I need to find Olena. I need Demyan and the support of my brothers, but when I come into the dining room, our men are assembled. Armed. And Nicolai shakes his head at me.
"Yuri and his men are on their way. There's no time for anything else, Maksym."
But I don't listen to him. I need to find her. I need to be sure she's safe.
It wasn't supposed to go this way.
The sounds of something crashing make me freeze. I look around the room. Sparks are flying, flames leaping in the center of the room. One man falls to the ground, gripping his arm, rolling on the floor to put out the fire.
What the hell is going on?
It takes me a second to realize that Yuri's men have arrived and they're in full-on attack mode. I wanted just this, but not this way. Not without knowing Olena was safe.
"Demyan!" I shout. I need to find him. I need help finding Olena.
And then I see him, his signature blond hair bright against a sea of dark. He's got a fucking machine gun in his arms, and he's beckoning me to come to him.
"Like we'll let those bastards have their way," he mutters.
"Demyan, we have to find Olena," I tell him, even as I take the weapon he gives me.
He scowls at me. "She's safe. I'll explain how the fuck I know that after we take down Yuri."
He throws me the heaviest weapon I've ever held. I take it, strap on the ammo he gives me, then follow him. He’s shouting out orders, commanding our men to fall in line. He’s got a frontline of defense and numerous lines of armed men at the ready for offense. This will be bloody, but we’ll do what we’ve been trained to do. He wants me outside, the first to defend our brotherhood.
How does he know Olena is safe? How the fuck does he know this?
Demyan doesn't wait for a go-ahead but leads me to the side door of our compound. Shots ring out and someone screams, falling to the ground. I can't look, not now. Glass shatters and a chandelier crashes but the men Demyan commands take position and retaliate. Shots ring out around us, but our brothers cover us as we move to go outside.
We head out a small side door that leads to the backyard of the compound, moving stealthily so as not to draw attention.
"How do you know she's safe?" I bark out at him the first chance I get. "She wasn't where I left her."
He breathes out an angry breath. "Because she fucking left with Larissa."
Jesus.
"Let it go, Maks. We'll find them. But right now, be thankful they're not here."
Shouts come from our left, and I can't think of anything else when I see the men who are coming after us. My body goes rigid, my pulse racing. I know these men. I know their eyes. I know the ways their voices sound when they're drunk or high and using my body like a fucking punching bag.
My hands shake when I lift my gun.
I never miss.
Two are coming straight at us, pistols raised, but their weapons are much smaller.
I lift my gun, aim for my target, and pull the trigger.
Again, and again, and again, until the body of the man I shot writhes on the ground, riddled with bullets, spattered in blood. The man beside the one I shot down turns and flees, but I catch him in the back of the head with a shot dead on target. I'm the most certain shot of all our company, and in no time at all the streets are littered with the bodies of our assailants.
No police will come.
This is war.
Demyan and I stand side-by-side, prepared to face the assault on our compound. Blood trickles down his face, but he swipes at it impatiently. I lift my gun, prepared to shoot again. A line of men approach, weapons drawn, and my finger itches to pull the trigger, but in my gut I know this is a distraction. Someone’s coming.
A black car pulls up to our compound, and I know before the door even opens who this will be. But before he can even get out of his car... before I even get a chance to meet the monster eye to eye... I freeze.
Waves of familiar auburn hair frame her face as she runs to her father and embraces him.
My stomach tightens in knots. I can’t move. I can’t think. I can’t blink.
She fucking throws her arms around him.
Sobbing.
Like he's come to fucking rescue her.
I freeze, unable to think or move.
Larissa stands to the side, her mouth parted, but before she can react, Demyan is running to her, ordering her to get down.
I’m frozen in shock.
What has Olena done?
Has she been on his side this entire time?