn't close to my dad, but I knew that there was no way in hell that he would jeopardize my safety. The masked man had tried to kill me, meaning that I had been the prime target. My father wouldn't send an assassin after my life, no matter how mad he was.

The fact that I was married to his archnemesis had pissed him off, but he would never—not in a million years—react like this.

This only meant one thing: There was someone else in the picture, a third party who was secretly pulling the strings. Whoever was behind the attack on my life clearly wanted it to look like the Irish were behind it. If the assassin had succeeded in killing me, Artem would mobilize his men, and both gangs would clash in a heated battle that would potentially leave many if not all of them dead.

This third party was trying to turn them on each other. This was all part of someone's plan, but they both couldn't see it. My husband was too angry to even listen to me, and for the first time in a long time, he was choosing to go on the offensive. Artem, from what I'd gathered from his men, was a great leader who always calculated his next three moves before making them. It was said that he was never irrational in his actions; he always was patient enough to come up with strategic plans.

But the man, the leader they described, wasn't the same one I saw a minute ago. Artem was red with anger, and I had never seen him in that state before. His voice was thick, his body was shaking, and in his cold eyes, I saw the monster I'd always thought he was. It was so scary because I couldn't recognize him anymore. His mind was made up, and he was going to kill Niall Donovan, regardless of whatever anyone said.

Artem wasn't thinking straight. His emotions had clouded his judgment, getting the better of him. This was a wrong move—a very reckless one—but how could I have convinced him otherwise?

I couldn't let my father and my husband kill each other over something that wasn't either of their faults. They were just pawns in someone else's games, and right now, Artem was playing his role as the plotter of this script had planned it.

I had to do something. I had to intervene, but how was I supposed to do so without exposing the secret that I'd been keeping from him all this time? Wouldn't that just turn everything to a new page of violence? What was the assurance that spilling the beans would make everything better?

It's worth a shot. It could save Niall's life.

I ruffled my hair in confusion, vigorously scratching my scalp, as my head felt like it was on fire. There was nothing else that I could think of other than telling the truth at this moment.

I wasn't ready to do that, and the potential aftereffects still had me terrified, but I didn't have a choice. This was the only way, and the longer I deliberated on this, the closer Artem got to killing Niall or worse. What if neither of them survived? Then I'd lose my father and my husband. I couldn't live with myself if I let that happen.

They both had a common enemy, and instead of fighting each other to the death, they should be working together to find the bastard and put him down for good.

I heaved a heavy sigh after summoning the courage I needed, and with that, I sprinted out of the room. My feet pounded over the steps as I raced down the staircase.

"Everything alright, ma'am?" one of the men Artem had left to protect me asked, his hand reaching for his gun.

"Take me to my husband," I demanded, exercising my authority.

"I…I–I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't do that," he stuttered, a little shocked at my request.

"You can't do that?" I scowled at him, knitting my brows in annoyance.

"If I do that, he'll kill me—"

"And if you don't, I will," I cut him off with a threat that I was, at that moment, willing to do.

" Pakhan's orders, ma'am—"

"Well, I'm the Pakhan's wife, and disobeying a direct order from me is equivalent to disobeying your boss, and you know what the consequences of that are—so let's try this again; take me to my husband. Right now." The words exploded from my lips like a commandment, my voice firm and authoritative, leaving no room for debate or defiance as I stepped closer to him with each word.

He knew that I wasn't messing around, and the seriousness in my tone left him with no choice.

"Okay, ma'am, come with me." He led the way, and I followed.

We stepped out of the house, and he signaled a couple more men. "You, you, and you. You're coming with us."

They looked at him awkwardly, and I knew it was because of me. My husband had made it pretty clear that no one was allowed to come in or leave the compound without his permission.

"But…" one of them attempted to defy.

"No buts. Now, get your butts in the car!" he ordered them, being superior in rank.

They obeyed instantly, and he helped me into the backseat of a black SUV where two of the other men joined me—one on each side. He got into the driver's seat and drove away.

All through the drive, I was hoping that I wouldn't be late; if only I could get there in the nick of time, I might end up stopping a catastrophe.

The vehicle was at high speed, and in no time, we got to a warehouse, and from the corpses littered outside, I could tell that those were Niall's men. Artem had indeed brought the war to the Irish.

The car came to a halt at the entrance, and I dashed out of the vehicle, rushing inside.

"Ma'am, wait!" The driver ran in after me, and so did the others.

My eyes widened when I saw my husband holding a gun to my father's head. Niall looked like he'd been beaten up; his face was swollen, and blood was trickling down his nose. He seemed weak and was at the mercy of my husband, who was still boiling with rage.

Yuri had Jacob at gunpoint a few paces away, and around them was a sea of dead bodies that made me nauseous, but that was the least of my problems right now.

"This is for attacking my wife," Artem said to Niall, cocking his gun, ready to pull the trigger.

"No, don't!" I screamed, running to intervene, arms spread as I stood between them.

"What're you doing here?" Artem was shocked to see me, but more shocked that I was literally standing in his way. "What is she doing here?" He yelled at the men who had brought me.

"It's not their fault. I forced them," I said to him, taking the blame.

"Sierra, move!" Artem hollered, tightening his grip around the gun pointed at me. "Get outta my way!"

"Listen to him, Sierra," Niall said, his voice faint and weak.

"No," I said with finality, staring at my husband.

He squinted at me in surprise, puzzled by my defiance.

"He didn't do it, Artem. Niall didn't send that assassin," I said.

"Wh…what makes you so sure?" he asked, eager to hear my response.

I turned to face Niall, and he shook his head.

"No, don't. Don't do it," he said softly.

Artem was losing his patience, and I could see his rage shimmering just below the surface, its focus increasingly directed at me. "Sierra, don't make me ask you again; what makes you so sure that it wasn't him?"

Niall was still shaking his head at me.

"Answer me, goddamn it!" Artem snarled at me.

Before I could think of a better delivery, the words jumped out, prompted by Artem's harsh tone. "Because he's my father!"

Artem's shoulders dropped in absolute shock, and his eyes grew dim, like the fire in them had been snuffed out.

"Niall Donovan is my father, and there's no way he ordered that man to kill me." I swallowed hard, watching the monster take control of my husband's body as he glared at me with gritted teeth.

I had finally said it; the cat was out of the bag, at last, and my body felt like it might collapse under the weight of his glower. I wondered what Artem Tarasov would do to me now.