The Russian woman, groaning in pain as she pushed herself halfway up, growled,
"Don't interfere."
All three guards threw her a quick look and stayed where they were, but their faces were like hunting dogs waiting to attack.
I lifted my guard and glared at her as she tried to stand up.
"I don't work for the Organization anymore," I snarled. "Don't get in my way. I don't want to kill you."
Breathing hard, she raised her guard too. As she straightened up, she smirked and showed a row of bloody teeth.
"It's too late."
She rushed at me. I lifted my leg and slammed my heel into her knee. She dropped down on one knee, and before she could wrap her arms around my waist, I kicked again and drove the sole of my shoe into her face.
With a cry of pain, she pressed a hand over her bloody face and fell onto her side.
Her men looked at each other, frowning, and took one step toward me, their eyes full of threat.
I brought my guard up and clenched my teeth, anger burning through me. This fight would not have a good ending.
Not for them… not for me.
Still pressing her hand to her bloody face, the woman lifted her other hand and signaled her bodyguards to step back. Then she pushed herself up on her feet and gave me a tense, angry smile.
My gaze dropped to the bloody line of her teeth, then climbed back to her blue eyes.
She suddenly lunged at me, grabbed my waist and slammed me against the glass behind me. Pain shot through my back and for a second all the air left my lungs. I grabbed her hair, smashed her head into the glass and switched our positions.
The sound of her skull hitting the glass was so loud I thought her head would burst open. But, to my shock, she turned toward me again, blood running down from her forehead, the whites of her eyes turning red.
She was breathing like a dragon, and her messy blonde hair framed her face.
Panting, I curled my hand into a fist and glared at her.
"I suggest you end this now."
She didn't even pause. She just screamed in rage and threw herself at me. I dodged fast, grabbed her arm in midair and twisted it. With her free fist she punched me in the stomach. Pain exploded through me, my vision went black for a moment, and I dropped to one knee.
With a smirk, she drove her fist into my cheek. I fell sideways onto the soft velvet carpet under me.
Groaning, I pushed myself halfway up and coughed, blood spilling from my mouth.
The sharp click of her heels mixed with the sound of her fast, angry breathing.
Through the messy blue bangs hanging over my eyes, I watched her take a gun from one of her bodyguards.
I clenched my teeth, tightened my fists, and ignored the pain in my stomach as I threw myself at her.
We both went down. Her head hit the floor hard, and she looked up at me, dazed and in pain, staring straight into my furious eyes.
Her cold, bloody hands reached up and wrapped around my neck, trying to pull me off her.
I grabbed her neck with both hands, rage burning in my chest, and as I leaned over her I growled,
"I told you to end it."
All three men stepped forward, and one of them aimed his gun at my head.
But the woman, her face turning purple from lack of air, her eyes wide, whispered with effort,
"Do…n't…"
The bodyguards looked at each other, clearly stuck between following her order and disobeying it.
Big drops of sweat slid down my temples. My hands tightened more and more around her neck.
I couldn't stop the pressure of my fingers.
I couldn't stop my anger.
Everything in front of my eyes was red.
It was like I really was that same deadly jellyfish, not afraid of the guns pointed at my back; only destroying my target mattered, not my life, not my feelings.
Staring with hate into the woman's eyes, now wide with fear and pain, I snarled,
"I said don't… stand in my way, damn it!"
Her pale face had turned completely purple. The veins in her neck and at her temples were bulging. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no air came in.
I watched her eyes roll back, turning whiter and whiter. I shut my own eyes for a second—
and suddenly I saw Steven in front of me. He was looking straight into my eyes with that gentle look. His blue eyes were shining, and his smile washed away all my anger and rage.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I opened my eyes in shock.
I stared at the woman's blue eyes—but I couldn't see her anymore. I saw Steven.
A shiver ran through my whole body. Like I'd just touched molten metal, I jerked back in panic and let go of her neck.
My whole body was shaking. I pressed my trembling hand against my chest and climbed fully off her, panting as I stared at her struggling to breathe, her throat wheezing.
She forced herself halfway up. Her chest rose and fell fast as she dragged air into her lungs.
I swallowed, looked from the bodyguards back to her, and tried to make my voice steady and hard as I said,
"We're even now."
I turned and walked toward the door with long steps. When her guards blocked my way and stood in front of me, I glared at them and snapped,
"Get the hell out of my way."