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“Please,” she said in reply, pressing her hand against my chest, her long fingers clutching at my shirt. There was a softness to her tone, a silent but overwhelming need for her sins to be forgiven. I could see it in her treacherous eyes, and it nearly broke me. She was dressed entirely different than on the island, the simple tee shirt and jeans accentuated by the way she’d slipped her long hair into a ponytail. Now she appeared much younger, highlighting her innocence against my brute force of nature.
And I’d never wanted her more than I did at this moment.
“Get. Your. Things. Now.”
She opened her mouth to reply when a whooshing sound captured my attention, a massive explosion occurring seconds later, shattered glass and debris slamming against us. The force pitched us to the floor, her body hitting with a hard thud.
“Alexei,” she moaned as I scrambled to cover her body with mine, fighting to grab ahold of the gun that had been pitched out of my hand.
“Are you okay?” I hissed, brushing glass from her face.
“I… think so.”
“We need to get out of here. Do not move. I’ll be right back.”
She snagged my arm, fighting to keep me from going.
“Just stay still.” I rubbed my thumb across her face before moving to a crouched position, making my way through the flames that had already erupted across portions of the living room. I ducked my head in front of the gaping hole, scanning the street, the darkness preventing me from seeing a damn thing. Her small house was on a corner of a typical quiet neighborhood, which had provided easy access for Sergei and any soldiers that he’d hired. There were minimal streetlights, and no one kept their lights on, allowing the soldiers privacy. I’d parked on the perpendicular side a solid block away, which would allow far too much time for the asshole to fire. I’d walked the area before she’d arrived, seeing nothing of suspicion, which pissed me off.
It would seem the assassin had increased his standing along with his skills, which also confirmed he was only a small cog in Volkov’s wheel. As I turned to gather her into my arms, I caught another flash out of the corner of my eye. The second explosion wasn’t as powerful, but I was tossed forward by several feet, forced to crawl to her as she screamed again. I pressed my hand over her mouth. “You need to stay quiet. We’re going out the back. My car is around the corner.”
She nodded, her breathing scattered.
I wasn’t an explosives expert but if I had to guess, I’d say a military grade grenade launcher had been used. They were easy to obtain on the black market, easily altered to magnify damage. Flames erupted throughout the living room, sparks flying into the entrance foyer. When I heard a series of crackles, the hair stood up on the back of my neck.
The shitshow was just the beginning of Sergei’s plan of attack. Volkov had been thorough in his plans, allowing Sergei to handle his need for revenge in exchange for orchestrating a more destructive attack.
At least she didn’t fight me when I gathered her into my arms, but I noticed she was limping, which heightened my rage. I raced us through the house, hearing gunfire, the line of shots following us directly. The fuckers also had night vision goggles.
Fuck. Fuck!
I protected her from the spray of bullets as they slammed against the kitchen wall. Within seconds, at least a hundred had been fired off from an automatic rifle. She was shaking in my arms but was able to keep quiet. We had about one chance in a thousand to make it out of here alive, but I’d always been a risk taker.
As I opened the door, I continued to feel her fingers grasping my arm, digging into my skin. All I could think about was getting her to safety, protecting her.
Kissing her.
Fucking her.
I was in the middle of my own private war and all I could think about was her long legs and lilting laugh, the way she looked at me when we were in the throes of passion.
I allowed the anger to swell, replacing my desire as I opened the door, pushing her down then placing my finger across my lips. When I eased outside, there was no immediate gunfire, but it was only a matter of seconds before the assassins would head around both sides of the house if they hadn’t taken up position in the street.
A shadow caught the corner of my eye. I reacted instantly, popping off several shots, not bothering to wait until the fucker dropped before yanking on her arm. I did what I could to shield her, swinging around from one side to the other.
“Alexei!” she yelped, and I followed her line of sight, shoving her aside then popping off additional shots. She tripped, slamming against a neighbor’s fence, taking several gasping breaths.
“Come on,” I said between clenched teeth, racing down the fence line. When we reached a break from one property to the other, she tugged with enough force I knew she was pulling me away from the street. I allowed her to take the lead as I continuously scanned the area. While I heard gunfire in the distance, it would seem we were making headway.
She managed to take us behind several houses, the small alley unable to be seen from the road. It had provided us enough protection that only seconds later, we were positioned a couple hundred yards from the car. I yanked out the ammo magazine, replacing it for another, Stephanie jumping when I slapped the end of the weapon.
“Stay calm. My car’s right there. Whatever you do, don’t look up. You need to trust me.”
I folded my body over hers, pressing my lips against her cheek then racing us toward the passenger door. I waited until we were close to hit the unlock button, but as soon as did, all hell broke loose.
Bullets came from every direction, an assailant lunging toward us. While my reaction was quick, I was forced to slam my Ruger against his mouth. As soon as he lifted the weapon, I shot him in the face. Goddamn it. Where the fuck were they coming from?
“Get in. Get in. Get in!” I yelled, throwing open the door.
