FOREVER MINE

C H A P T E R 31

Elijah

The air was thick with the scent of smoke and charred wood as I silently try to make my way through the halls. A small feeling of pettiness fills me as I pass all the ruins that now consume Nikolai's mansion. The deep satisfaction I will feel when the other bombs go off and everything will be reduced to debris and chaos, is just motivating me even more to get this over with.

My heart raced, adrenaline pumping through my veins, each beat reminding me that I was alive - alive and free after weeks of planning and getting everything set in place.

Stepping on scattered fragments of broken glass and splintered furniture as I ran, the distant wail of sirens echoing faintly in the background, is the only thing filling my ears at this moment.

Nikolai had underestimated me, thinking he could cage a lion in his den. I could still hear his mocking laughter echoing in my ears when I was laying on that cold floor in that disgusting cage. With every step deeper into the house, I steeled myself for confrontation, it was just a matter of time before I found him.

"Why is it taking them so long to find those bastards?!" The sound of Nikolai's voice makes me come to an abrupt stop. I've most likely reached the living area of the mansion but most of his men must be on the search for one of us. Peering around the corner I spot Nikolai near the front door and two of his men by the window, guns held up as they look out.

Obviously, my men aren't stationed anywhere near this place. Nikolai isn't dumb though. He knows the minute he leaves this place, he's dead on sight. His best bet is to find one of us and use us as leverage, but he'll be dead by the time they find them.

"Boss, I got eyes on-" A voice from behind me makes me curse before swinging my arm back and elbowing the guy in the face. He drops to the ground with a loud thud and that instantly catches Nikolai and the two guard's attention.

Nikolai glares at his guard's, "Why can't you idiots do anything right?!" He immediately sprints down the other side of hall. The two men turn towards me, and I cock my head at them.

"You're kidding right?" I say narrowing my eyes at them.

They both take a step forward and I shake my head. "Don't waste your time fighting me. I just want Nikolai's head and I'll be on my way."

The guy on the right snorts, "What? You can't take both of us on?"

His friend laughs, "The big mafia don, Elijah Bla-"

His words are cut off when a loud bang echos throughout the room. The guy falls to the ground with a loud thud. I raise my brow when his friend raises his gun towards me, but his hands are shaking.

"Just leave." I say and the guy grunts before immediately turning around and making a run for it but it's too late. I aim my gun towards the back of his head and shoot. Bang.

None of them are getting out of here alive. They have all sealed their fate when they decided to involve Angela.

Stepping over the bodies I head down the hall Nikolai had gone through. Most of these rooms are a mess so there aren't much hiding spots.

A loud crash comes from one of the rooms and I immediately turn towards the one at the end with the double doors. Nearing what I assume used to be his office - a room filled with luxury is now stripped bare by flames. This room is even worser than the others. The air is tinged with danger and uncertainty, every corner held potential for ambush from Nikolai. Now I know why he chose to come to this room instead.

Just then, a noise broke through my focus - a muffled footstep from behind a fallen bookshelf. My instincts kicked in as I drew my gun silently from behind me. I clench my jaw trying not to let my anger distract me from what I need to do.

"Nikolai!" I called out, my voice steady despite the tension coiling in my gut. "Come out and face me like a man."

Silence followed for what felt like an eternity until finally he emerged from behind a curtain of smoke, eyes narrowed like a predator ready to strike back at its prey. Nikolai's expression is filled with fury as he grasped his weapon - a sleek handgun that glinted in the fading light.

"Thought you would be dead by now," he spat, hatred lacing his words as our eyes locked.

"You really think I would die that easily? Without a fight?" I almost laugh when the pure look of hatred on his face just intensifies.

"You know that I'm not the only one behind all of this right?" He says, trying to hide his smile but it falters when I grace him with one of my own.

"Oh I know." I give him a condescending look, "You're not as slick as you think, Nik."

With no more words needed, we lunged at each other - two men who'd carved their paths through bloodshed and betrayal. The world faded away, only our fight mattered now amid the ruins of his ambition.

As we grappled amongst scattered papers and ash-covered remnants of his past lives, each punch thrown felt like an extension of our long-standing rivalry - the weight of our histories bore down on us both. Every punch and each crack echoed like thunder heralding to an end - an end that would either be mine or his.

No...most definitely his.