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“Sensors,” Yuri whispers, gesturing to the beams scattered over the yard.
“We have to crawl,” I mutter.
It takes longer than I had hoped it would as we slowly inch our way toward the back of the villa. Lights shine from rooms, and it gives us a clear view of the men guarding the house.
“Are you ready?” Demitri asks.
“Not yet,” I breathe. “Two minutes.”
When we pass under the last beam, I whisper, “Ready.”
“Breach!” Demitri instructs, and the four of us jump to our feet, and with exact precision, we attack.
As a guard turns in our direction, I open fire, and then all hell breaks loose at the front of the house as Demitri and Alexei enter with their men.
Winter stays by my side, and with every step I take, she matches it. Yuri takes out a guard on the balcony while Winter gets one as he comes rushing out of the house.
“Good,” I murmur as I set my sights on another guard, taking him down with a shot to the head.
“Four down,” I notify Demitri. Their gunfire sounds through the house as we enter through a sliding door.
“Blyad',” Alexei curses. “I got the son. He pissed himself.”
“Vince?” Winter asks as we move through a living room.
“Yes.”
He must’ve left St. Monarch’s after the assassination of Winter’s family.
“Don’t kill Antonio. He’s mine,” she growls.
As we turn down a hallway, we’re met with more guards, but not the amount we anticipated. Seems the Blancos weren’t expecting Winter to retaliate but to go into hiding again.
We open fire, and I take them down as quickly as I can. My heart pounds in my chest every time a gun is raised in Winter’s direction.
Suddenly, Antonio Blanco comes out of a room, holding a woman as a shield. Winter immediately starts shooting. The woman takes four bullets before Antonio shoves her toward us, making a run down some stairs.
“Coward,” I hiss as we reach the woman.
She’s gasping for air, but then Winter crouches next to her, whispering darkly, “A mother for a mother.” Winter rises to her feet then puts a bullet in the woman’s head.
“Moving to a lower level,” I advise Demitri.
“Coming your way,” he replies.
Cautiously, I descend the stairs, not knowing what we’ll be met with.
Chapter 23
WINTER
“Blyad',” Damien hisses when he catches sight of something I can’t see yet. He freezes, then says, “Stay here, Winter.”
Like hell I am!
Damien moves forward, his gun trained on someone, while shaking his head.
Refusing to miss my one chance at killing Antonio, I move forward, and then the air is ripped from my lungs.
“Cillian,” I gasp.
Antonio holds him as a shield, a gun trained against Cillian’s head.
My breathing speeds up at seeing the man I’ve mourned, still alive, albeit barely. It’s clear they’ve tortured him, his left eye swollen shut and his hands covered in blood.
He’s in bad shape, and without giving it another thought, I lift my gun.
“I will kill him,” Antonio threatens, and then I pull the trigger just as Cillian yanks free, falling to his hands and knees. My bullet hits Antonio between the eyes, and I keep firing as I move closer, in a hurry to get Cillian.
Antonio stumbles backward before he slumps to the ground. I rush to Cillian, where he’s trying to push himself up. Every breath he takes sends a wave of pain over his face as I kneel before him. Then he whispers, “Poppet.” Cillian collapses against me.
“My God,” I sob as I wrap my arms around him. “My God.” Absolute joy floods me, making my head spin as I try to process it. “Cillian.”
“All the training paid off,” he chuckles, a whistling sound escaping him.
“I thought you died,” I cry as I hug him tighter. “We couldn’t find your body.”
“I woke up here,” he gasps through pain, and I ease my hold on him.
“We need to move.” Damien crouches on Cillian’s side and pulls Cillian’s arm around his neck as he takes hold of him. I do the same, and then we help Cillian stand.
Still in shock, I try to take as much of Cillian’s weight as I can.
“Who’s this?” Alexei asks as he comes down the stairs.
“God, Poppet,” Cillian breathes at the sight of Alexei Koslov.
“He’s my family,” I say, tightening my hold around Cillian’s back.
Alexei moves closer. “You’re too small, little Winter. Move.”
I let Alexei take my place, and then we can move faster as we make our way out of the basement. I keep my body positioned in front of Cillian, my gun raised and ready to fire.
I won’t lose him a second time.
“Sergei, bring the car around the front,” Damien instructs.
We make our way through the bodies of the guards Alexei and his group took down, and then I see Vince lying face down, his back riddled with bullets.
Burn in hell with your family, bastard.
Leaving the mansion, we move quickly to get to the cars. It’s a struggle getting Cillian over the wall, and his pain-filled breaths rip at my heart.
