Page 133 of Bratva Menace

I didn’t waste another second thinking about it. I didn’t have the luxury. If I just got attacked, it was likely my father and Autumn had been too. My father told me he’d started gathering numbers for a coup against Sergei, but whether they would fight with him, instead of against him, I didn’t know. Until I knew more, I had to assume it was just us three together.

I bolted out of the office. My body collided with another one the second I stepped out into the hall. A knife came speeding toward me without hesitation. I blocked it, holding his wrist at bay, and rammed my knee into his stomach. He curled over, sucking in a harsh breath. I wrapped both arms around his head and snapped his neck. Another one of Sergei’s soldiers came zooming around the corner. He raised his machine gun.

Christ.

I threw myself to the side, bringing the dead body of the soldier I’d just killed with me. He served as a shield, bullets meant for me hammering into his back. I threw my knife as I rolled us, my blade slamming into the other soldier, right between his eyes.

I got up quickly, my senses on high alert. Disarming both men seemed like the most prudent thing to do, so I quickly stripped them of their weapons and kept them for myself.

“Lukyan!”

I spun quickly, my gun up and taking aim.

My father appeared at the end of the hall. Autumn was at his side, both of them covered head to toe in blood and…Is that someone’s ear in her hair? Jesus. There were four soldiers with them, but they weren’t attacking them. No. They were protecting them. Guarding them.

What the fuck is going on?

My brain ran a mile a minute, trying to piece it all together.

“You alright?” he asked, jogging over to me.

“Fine.” I nodded. “You know what’s happening?”

He shook his head. “No idea. Sergei’s men just attacked us out of nowhere.”

“Yeah,” Autumn agreed. “And it wasn’t like an, Oh, I just wanna teach you a lesson kind of attack. It was a I wanna fucking murder you kind of attack. And we’ve got no clue why. They just turned on us.”

“I think I know why.” I dropped to one knee and pulled out the pendant I had suspected was around the dead soldier’s neck at my feet. It was lit up brightly.

Autumn’s eyes widened. “Hey. Those soldiers who attacked us had those too.”

“So did Sergei. Right before I killed him, he activated the one around his neck.”

“Wait, you killed him?” Father asked. “He’s dead?”

“He’s dead. So is Mr. Average. He came bursting into the room right after, and tried to kill me because of it. He said something. Something concerning.”

Father kept a close eye on our surroundings. “What? What did he say?”

“That they’ll come for us. That we’re all going to die.”

“Who is coming for us?” Autumn’s face hardened with strength and determination.

“Everyone.” My gaze flicked between them. “He said, ‘everyone’. I think this was Sergei’s final plan. He knew we were trying to kill him, and he came up with something that ensured if we succeeded, we’d die too. This necklace is some sort of beacon. When he activated his, all the others tied to it activated, too, signaling them to attack.”

“Not all of the soldiers have them, though.” Autumn pointed to the four men standing guard at the end of the hall.

“He might have only given them to the people he could one hundred percent trust. If he suspected soldiers were turning against him, Sergei would have been selective about who he included in his final plan.”

Sounded right. “We have to clear the grounds. Anyone with these pendants is a target.”

“Agreed.” Father nodded. “Let’s get to it.”

We got into formation, Father in the lead, Autumn and I at his back, and the four soldiers behind us. We made our way through the house, sweeping every room as we went. Dead bodies littered the floor. Blood coated the walls. Father and Autumn confirmed they weren’t responsible for some of the bodies, which meant the soldiers with pendants weren’t just trying to kill us. They were trying to kill anyone who didn’t have one. Anyone Sergei didn’t trust. Which turned out to be half of his forces.

We worked to clear the house first. It was hard, but we worked together well, and along the way, we came across more soldiers who were being targeted. When they saw my father, strong and powerful, cutting his way through the enemy like it was nothing, they joined us, his strength giving them strength. It was what always made him such a great leader—the ability to inspire and embolden those around him. People flocked to him and the power he exuded, looking for support. Guidance. Help. And at that moment, a moment of uncertainty where they weren’t sure who the fuck they could trust, my father was a like a beacon of light in the darkness.

Following him was the easiest decision in the world. I would follow him into death, and I knew I wasn’t the only one.