And I would never slack in trying to keep her with me despite how we’d begun as nothing more than an arrangement frosted with ice.
24
CARINA
We killed all but one.
I couldn’t be sure ifIactually killed any of the men who ambushed us on the drive back home. My aim was pretty good, but in the heat of the moment, I couldn’t be certain if I’d gotten any of them.
It didn’t matter.
It wasn’t a competition.
All that counted was that they were not able to hurt us anymore.
I waited with Maksim, pressing his shirt to the gash on his side. He sat on the dirt, his back braced against the roof of the van. His legs were sprawled out in front of him as he caught his breath and winced.
“They’re coming,” Dean said as he returned to us.
The moment the gunfire faded, we waited behind the safety of the van that was on its side. Then after a little longer, Dean wentout to check that theywereall dead. That no one was running away or waiting to attack again.
He’d called for help already, and backup would be on its way. Of course, help was coming. Maksim was next in command after Adrik. He was a valuable member of the leadership. I was surprised he didn’t move with a team of guards all the time.
Like now.
I surveyed them all, taking inventory like I had many times before when a smuggling crew would return to the Cartel beaten and bloodied. Like I had when Enrique was found and brought to us.
I was fine. Unharmed if shaken up. I was doing my best to hide that fact and to stay strong for them.
Dean was up on his feet, uninjured. No one had ridden in his car with him. The driver of the van had bravely tackled one of the others. With the soldier who’d also climbed out of the van with him, the attacker was pinned to the ground. Face down, gagged, and zip-tied, courtesy of Dean getting the binds out of his car.
We had one to take with us. He was the sole survivor of the attacking force that had ambushed us, and I wasn’t sure who he belonged to. Unless Arturo was actively recruiting new members to bring into the Cartel, that man had no ties to the Garcia organization. He didn’t seem like he was supposed to represent any Colombian faction, either.
Where he’d come from—and why he’d attacked—would be answers that the men back home could wring out of him.
“Are you all right?” Maksim asked me, pulling my attention back to him.
I nodded, frowning at him. “I’m better off than you are at the moment,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. He was hit, and while he was bleeding, he wasn’t at any serious risk of a lasting problem. He wasn’t dying on me.
Thank God.
I sighed as I reflected on how total and encompassing that relief was.
When we’d run out here to the scene together, more like partners than ever before, I hardened my heart against those terrible what-if scenarios.
What if he was hurt, what if I was, and what if we were separated and no longer able to continue with this bond that seemed to be sticking not because of any arrangement but because of this phenomenon called love?
He smirked, acknowledging my attempt to lighten the atmosphere. In the aftermath of this attack, things were somber and serious. But I wasn’t going to slip into a traumatic response or break down.
I’d faced dangers before.
I’d lost people to this sort of a threat before.
And I’d learned that surviving wasn’t a right. It was a privilege. A blessing—one not to take for granted.
We stayed together until Alexei and Viktor arrived with a fleet of vehicles. They immediately assessed the situation. Dean took over explaining what had happened while I helped Maksim toward another car. He scooted in, nodding at his brother that he’d meet up with him as this investigation began.
“We’ll take the runner to Lev’s safehouse,” Viktor said. “You want to question him yourself?”
