Page 70 of Deviant Need

“What a mess,” Lev grits out, walking away from me without another glance.

A sudden burst of gunfire explodes through the space, and I jerk my head up, heart slamming against my ribs. Bullets.

The sound is deafening, echoing off metal and concrete. I take off running toward where Mikhail left, sprinting through the warehouse. The door hangs open, and I see him throwing himself behind a car as an SUV unloads rounds at the building. Bullets hit everywhere, metal pinging, concrete cracking, glass shattering. Dead guards line the security gate, blood pooling beneath them.

The SUV fires more shots at Mikhail’s position and then peels out, tires screeching.

My lungs seize. He could have been hit.

He rolls around the car and sprints back inside as they take off. I’m already moving toward him, needing to see for myself that he’s okay. He finally looks my way but only for a second.

“What was that?” Lev says, breathing hard.

Multiple guards sprint toward the entrance and rush outside, weapons drawn. More follow behind them, shouting commands I can’t make out over the chaos. Port workers scatter in every direction, some ducking behind shipping containers while others run for cover inside the warehouse. A few shoulder past us without looking, too focused on getting away from whatever’s happening outside.

“I don’t know. As soon as I walked outside, they just tried to light me up. I’m fine,” Mikhail says, still trying to catch his breath.

Closing the distance between us, I reach out before I can stop myself.

My fingers graze his, and he stops breathing. His eyes lock on mine, and we’re frozen there staring at each other, the air thick between us. His thumb sweeps across mine, feather-light and gone in a second, before he pulls away and breaks eye contact.

“Who the fuck would be stupid enough to hit the port?” Lev snaps, running a hand over his head.

Workers keep running past our position, some stumbling in their panic. One slams into my shoulder hard enough to spin me around before disappearing around the corner. The frenzy is disorienting, everyone moving at once with no clear direction except away from the entrance.

“Did you see anyone?”

“They all had masks on. Uzis, looked professional.” Mikhail pauses, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you going to report this to Father? Because I’m staying far away from him when he finds out.”

Lev glares at him. “I can’t deal with him being pissed at me. I’m barely holding it together as it is.”

“I have so much to do with my club, Lev. It’s your warehouse.”

“Fine. Can you at least pour some vodka on my casket at the funeral?”

Mikhail rolls his eyes. “Calm down, drama queen. Just call him and tell him what happened. We’ll figure it out. Get the security footage, and we can track the plates through the city.” He glances at me. “Danya can look into it for us.”

An officer rushes up to Lev and leans in close, whispering something urgent while holding up an iPad. The screen flashes blue and red, but I can’t see what’s on it from this angle. Around us, workers are still running and scattering, some shouting to each other in Russian and English. The commotion at the front entrance gets louder, more chaotic, and I can hear multiple voices yelling commands.

The guard’s expression is tense when he speaks loud enough for us to hear. “Police and press are on their way. ETA five minutes.”

Lev’s jaw tightens, and he glances at the iPad again before looking up at everything unfolding around the port. His brows pull together. “You don’t think they’re going to hit your club event, do you? The opening?”

“Security will be tripled for the event. Different setup entirely.”

“We had security here too.”

“The club will have everyone there. They’d have to be insane.”

“Or confident they can pull it off.” Lev crosses his arms. “Maybe we should postpone.”

“No.” Mikhail’s voice goes tight. “We’re not postponing. That’s exactly what they want. We’re not canceling.”

“I’m calling Father. And doubling security here.”

Lev picks up his phone and starts making calls, yelling at someone about incompetent security and how did they get this close. He hangs up and throws his hands in the air. “You two need to leave. Now. Daniil, take your car and go home together.”

Mikhail shakes his head. “I’m not going home. I’ll get one of the drivers to take me to Ozero instead.”