Their Rivalry

36

Kill or be killed.

Moscow, Russia ~ 3rd Person's POV

Frederick bid his time, waiting until Bea begun to undress herself before he took off his own clothes. He stole the opportunity to remove a dagger hidden in his jacket. Bea had failed to see it coming in time and fear flashed in her eyes right before he mercilessly drove it through her heart. His life was finally rid of her.

He quickly got off her as her blood begun to soak the sheets. He left the dagger in her heart as a parting gift to her. He unlocked the door and stepped out of the room only to hear faint screams. He brought out his gun and run in the direction of the ballroom.

"We need to leave, now." Natalia screamed at Miguel and Ellie.

"There's no way I'm leaving without Leonardo." Miguel replied, a defiant look in his eyes.

Ellie thought otherwise. She knew Ava would be safe, and she honestly didn't give a damn about the Don. All she wanted at the moment was to leave the mansion alive with Miguel. He was what mattered, her brother would surely make it out alive.

"No Miguel, we need to leave. Stick to the plan, Henry, Cami and Eli will protect Leo. It's the Spanish the Russians want dead; we need to leave." Ellie persuaded.

"I'm not leaving Leo behind. Leave with Sasha, I'll be fine." Miguel turned to run into the ensuing chaos.

Sasha grabbed him by the arm, "Miguel don't be foolish. Vladimir wants to destroy the De Los Santos bloodline. If you get in his way, it'll be lights out for you too. I can leave this place unharmed; the men will let me through. They've been ordered to protect the Shade; they'd let Ellie pass too. Come with us, they haven't been ordered to kill you."

Miguel stared at her, not knowing what to say. She didn't even know him, yet she seemed so concerned for his safety. He decided to listen to her then. Sasha smiled, thinking she'd won him over. Ellie looked on, regretting not agreeing to his proposal immediately. She could lose him either to death or to the Russian nurse. She wasn't sure which was worse, but she preferred that he ended up with the nurse rather than dead.

Natalia led the way to the nearest exit. It didn't take them long to get to it, but it hadn't been easy either. They were forced to leave a trail of dead bodies behind them. The masquerade ball had literally turned into a bloodbath.

The men guarding the exit recognized Markus' daughter, the sweet nurse that took care of them when they were injured. They immediately parted for her to pass. When Natalia was safely outside the ballroom, she gestured for Ellie to follow. Ellie kept a hand on the knives underneath her dress just in case. She took a deep breath and took the risk. The men stepped out of her way, and she successfully joined Natalia.

Miguel waited for both women to get out successfully before quickly turning around and running back into the chaos. He ignored the two feminine voices screaming his name from behind him. Leonardo needed him.

"Kill Markus." Cami, Eli and Henry heard Leo's order come through their earpieces. They searched for the man but he'd disappeared from the dance floor.

Isabella was the first to notice the two bullets whizz past in succession. She tried to trace where they'd come from as there had been no sound of gunshots. Her gaze fell on the only empty balcony for a moment. She'd almost turned away from it when she caught a slight movement behind the railing.

"There." She screamed to Henry, and gestured to the crouched body on the balcony.

Henry hurriedly turned his rifle in that direction and aimed. He zoomed in on Markus' head and took the shot. Markus went down with his rifle but not before having gotten a clear shot at Leo's head.