She is alive.
The tightness in my chest loosens just enough for me to breathe again.
Outside, more gunfire answers, and Beau fires again.
Then one of them moves through the doorway.
He is different and faster.
Dmitri.
He takes in the bodies in one glance. His rifle comes up, but I am already moving. I knock the barrel aside as he fires, and the shot punches into the wall behind me.
We crash into each other.
The rifle drops between us.
He goes for his boot.
I see it a fraction too late.
The blade comes out and drives straight for my side. I twist, but it still catches me. The edge slices across my ribs, shallow but enough to burn. Pain hits, but I stay on him.
I drive forward, and my blade meets his. Steel slams together.
We lock there for a second, and we are both pushing and trying to take control. He doesn't rush, and his eyes stay on mine, calm, like he already knows how this plays out.
He moves first.
The knife comes low and fast. I block it, but he shifts and slams his shoulder into me, driving me back into the wall. My grip slips.
His blade comes up again.
I catch his wrist this time, stopping it inches from my throat. His arm strains against mine, pushing down and trying to force it through.
Blood runs warm along my side.
I don't give him space. I drive my forehead into his face.
Bone cracks, and his grip loosens.
I wrench his arm aside and bury my knife into his stomach.
He grunts, and his breath leaves him, but he doesn't drop. His hand snaps back up, and the blade cuts across my shoulder.
We are still moving and still fighting. I twist the knife and drag it upward through his abdomen. His body folds slightly as his breath catches.
I pull the blade free and drive it straight into his throat.
His eyes go wide. His body jerks once, then goes loose.
I shove him off me and he hits the floor hard.
For a second, all I hear is breathing, including mine, Brooke’s above me, and Beau somewhere outside.
Blood spreads across the entryway in a thick and dark pool.
Beau’s voice carries in. “Two down out here.”
