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Terror surges through me like cold water as I notice the guns in their hands.
Fuck. How are we supposed to win this now?
“Get on the ground!” someone shouts. “On the fucking ground! Now!”
I throw myself to the left so that I’m blocking Alina completely with my body and raise my knives again. I have no more throwing knives, so unless they get close enough for me to strike, I can’t attack them. But if they want to get Alina, they will be forced to come within striking distance. Or shoot through me.
Red dots appear on my now blood-soaked shirt as five rifles are trained on my chest.
“I said get down on the fucking ground!” the same voice bellows.
Blood pulses from my wounds and slides down my skin, and my entire body is screaming with exhaustion. But I remain exactly where I am.
“Kaden,” Alina suddenly says from behind me, “It’s—”
“On your knees,” a familiar voice interrupts. “Now!”
Relief crashes through me.
I never thought that the sight of those particular faces would draw such an emotion from me, but right now, they’re the second-best group of people who could have possibly walked through the door.
“Dad,” Alina calls.
I suck in a shuddering breath as every man in the entire fucking Petrov family stalks into the room with their guns and rifles raised. The other men who entered before them fan out, checking the people on the ground for weapons.
But Ivan Petrov doesn’t look at his daughter. His hard gray eyes are locked on me. As is his gun. “I said, on your knees.”
My immediate instinct is to refuse. But there are about fifteen weapons aimed at me, and I can tell by the expression on the Petrovs’ faces that they will actually kill me if I do anything other than exactly what they tell me to. And besides, no one in this room is a threat to Alina. At least no one who is still standing.
So I hold Ivan’s gaze and slowly lower myself to my knees.
His people spread out quickly through the room while he continues to advance on me. Mikhail and Anton walk beside him, aiming two rifles at my chest.
“Drop your knives,” Ivan orders.
“Dad!” Alina protests from where the twins are holding her back. “It’s not him!”
But I just toss my blades to the side.
“Hands on your head,” Ivan says.
Raising my arms, I interlace my fingers behind my head while still holding his gaze. He and his two sons close the final distance between us. Looming above me, they stare down at me where I’m kneeling on the floor before them.
“We followed you,” Ivan says. “And we’ve been watching you from across the street all day, just waiting for you to mess up. To do something that would give us an excuse to put you down.” A vicious smile curves his lips. “And now you have.”
I just stare up at him, keeping my mouth shut.
“It was Eric!” Alina screams, fury pulsing from her voice. “Not Kaden! Eric tried to have me killed. He’s over there! So stop pointing your fucking guns at Kaden.”
“Do not take that tone with me,” Ivan snaps.
But he shifts his gaze to where Alina is presumably pointing. His eyes narrow on where Eric is still trying to inch towards the doors, two knives sticking out of his legs. I draw in deep breaths as another wave of exhaustion rolls over me. Fuck, I feel like my body is going to give out.
“Just ask him!” Alina continues, sounding absolutely enraged.
Mikhail and Anton glance at their father. He continues watching Eric in silence for a few seconds. A pensive expression blows across his features. Then he clicks his tongue.
“Watch him,” he tells Mikhail.
