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I look back at the screen and then at Liam. “Can I have just one more minute? Please?”
He rolls his eyes. “One minute. I need to check on Conor and Mikey. I’ll be back in sixty seconds. Do not leave this office until I come get you.”
“I won’t. Thanks,” I say as I turn back to the screen and open the document. It’s a Russian marriage certificate, but it doesn’t relate to the name of the family on the file. I scroll further until I’m disturbed by the door opening again.
“It hasn’t been a full minute,” I say as I turn around, but it’s not Liam’s face I’m looking at. Instead, there is a tall man with a shaved head and a tattoo of a raven on his neck.
“Who the fuck are you?” he snarls as he advances toward me.
My instincts kick in and I spring from the chair and flash him my best smile. “I was just looking for the restroom…” I say, but as I’m speaking, he stops in his tracks and stares at me, his mouth hanging open as he blinks at me. I don’t know what the hell has him so spooked, but I need to get out of here, and fast. Glancing behind him, I mentally plan my route out of here, but I’m hampered by the fact that he's blocking the whole doorway. I hear the commotion in the hallway outside, making me wonder where Liam and his brothers are.
The bald-headed man continues staring at me while my heart keeps pounding in my chest. After what feels like an eternity, he finally speaks. “Nataliya?” he breathes. “I’ve found you.”
I blink at him, but I don’t have a chance to tell him that he's mistaken because I see the figure of Liam looming behind him as a large hand wraps around his throat. The glint of a blade flashes before my eyes as the bald man’s head is pulled back. I close my eyes as his blood sprays my face and body, and when I open them again, he's on the floor clutching at his throat while his blood pours through his fingers and onto the ground. Liam holds out his hand to me and I grab it.
“Let’s get out of here,” he says as he pulls me out of the room. I stumble after him, wiping the blood from my face with the back of my hand. It’s in my mouth and my nose, and the copper tang makes me want to retch. As we round the corner, two more men with tattooed necks almost crash into us. They see me covered in blood and draw their weapons. Liam pushes me behind him. He knocks the gun from the hands of the one closest to us before slicing his throat with the blade, while Conor steps seemingly out of nowhere and snaps the second man’s neck.
We run past them and into the bar where Mikey is holding off two more men who look like they were trying to make their way into the back.
“Let’s go,” Liam shouts and Conor pulls a gun from the waistband of his trousers and aims it at the head of one of Mikey’s attackers. That seems to stop everyone in their tracks and the two assailants back off, allowing the four of us to run out of the bar to the car parked outside.
Liam bundles me into the back along with Conor and then jumps into the passenger seat while Mikey climbs into the driver’s seat and starts the engine. The car wheel spins out of the parking lot as he floors the accelerator.
“Jessie,” Conor snaps as he pulls me toward him. “Are you okay?” he asks as he starts lifting my clothes and rubbing his hands over my body.
Looking down, I remember that I’m covered in blood and I grab hold of his hands. “It’s not mine. I’m fine.”
“Thank fuck!” he sighs as he wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head.
“What the fuck happened?” Mikey shouts. “Why the fuck is Jessie covered in blood?”
“Some guy walked in on her in that office. He had a gun in his hand. I had to make a split-second decision.”
“It was my fault,” I add. “I asked Liam for more time. I should have left when he told me to.”
“But how did he get into the office? Why weren’t you there? Why didn’t you stay with her, Liam?” Conor snaps.
Liam puts his head in his hands and groans. “I heard the noise in the bar and recognized the Russian accents and knew that we didn’t have much time. I only left her for a few seconds to see how many of them were there. I don’t know where the other guy came from. He must have already been in the building.”
“Which is why you were supposed to stay with Jessie and divert anyone who tried to get in there, Liam,” Conor says in exasperation. “Now we have three dead Russians. Cleanly and quietly, Shane said.”
“It was my fault,” I say again.
“It wasn’t, Jessie,” Liam snaps. “I know the drill. I should never have left you.”
“He could have fucking killed her,” Conor says as he punches the back of the passenger seat so hard that Liam jolts forward.
“Don’t you think I know that,” Liam shouts. Then he turns in his seat and looks at me. “I’m sorry, Jessie.”
“There’s no need to be. I’m completely fine, and you saved my life.”
“Shane is going to go fucking nuclear when he finds out about this,” Mikey says with a shake of his head.
“Fuck!” Liam says with a sigh before he puts his head in his hands and stays quiet for the remainder of the journey home.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
