Page 167 of The Bratva King

“I know.” I swallow hard. “I’ll stay in the car. I won’t get in your way. I just need to be close.”

Maksim clears his throat. “For what it’s worth, Lila didn’t listen to your orders and snuck out. Could have gotten herself killed by doing it her way. Smart play is keeping her⁠⁠—”

“Close,” Lila chimes in. “Keep us close. I’m going, too.”

Maksim exhales and spreads his hands. “See. Better to know where they are.”

The brothers exchange looks. Some silent communication passes between them that I don’t understand.

Finally, Sergei exhales slowly. “They stay in the vehicles. Surrounded by guards. They do not exit for any reason.”

“Agreed.” Nikolai doesn’t look happy about it.

I want to argue, but I know I’ve pushed as far as I can. “I need a gun.”

Nikolai closes his eyes for a moment. Then, he turns toward the armory.

“Fine,” he says. “You carry what I give you.”

A few minutes later, he puts a gun in my hand and checks the safety. Maksim does the same for Lila.

The men stare at us. I’m in no mood, and they must see it.

“Let’s go fuck some shit up,” Maksim says.

Twenty minutes later, we’re pulling out of the driveway in a line of SUVs. I’m in the back seat with Nik beside me. Two guards sit in front, while Maksim and Lila take the third row behind us. My stomach churns with fear and anticipation. No one speaks.

I notice Nik rubbing his fingers together. His stim. I’ve learned all about stims over the past few years. That’s his. Luke rubs his blanket.

God, please tell me Matteo allowed Luke to bring his blanket. I can only hope he’s holding on to it and self-soothing.

The vehicles slow to a stop. I stare at a flat-roofed building. Not a house, but not a warehouse, either. No lights. No movement.

The men exit their vehicles with military precision. Nikolai and Maksim get out, and Lila climbs forward into the seat beside me. Nikolai pauses before going inside and looks back toward the SUV. I know he can’t see me through the tinted glass, but it still feels like he’s looking right at me. Then he’s gone, disappearing into the shadows.

Four guards are left with us, and it pisses me off. I want them all to go find my son. I feel a pang of guilt for going against Nikolai’s wishes. I understand why he didn’t want me here. He has to protect me. I’m dividing his attention. Dividing his forces.

I count the seconds. Watch the building. Wait for movement. The gun is on my lap. I check the safety. Check the magazine, just like Greg showed me. He taught me how to defend myself in case the worst happened.

It happened. I can’t think about Greg right now. I have to focus.

Lila is fidgeting nervously.

Time is moving too fast and not fast enough.

A blast tears through the darkness somewhere beyond the far side of the building. The SUV rocks beneath us, and a flash of orange lights the windows before smoke rolls into the night, as the radios crackle to life.

“Stay down,” one of the guards orders.

“Go, go, go!” I hear another one shout.

The radios are alive with men, all shouting commands. Most are in Russian. That’s strategy. I heard Nik and his brothers telling the others to speak in Russian in case they were being listened to.

“Oh, shit,” Lila says. “What the hell is happening?”

My eyes go to the building where Nik disappeared. The building my son is waiting for me in.

I watch two of the men rush toward the blast. The other two stay with us, one crouched behind the front quarter panel and the other taking cover at the rear of the SUV.