TWELVE
Anton
"Get up!" One of the agents barks orders at me as he reads me my rights and places me under arrest.
"What are the charges?" I ask as he snaps on the metal handcuffs, securing my wrists behind my back.
He doesn't answer my question.
"I want a lawyer and my one phone call."
The smarmy bastard just smiles at me. "You're being transferred."
"To where?" I ask, and another agent opens the door. Two men stand in the hallway. They're wearing suits and have fake badges attached to their blazers.
One glance and I recognize both men. They work for Mikhail.
Is the agent turning me over working with Mikhail, or is he an imbecile and blindly handing me over, believing that I'll be in federal custody?
I'll take my chances with Mikhail, although I imagine he wants me dead after the shit I did here, showing up, strolling in, and trying to get to Savannah.
I'd be better off in federal custody, arrested, and tossed into a prison cell.
Nikita and Dmitri are barely recognizable. They've shaved their beards, and their hair is trimmed. They both look like clean-cut gentlemen, but looks can be deceiving.
Nikita hands over the transfer papers, and the agent signs them before returning the fake documents. I'm escorted toward the elevator, and the double doors open ahead.
Savannah bolts out from behind the double doors. "They're bratva!" she shouts, raising her gun from its holster at her hip.
I slip from Nikita and Dmitri's grasp, wanting to protect Savannah from the monsters who intend to kill her. She'd almost gotten away.
With my hands secured behind my back, it is difficult to do more than shield her with my body as I rush toward her.
Her eyes widen, but she doesn't shoot me. Is it because I'm unarmed or that she still harbors feelings toward me?
With her attention on me, she fails to notice until it's too late; Dmitri comes at her with a shiv, which he managed to get through the metal detectors.
I have no choice but to knock her backward toward the elevator and attempt to get away from Dmitri and Nikita.
But she probably thinks that I'm working with them.
I'm not.
I betrayed my family to protect her.
Agents raise their guns, but no one rushes to Savannah's aid but me. The elevator doors begin to close, and I rush at her, forcing her back into the elevator while Dmitri flanks her blindside and grabs her from behind, sneaking in with us. He lifts the shiv to her chin and slices her enough to let her know he's serious about hurting her.
Nikita jumps into the elevator with us as the double doors are halfway closed. He hits the button for the garage. The elevator descends quickly.
"Leave her alone," I warn Dmitri, but it's not as though I can do much with my hands in metal cuffs at my back.
Does Savannah carry a spare key? If she does, she's a bit busy at the moment to help me.
She knocks Dmitri backward, slamming his body into the elevator wall, and the handrail collides with his lower back. He grunts but doesn't flinch.
Savannah struggles with Dmitri and raises her right arm across her body, turning the gun toward herself. She lifts her arm over her shoulder to shoot Dmitri, but Nikita stops her before she can shoot.
It's two against one.
Not anymore. It'll be two against two.
I ram into Nikita, my head slamming into his chest. Even without my hands, I may not be able to fight my best, but I'll do whatever it takes to help set Savannah free.
The elevator doors open as the struggle continues.
Metal clanks against the floor. Savannah lost her gun, but she hasn't lost the fight.
Boots smack the cement ground from a distance as agents rush down the stairs. Shots are fired haphazardly through the garage.
"Grab the girl, let's go," Dmitri says, shouting orders at Nikita.
Nikita lifts Savannah effortlessly over his shoulder. Without her weapon, she kicks her legs and slams her fists into Nikita's back, but it does little to deter him from rushing her toward the awaiting vehicle.
They yank open the back door of a white van and shove her inside. I'm forced in next, and while I don't want to go, I'm not leaving Savannah alone with the bratva. She's going to need someone to protect her.
The door slams shut behind us, and gunshots blaze through the garage a minute later. Dmitri and Nikita must have had weapons in the front seat.
I shield Savannah with my body, covering her from being hit as bullets ricochet and pelt the van's exterior.
The engine roars to life, and the driver slams on the gas. I didn't see who was behind the wheel, if it was a third member of the bratva or if it was Dmitri or Nikita driving.
The sound of gunshots grows distant as the van speeds out of the parking garage. "We need to get out of here," I say, lifting myself off Savannah.
My leg burns. A bullet grazed my flesh, but it's nothing that I can't survive. I've had worse done to me.
I roll off of Savannah, grimacing from the injury to my leg.
"What's wrong? Were you shot?" Her voice raises an octave.