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“Where are your men?” I shout at Nicolai as I draw my gun.
“They’re one minute out!” he shouts back, loading his own weapon. “We just need to stall for time. Once reinforcements arrive, they’ll be outnumbered.”
I have a protective arm around Aurora’s head, keeping her as low to the ground as possible. Iknewit was a bad idea to bring her with us. To her credit, she doesn’t seem panicked in the slightest. Even as the gunfire rings loudly into the air, I’ve never seen her calmer and more collected.
“Luka!” she shouts over the chaos. “Give me your laptop!”
“What are you going to do?” I roar over the deafening violence. “Are you going to hack into the jet’s computer system?”
“No, that’s closed circuit. No way in.” She immediately gets to work, her back propped against the side of the car. Her fingers move so quickly they’re practically a blur. “But Iamgoing to hack into air traffic control. That’s much easier!”
I return fire. One shot, two shots. They both hit their mark. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”
Nicolai’s backup arrives in the knick of time. His men come barreling forward, providing the firepower we so desperately need. Bullet casings litter the ground. Konstantin’s men bleed out all over the asphalt.
“Behind you!” Dimitri shouts.
I whip around to find that one of Konstantin’s men has managed to sneak around us. He’s bleeding profusely from his arm and abdomen, but he still has enough strength to stagger forward with his gun raised—pointed right at me. Before I even have the chance to blink, a gunshot rips through the air. I don’t know if I’m the one who fired or if he managed to take the shot before me.
He keels over, slumping to the hard ground. Dead.
I look up to see Catherina glaring at the man, her gun still smoking. Looks like I owe her one.
“I did it!” Aurora exclaims.
“What?” Luka snaps.
“I got into their mainframe. I’m marking his jet as an airspace threat. If they don’t land immediately, the Russian Air Force will have to intervene.”
“God, I love you,” I breathe.
The gun fight slowly but surely comes to a stop. Konstantin’s men have taken heavy casualties. Most of them are dead, and those who aren’t likely won’t survive the hour if they don’t get medical attention soon.
“Round up the survivors,” I order. “Get them patched up.”
Nicolai arches a brow at me. “You don’t want them executed?”
“That’s not how I run things. The fight is over. See to it they’re patched up. If they’re resistant to our help, then let them bleed. If they’re willing to accept it, show them mercy.”
“That’s not how Konstantin does it,” Catherina comments.
I offer her a baleful stare. “I’m not him.”
Carefully, I help Aurora to her feet. She’s unharmed, as are my brothers. Everyone important to me is safe and sound.
Aurora has her sights set on the sky. The jet Konstantin boarded is off in the distance, but it’s very clearly making a drastic pivot back toward the air strip.
“I guess the pilot doesn’t think being blown up on his behalf is worth it,” Dimitri says with a chuckle.
“Everyone get ready,” I say. “It’s not over until it’s over.”
Chapter 42
Aurora
“Stay behind me,” Mikhail warns. “He could be armed.”
I do just that, and the other Antonov brothers also stand in front of me. Instead of a single shield, I now find myself behind an entire wall.
