Mile High Daddy: Chapter 27

More gunshots rip through the air, echoing through the open space.

I gasp, my heart slamming against my ribs as Alex grabs my wrist, pulling me down behind a hedge. Maggie stumbles beside me, her breath ragged and panicked.

Something sharp flares in my side, a shoot of pain that makes me wince. But I ignore it. I don’t have time to focus on myself.

“What the hell is going on?” I demand, whispering harshly, my hands trembling against the grass.

Alex’s jaw clenches, his eyes sweeping the area as he pulls out his own gun. “I can’t explain right now,” he says sharply. “Just stay down and don’t move.”

He glances at Maggie, his expression softer but still deadly serious. “Both of you. Stay here.”

Before I can argue, before I can ask anything else—he’s gone.

Maggie whimpers, clutching my arm. “Leah, what’s happening? Why does Alex have a gun?”

I don’t know.

I don’t know anything anymore.

I open my mouth to tell her that, but before I can, my phone vibrates in my pocket.

I snatch it out with shaking hands, my breath catching when I see the name on the screen.

Mom.

I swipe open the message:

Sweetheart, where are you? I’m at the Inn, and I hear gunshots.

My stomach drops.

I quickly type back:

Mom, where are you?!

Seconds later, my screen lights up again:

In the garden. Come find me.

My pulse roars in my ears. I don’t think. I don’t hesitate. I just move. I push up to my feet, barely feeling the dull pain in my side anymore.

Maggie grabs my wrist. “Leah! Where are you going?”

“Stay here,” I say, my voice low, urgent. “I have to find my mom.”

Maggie’s eyes widen with fear. “Are you insane? You’re pregnant, people are shooting, and you’re just going to⁠—”

“I don’t have a choice!” I cut her off, yanking my arm free.

I can’t leave my mother out there.

Before she can protest again, I take off, slipping through the shadows toward the garden.

When I arrive, my breath is coming in shaky bursts as my eyes dart around.

But there’s no sign of her.

My pulse pounds in my ears, my fingers curling into fists. Where is she? She said she was here.

Then—

A loud thud echoes from the warehouse just beyond the tree line.

My stomach knots.

I don’t think. I just run.

The cool night air bites at my skin, twigs snapping under my feet as I push toward the sound. My heart is hammering, my breath shallow, every nerve in my body screaming at me to turn back, to be careful, to think.

But I don’t stop.

I burst through the doorway, the heavy scent of dust and wood filling my nose. The warehouse is dimly lit, crates stacked high against the walls.

And then—I see her.

Bound and gagged.

My mother is tied to a chair, her hands secured behind her back, her mouth stuffed with cloth to keep her from screaming. Her eyes are wide, frantic as she starts to move, making muffled noises against the gag.

A cold, paralyzing fear grips me.

“Mom!” I rush forward, my hands reaching for the ropes⁠—

“Not another step.” A sharp, icy voice freezes me in place.

I turn slowly, my stomach sinking.

Ryan.

He stands a few feet away, his gun trained directly on me.

His expression is calm. Too calm.

Like he’s been waiting for this.

Like he’s been waiting for me.

“Well,” he says, tilting his head slightly, his grip on the gun steady. “Looks like you found her after all.”

A chill races down my spine.

My body locks up, every instinct screaming at me to run, to fight, to do something.

But the gun doesn’t waver.

Ryan watches me, his expression eerily calm, like he’s just chatting with an old friend instead of holding a weapon to a pregnant woman.

“Let her go,” I say, my voice steady even though my heart is going wild.

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head. “See, I knew you’d say that. Knew you’d be brave.” He gestures toward my mother with the gun. “But the problem is, I’m not done with her yet.”

My mother makes a muffled sound, her eyes pleading with me, shaking her head wildly.

My stomach churns.

I take a slow step forward, my hands raised slightly. “Ryan, whatever this is, it doesn’t have to go this way.”

His smirk drops. “Oh, but it does. You see, Lila—” He sighs dramatically, like this whole situation inconveniences him more than anything. “You and your husband? You’ve made things…complicated.”

My heart clenches.

Mikhail.

This is about him.

Of course it is.

I stare at Ryan, my mind racing, my heart hammering so hard it hurts.

“So,” I breathe, my voice shaking slightly. “You’re not really a finance guy, are you?”

Ryan chuckles, tilting his head. “No, I’m not. But I needed a local to help me fly under the radar, someone who could show me the right places around here. And your friend?” He smirks. “Maggie was very helpful.”

A cold chill snakes down my spine.

That’s why he needed her.

My stomach lurches. “Why are you doing this?” I demand.

Ryan scoffs, shaking his head like the question amuses him. “Because, Lila, you and your husband have made things very inconvenient for me.”

I swallow hard. “And Alex? He’s with you?”

Ryan’s expression instantly darkens, his smirk vanishing.

“Alexei? He’s a bitch. Don’t even say that fucker’s name,” he snaps. “He betrayed me.”

I flinch at the venom in his voice. And that name, I’ve heard it before but I can’t remember where.

But if Alex isn’t involved. Then…who?

I barely get the question out before⁠—

A shadow shifts in the dim light of the warehouse.

Someone else steps out from behind the stacks of crates.

I turn slowly, my breath catching, my stomach dropping to my feet.

My mouth opens—then closes.

My brain refuses to believe what I’m seeing.

Standing there, looking perfectly at ease, hands in his pockets, is⁠—

My father.

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut.

“Dad?” My voice is barely a whisper.

He smiles.

Like this is all normal.

My legs feel unsteady, like the ground beneath me has shifted, like reality itself is cracking open and exposing something I never wanted to see.

My father.

Here.

With Ryan.

My father smiles, hands still tucked into his pockets, casual as ever, like we’re just having a family chat. He’s not surprised to see me here. Because this was always the plan.

I shake my head, stepping back like I can somehow distance myself from the twisted reality in front of me. “What…what the hell is this?”

My father exhales, almost like he’s disappointed in me. “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t act so shocked. You had to know I’d had enough of Mikhail humiliating me.”

Humiliating him?

I stare at him, my pulse pounding in my ears.

“You’re blaming Mikhail?” I hiss. “You sold me off like a fucking bargaining chip!”

He waves a hand, brushing it off like it’s nothing. “You’re being dramatic, Lila.”

“Dramatic?” I laugh, but it’s sharp, bitter. “You’re standing here, plotting God knows what, with a man who literally has a gun on me, and I’m dramatic?”

Ryan smirks, shifting his weight. “She’s got a point.”

My father gives him a sharp look, then turns back to me, his face smoothing out again, like he’s trying to play the reasonable one. “Lila, Mikhail is not the man you think he is.”

“Oh, and you are?” I snap.

His expression hardens. “I’ve played the role long enough. I was never meant to be beneath him. I deserve more.”

My mind spins, my breath coming in short, fast bursts.

He’s angry. He’s always been bitter about the fact that Mikhail holds more power than he ever did. But this?

This is something else entirely.

“You don’t get it,” he continues. “Mikhail doesn’t respect me. And I can’t allow that anymore. He needs to know who the real deal is.”

My stomach turns. “He gave you an alliance.”

“He gave me a leash!” My father’s voice rises, the calm slipping for the first time. “He thinks he owns me. Thinks he can dictate my business, my territory, my every move. And I played along—” He exhales, a bitter smile curving his lips. “Until I didn’t.”

A slow dread creeps up my spine.

I piece it together instantly.

The previous attack. The gunfire. The blood. The ambush that nearly killed Mikhail the night I left him.

My stomach drops.

“It was you,” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

His eyes glint.

“You tried to kill him before,” I say, louder this time, the realization making my blood run cold. “You almost did.”

He doesn’t deny it.

Ryan chuckles, shaking his head. “Damn, she’s quicker than I expected.”

My father smirks, unbothered. “Of course I did. And it almost worked.”

My breath comes too fast.

My hands curl into fists. “You could have killed me too, you know. I was in the car.”

He waves a hand dismissively. “I knew you’d survive. But Mikhail?” He lets out a slow exhale. “I needed him gone. I still do.”

Rage surges through me. “You’re a fool,” I spit. “You think taking him out puts you at the top? You think his men will just fall in line, that the other families will suddenly respect you?”

His jaw ticks. “They will when they see he was weak enough to fall. The Bratva only respects power, Lila. And I’m the only one left strong enough to hold it.”

I laugh harshly, bitterly, shaking my head. “You don’t get it, do you? Even if you kill him, you’ll never be him.”

My father’s smile vanishes, his eyes narrowing, the carefully constructed mask of charm slipping away.

And for the first time⁠—

I see the fury underneath.

“You think I want to be him?” he sneers, his voice dropping low, dangerous. “I don’t need to be Mikhail. I just need to get rid of him.”

My heart pounds, but I don’t back down. “You won’t win,” I say, meeting his gaze head-on.

His lip curls, like he finds me pathetic. “You still don’t get it, do you, sweetheart?” he says, his voice mocking. “I already won.”

Before I can respond, he tilts his head toward Ryan, giving him a sharp nod. “Do it.”

Ryan grins, lifting his gun toward my mother.

Panic slams into me.

“NO!” I lunge forward, instinct taking over, shoving myself between them. “Don’t!”

Ryan scowls, not lowering his gun. “Move, Lila.”

My chest heaves, my pulse roaring in my ears. “You want power, right? You want leverage?” I swallow hard, trying to think fast. “Then use me.”

Ryan raises a brow, glancing at my father.

My father’s expression doesn’t change. “You really think you mean more to him than his empire?” he muses, like he’s considering the idea.

I take a shaky breath, forcing myself to stay calm.

“You don’t know what he’d do for me,” I say, steady, certain. “But you’re about to find out.”

Ryan snorts. “Bold words.”

But then a loud crash sounds from the front of the warehouse.

And I know⁠—

Mikhail is here.