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They exited the vehicle and moved through the forest as quietly and quickly as possible. Bree was sandwiched between Gator in the lead and Blitz bringing up the rear. They were all armed with automatic weapons and sidearms, but if they had to use them, this mission would be over. This was covert, a study in stealth.
When they reached the side gate, Gator had one minute to input the code and get them through before the patrol came by. He punched in the numbers and Bree held her breath. It was a cool night, in the forties, but she was sweating a little, her heart beating fast, and all her senses were on alert.
The gate released silently, thank God, and they slipped through, closed it, and dashed into the nearby shrubs just as the guards rounded the large house. As soon as they passed, Gator was up and moving. They made it to the back of the house in seconds, and Gator once again input the code.
Volkov said that his mother detested security guards inside the house, so there were none, but there were cameras. As soon as they were inside, entering into what was a large, gourmet kitchen, Gator moved off. He was going to run a loop for the cameras. When he gave the signal, Blitz would go for Volkov’s mom, and Bree was headed to his sister.
He had said before he left that he gave his mom and sister a safety code and if they heard the code word, they were to ask no questions and move as quickly as possible.
“Cameras on loop, move.”
Gator was going to Pavel’s room to disable Volkov’s father.
At the sound of his voice, Bree didn’t hesitate. She ran for the main living area and the stairs. She and Blitz were up them in seconds, Gator bringing up the rear. She peeled off to the right and Gator and Blitz moved left.
When she reached Mila’s room, she carefully opened the door and ducked inside. It was a cavernous bedroom, the bed a huge canopy with old-world charm, like the rest of the house. She crept forward and when she reached Mila’s sleeping form, she covered her mouth. The woman woke up with a start and started to struggle.
Bree whispered, “Nadeyat'sya.” Mila immediately stopped struggling. She nodded, then got out of bed and ran to her closet, grabbing clothes and changing quickly. Something metal gleamed at her neck and Bree pointed to it and shook her head.
“Please, it belonged to my grandmother. I can’t leave it behind. It’s all I’m taking,” she said in a watery whisper.
Bree caved. It was just a sentimental piece of jewelry. She understood how much something like that meant. She nodded, then took Mila’s arm and they hot-footed it to the door. Back out in the hall, Gator was already at the head of the stairs as Polina and Blitz came out of the shadows. The two women hugged each other, and Gator jogged down the stairs.
“Hold here,” Blitz said to Volkov’s mom and sister. Mila was the spitting image of her still quite beautiful mom, but there was a fading bruise at her eye. Paval wasn’t just a murdering bastard, he was also a wife beater. That figured.
“All clear,” Gator said. “Let me know when you reach the outside door.”
She and Blitz ushered the two women down the stairs, rushing them through the house into the kitchen. “Hold.” Both women stopped. “In position,” Blitz said.
“Copy that. Cameras are resuming,” Gator said.
In seconds, he was back. They slipped out of the back door, moving across the lawn, and out the security fence gate. They were back at the Land Rover in minutes. The whole op took less than twenty minutes.
They drove for several miles and suddenly there were headlights behind them.
“We might have a problem,” Gator said.
“Just keep moving.”
Mila and Polina clutched each other in the back seat with Bree. She reached out and squeezed his sister’s arm. “It’s going to be all right.”
When they reached the outskirts of the city, Gator did some magical driving and lost the tail. They reached the van at the curb exactly where they said they would be. Bree released a soft breath.
As soon as they stopped, Bree, Blitz, and Gator hustled the two women to the van. Sirens sounded in the distance and one of the men in the van swore. How had they found them? Gator pushed them inside and Blitz climbed in, but Bree stood on the sidewalk. They couldn’t be caught. Everything rode on getting these two women out and she wasn’t going to stand by while the very evidence they needed was so close, yet so far. It was time for the Ogdens to get their justice.
“Bree, get in!” Blitz hissed, but the metal of Mila’s locket caught the light, and Bree sucked in a breath, staring at her.The locket!
She met Blitz’s urgent and fierce look. Everything about him flashed through her in seconds. It hit her like a ton of bricks. This man only ever saw her, and her attempts to shore up her own fears against someone meaning way too much to her that she always felt she had to keep her distance, crumbled. He’d been true and honest and supportive. It was going to be so hard to do this to him.
“Sorry about this,” Bree said, not sure if she was talking to Blitz or Mila. There was simply no time to explain, and it was her sentimentality that had put this whole mission in jeopardy.Nadeyat'sya
It meant hope. That’s all that Volkov had.
Now, it was all that Bree had. Her heart skipped a beat at the revelations that crushed her. She had been such a fool.
She reached out and snatched the locket from around Mila’s neck, turned, and ran into a dark, dangerous, and very uncertain night.
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