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I fucking love them.
I love Sophia.
My heart twists into a lump.
Ollie’s voice crashes back into my ear. “S-sorry, guys, the frequency got messed up. We’re back on. Aleks… Uh, he’s on the run. He knows about the trap.”
But I’m not listening. Couldn’t care less about Aleks right now. I stride into the center of the barn, eyes on the body on the ground.
It’s Katerina.
Thank fuck!
Her eyes are wide open, a horrific stare fixed on nothing. Blood oozes out of a bullet hole between her eyes, as clean and precise as a surgeon’s cut. A mess beneath the back of her head tells me it’s probably blown out. She won’t be missing it, I’m sure.
I look up. Sophia’s there, maybe ten feet away. Her hands snap to her mouth like she’s holding back a scream or maybe a sob. Either way, she’s pulling Yulia into her, like she can make the kid blind to this nightmare with just her body.
“Luka,” she breathes out, voice quivering. Her eyes are big and wet, but goddamn it, she’s shielding Yulia.
“Shh!” I stride in front of both of them against whatever hell might come next.
A shadow moves closer from the corner of the barn. My finger hovers over the trigger of my gun, itching to pull, to end whatever threat still lurks in this godforsaken place.
“It’s me, sir.” I recognize that ironclad voice instantly. It’s Svetlana. “Everything is under control here,” she announces, her posture stiff as a board. She strides over to Katerina, looking down on her with a smirk. Yeah, she’s still got it, that cold-blooded efficiency.
And that makes one of us.
My heart’s still pounding like a drum as I step away, making room for Svetlana to work her grim magic. “Sophia, Yulia,” I grunt, trying to soften the edge in my voice. “You’re with her now. Go.”
I drop to one knee, leveling my gaze with Yulia’s tear-streaked face. She’s sobbing, her little body shaking. It’s like a knife to my chest.
“You’ve been brave, Malyška. Very brave,” I tell her, keeping my voice steady. “Stay with Sophia and Svetlana, got it?”
Yulia grabs my shirt, her fists clenched. “Promise you’ll come back?”
“I promise. I’ll be back soon. You wait here.” I pull her into a quick but firm hug. She clings to me for a heartbeat, her arms gripping tight before she lets go and runs off to join Sophia.
As they’re hustled away, my earpiece buzzes to life. “Luka, it’s Erik.
“Status?” I can picture the scene outside these walls: Erik and Dimitri tearing through Aleks’s goons like a hot knife through butter. No doubt the floors are a mess of spent shell casings and bodies.
“Cleanup’s almost done,” Erik’s voice crackles back. “They had no time to attack; they’re scrambling like roaches in the light.”
My earpiece buzzes again as I step outside. “Luka, how’re Yulia and Sophia?” Dimitri’s voice cuts through the chatter in my ear.
“They’re safe, but Aleks – that fucker’s on the run,” I growl, gritting my teeth.
From the other end, I hear the sound of a fist meeting flesh, followed by a pained cry.
“Kill him,” Dimitri snarls.
“Ollie, where the hell did he go?” I bark into the earpiece.
“Uh, satellite’s picking up movement, boss. East wing. Your private library,” Ollie stammers.
“Pizda!”
Boots pounding on gravel, I haul ass toward the east wing. Aleks has dug his own grave; now he’s going to lie in it.
