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Suddenly, there are footsteps coming down the hallway, and I turn to see Eve, Grigory, and a few other Bratva soldiers jogging down the hallway. When Eve sees me, she visibly relaxes.
“Thank God.”
We embrace quickly, and then she turns to Kari. “Are you all right?”
The woman wraps her arm around Eve, clearly more comfortable in her presence than in mine. “I’m fine. I think I’m free.”
“You are,” Eve says, grabbing her hands. “You are free.”
Eve leads us all back down the hallway. I follow along, but my leg is starting to hurt more and more with every step. Soon, I won’t be able to go on. I need to sit down and soon.
We pass the servants’ quarters and go through a back door to a gravel alley behind the inn.
Maddie and three other women are standing there with Vito. He has an arm around a trembling Maddie, comforting her so effectively the two of them don’t even look up as we approach.
“The Cartel is gone,” Eve announces.
Maddie squeals in happiness and turns to embrace Vito. He awkwardly pats her on the back, shrugging at Grigory, but he leans into the hug when he thinks no one is watching.
“What do we do now?” Kari asks.
“Do whatever you want,” Eve says. She digs in her pocket and finds a ring of keys. “Take one of the cars and get out of here. All of you.”
“I can go home?” Maddie asks.
Eve nods gently. “You can. If you want. But you don’t have to.”
“What other option do we have?” a brunette woman asks.
Eve asks a member of the Bratva for a pen and uses the back of a business card from one of the cars to scribble our number on the back of it. “Call me if you need anything. But there are resources in the city for you. Safe houses and charities. There are organizations that will help you find a job and keep you off the streets.”
I walk over to the building and rest on a wooden crate, stretching my injured leg out in front of me while Eve talks to the women. After a few minutes, they all seem eager to leave. Kari hugs Eve, waves to me, and thanks the other men for saving them. Then, she leads the other women to the SUV.
* * *
Eve watches the dust settle behind where the SUV disappeared through the trees, and then she comes to find me.
“What now?” she asks.
I nod to the back door. “Unfortunately, we have to clean up.”
“I thought there were people for that kind of thing.”
I think of Rick Koban and how he would feel about the Volkov Bratva taking down this cell of the LeClerc Cartel. As a past attendee of one of their auctions, I’m not sure he’d approve. Besides, I have a better idea.
Eve and I walk into the building hand in hand. When my limp worsens, she loops her arm around my waist and helps me to the entryway. I nod to where Edgar is going cold on the floor.
“Was that you?”
She nods, her face pale. “It was. Both of them.”
I notice the second man lying in the doorway between the entryway and the hallway. I don’t recognize him until I see his green mask lying on the floor next to him. He stayed pretty quiet all week, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve to die for what he wanted to do to Eve.
“This entire place makes me sick,” Eve says. “I know the Cartel was only using it for the weekend, but it feels tainted now.”
“Well, it won’t be here for long.”
She looks at me, brow furrowed. “What are we going to do?”
