Page 73 of Then We Shatter

There are secret entry points we could use to climb onto the six-foot-wide gallery that runs along three sides of the hall, but we need to remain hidden. We stop at the center point and take up positions close to each other, using spy holes in the oak paneling to watch the proceedings. These Moncriefs are sneaky bastards.

Calder’s brothers stand beneath sparkling chandeliers and they don’t look impressed when a Bratva soldier enters the hall alone. Without a word, he completes a slow circuit of the room then looks upwards.

His gaze skims over the spy holes Calder and I are using, and settles on the figure that’s just appeared on the west side of the viewing gallery. The soldier nods to his comrade then towards another guy who’s just taken up a similar position on the opposite side of the gallery.

“Overkill if you ask me,” whispers Calder. “Someone down there thinks a lot of themselves. Probably got a little dick.”

Calder Moncrief specializes in running nightclubs, and while he isn’t unused to violence, he’s not a veteran of turf wars. What we’re witnessing is more like a hostile takeover, and it doesn’t sit well with me.

The reason for my ill-ease appears a moment later. Fitz Moncrief is one of the three remaining men to enter the hall, but it’s the balding man in his sixties that grabs my attention. He’s wearing a tartan fucking scarf like he’s already part of the family. Vasili Barkov has a smug grin on his face.

He opens his arms wide to Rory and Duke. “Gentlemen! Thank you for your warm welcome!”

I stagger back a step. He’ll be the reason Danyl was summoning Katarina. She could be on her way to greet her uncle now and I don’t want her within ten feet of that bastard. “I need to get to Katarina. Now!” I shout-whisper to Calder.

He holds up a hand, his eye pressed to the timber panel as he watches the promised handover of his brother. I can’t claim to have spent much time worrying about the missing Moncrief, but I’m glad he’s safe. Katarina, however, is in imminent danger. My heart beats like a jackhammer and I wrench Calder away from the heartwarming scene of his brother’s reunion.

“I don’t care who I have to kill to get to Katarina, but I will get to her.”

“Shit, Killian, breathe for a second. Let me speak to–”

“This isn’t up for debate. Show me how to get down to the foyer. I need to intercept her before she reaches Vasili.”

Calder’s about to object, but his mouth hangs open as Vasili’s voice echoes through the hall.

“Moya lyubimaya plemyannitsa!” My favorite niece.

“I’m your only niece, Uncle.”

Burning rage pumps through my veins and a jolt of pain hits me between the eyes when I smack my head against wood in my haste to look back through the spy hole. Bile rises in my stomach as I catch Vasili kissing Katarina’s cheeks.

“Still my favorite and looking as beautiful as ever,” Vasili says as he inspects her appearance. “Red always did suit you, but I would have preferred something more virginal for your wedding.”

“The wedding is tomorrow,” Katarina replies with a confidence that vanishes when her gaze flicks to a man dressed as a civilian rather than the black combats and leather jackets the soldiers wear. He holds a small leather-bound bible.

“There’s no need to wait.”

Katarina schools her expression perfectly, but I share the horror I know she feels. “Dyadya?” Uncle. “We have it all arranged. I have a beautiful dress. Ivory silk. I can show you.”

“There was never going to be a wedding tomorrow,” Vasili replies, sounding almost bored. “You’re in league with the Griffins.”

“I would nev–”

“Their helicopter has just landed less than a mile away. Is that my welcoming party? Or were the Griffins always planning to show up to steal what’s mine?”

Calder taps my shoulder, pulling me away from the conversation. “Rory has the Griffins on standby,” he says and I’m not surprised. He would have alerted them the moment he knew I was here. “They’ve landed their helicopter in a neighboring field. It’s time to call in reinforcements.”

“Agreed. You speak to Ash,” I say. I’m in no rush to face his wrath just now, or have him try to talk me out of what I still intend to do. “I’m going to get closer to one of the guards up here so we’re ready if things kick off. I might need you to take care of the other one.”

“I can do that,” Calder says, taking out his cell as we prepare to split up. “If you do need to get onto the gallery, you’ll find a latch in the third panel.”

We’re about to move when my ears prick to the warning Vasili is issuing to the Moncriefs. “I would hate to spoil tonight’s party. Bloodshed would be very bad for your branding, don’t you think?”

I nod to Calder to hurry up and make the call to the Griffins, but he turns his phone’s screen to face me. There’s no network.

“Is that a threat?” Duke asks from downstairs, his tone icy.

“Of course it is,” the pakhan replies.