Unless he was pure evil.
Either way, Kazimir had seen fit to spare the man his life.
That was no longer acceptable.
For either of us.
I could see it in my friend’s eyes, the combination of anger and sadness everything that would haunt him for the remainder of his life. As we neared the facility, he yanked out his weapon and a fresh magazine, slamming it into his Glock while taking a deep breath.
“He doesn’t walk out alive. Neither one of them do.”
Who was I to argue. “Understood.” I stared out the window at the city’s bright lights. There was no apprehension, no anxiety with either one of us. Sean had been right about one thing.
This was strictly business.
Once emotions were involved someone else could pull the strings.
How foolish not to remember.
And how deadly.
Betrayal in business was classic. To be allowed to use it as Mikhail had done was amateurish. Unacceptable.
As we neared, Dante leaned forward in his seat. “Do you see what I see?”
I moved in between the seats, peering out the windshield. “Smoke.”
The empty building was on fire.
“Shit. That means they saw us coming,” Kazimir half whispered.
“Sean wasn’t lying.”
While we’d come equipped with flashlights, we hadn’t thought about gas masks or other protective gear. There hadn’t been any time.
The SUV was barely brought to a stop before Kazimir and I jumped out. We’d brought several of our soldiers with us, leaving Stash and Dimitri to hunt down those involved in helping Enzo with his own vendetta. But at this point did it really matter? All that did was saving Vivian.
And I would die to make that happen.
We were careful in following Sean’s direction, although I had my doubts about trusting him. Still, when we found the door he’d mentioned unlocked, it made our job easier.
One by one we slipped inside, listening for any sounds. There were the usual ticks and creaks, the smoke yet to be too thick or toxic.
“Keep the beams low to the ground,” I told the men. Keeping our cover as long as possible could mean the difference in a rescue and not.
We’d laid a basic plan, but until we knew what we were dealing with, we were simply going on instinct alone.
Kazimir motioned for me to take a group of men to the second floor while he covered the first. I headed to the stairwell, every step cautious.
Our only hope was an element of surprise. And if I had to guess, I’d say Enzo had no clue we’d find them so easily. The fire was meant to consume the building, killing Vivian and destroying the product as a warning, a pain point that Sean wouldn’t quickly recover from.
We moved quickly, checking one room then another. I was even more impatient, finding almost nothing. As I made my way up to the third floor, I stood on the landing, able to gather a stronger stench of smoke.
The fire had been started on one of the upper floors. Without bothering to wait for anyone else, I bounded up to the fourth floor.
That’s when I heard a noise.
A sharp yet muted sound.
