Grigory steals a discreet peek out the front window to check what’s happening.
“Oh fuck! We’re about to be screwed,” he says, turning back to our little family group.
“Emma, look at me,” I say, turning her towards me and grabbing her by her upper arms. “Go with Lidiya and hide in the safe room. Don’t argue, just go. I will find you when this is over.”
“Where will you be?” Emma asks as tears start to fall.
“Keeping you safe and saving our family,” I tell her. “Lidiya knows what to do. Stick with her and listen to whatever she says.” I pull Emma close for what I hope will not be our last hug.
“Please be safe, Ivan. I love you,” Emma tells me.
“I love you, too,lyubimaya,” I reply, pressing my lips to hers for a last kiss before she goes off with my sister.
When the girls have disappeared, I turn my focus back to my men. We’ve been joined by Alexei and Denis, and quickly decide where everyone will be positioned. Grigory does another quick check out the front while Alexei checks the back.
“So much for tomorrow night,” I say to Alexei with a chuckle.
“Da.” He laughs back.
We all hit the floor the second the first bullet penetrates a window. Men stationed around the house return fire, dropping a few of the enemy. I really hope one of those approaching assholes is Callaghan.
The front door of the house is kicked in, and men dressed in black and wearing tactical gear pour into the entryway. Then all hell breaks loose. More men break in through the back door, and shots are ricocheting off the walls. I take cover behind a pillar and manage to get a few well-placed shots off into these idiots, dropping them like flies.
Someone throws a smoke grenade into the entryway, making it more difficult to see. That doesn’t prevent me from dropping a few more assholes as they pour through the front door. My brothers are drawing several men away from the foyer, Alexei is firing up the stairs, while Denis is taking care of those coming through the back.
“Kiselyov!” someone says at the front door. I know that voice. It belongs to the man who doesn’t know he’s about to die. “Show yourself!”
“You think coming to my home uninvited and bringing a party I didn’t ask for is the best way to resolve our conflict?” I ask him. I shield myself behind a wall in the living room. Smoke from the grenade is dissipating through the open doors and broken windows.
“Come now, Kiselyov. What good is it to have a conversation over the phone when we can have it in person?” Callaghan walks further into my home, a gun drawn as he scans the room, looking for me. I can still hear the gunshots and shouts of men on both sides on the lawn outside. “Come out and face me so we can settle this like men.”
“You’re not a man, Callaghan,” I growl. “Men don’t use women the way you do, and they certainly know better than to come after my woman.” I step out from my hiding place, gun drawn and pointed straight at his chest.
“Let’s agree to disagree,” he replies. “I’ve come to make a deal.”
“What the fuck kind of deal do you think you could make that I would accept?” I ask him, gun still pointed in his direction.
“The kind of deal that allows you to keep your territory and business interests,” Callaghan says. I don’t believe this asshole for a second.
“I’ll keep what’s mine. You’ll be leaving this estate in a body bag,” I tell him.
“Now that’s not very nice,” Callaghan says, his gun still pointed at me.
“I’m not a nice man, and I’m not negotiating with you,” I tell him.
“Then we’re at a stalemate,” he says. “What ever shall we do?”
“That’s easy—I kill you. I kill your men that came here tonight. I dismantle your organization,” I say as I share my new to-do list. I’m trying to keep him busy because I see Dmitri and Maksim coming down the hallway behind him with their guns drawn.
“You always did have a sense of humor, Kiselyov.” Callaghan chuckles. “I’ll miss that when you’re dead.”
Three of Callaghan’s men come barreling through the front door, guns drawn and shouting. I’m distracted long enough by the sudden noise that I turn my head to look at them, briefly taking my eyes off Callaghan. I hear shots coming from my left when I turn my head and hear a scream. Somebody is pushing me to the ground and out of the line of fire.
When my body hits the floor, I look up to see Callaghan’s body shaking as bullets sink into his chest. The three men who came through the door are already dead on the floor. That’s when I look down to see Emma on the floor beside me.
“EMMA!” I shout, realizing that she was the one that pushed me down. “Emma, are you okay?” I look down at her, but she’s not moving. In fact, her eyes are closed and I can barely feel her breathing. I check for a pulse, and it’s slow, but she’s still got one.
“Ivan!” my brothers call out, holstering their weapons and dropping down to the floor next to Emma.
