“What’s this about?” Yulian interrupts, his eyebrows knotting together.
I ignore my brother and continue with my line of questioning. “And how many men are inside the room with him?”
“Just one other,” Boris says. “There are at least three stationed outside the door, however.”
“But he’s barricaded in there?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck,” I growl, moving past Boris and into the house.
Yulian and Lev follow behind me. I can tell they’re both struggling to keep up with my train of thought.
“Anton,” Lev hisses as we get to the front door, “what the fuck is going on?”
I nod to the guard at the door and he steps aside to let us pass. I put a finger over my lips to signal to everyone to be as quiet as possible.
I move towards the sitting room where the three guards have been stationed. They’re relaxed, but the moment they see me, they stand at attention.
One is about to speak when I raise my hand and silence him. I signal to the men to surround the room and move on my command.
On the count of three.
One.
But I already know what we’re going to find when we bust in there.
Two.
This is a precaution that we don’t really need.
Three.
I kick down the door, but there’s not so much as a flutter from the inside. We take no one by surprise.
Because both the men in the sitting room are dead.
“Fuck!” Lev spits.
I stand over Yaromir’s body. He’s lying a few feet away from the unlucky soldier he chose to keep him company. Their throats are similarly slit, eyes open, faces frozen in death shock.
“Fuck,” Lev says again, circling the room like a caged animal.
“Explain yourselves!” Yulian yells at the men who were standing guard outside the room.
All three of them have paled. They’re staring at the bodies of their brother and don like it’s a bad nightmare they hope to wake up from.
“Answer me!” Yulian roars.
I hold my hand up again and Yulian backs off immediately, giving me the floor. I turn to the three guards, meeting each one of their gazes in turn.
One of the men steps forward. He’s trembling. “Don Stepanov, I swear to you on my life, no one walked in or out of this room. The door has been shut for half an hour.”
“So their murderer can walk through walls, is that what you’re saying?” Lev snarls.
“I think that’s exactly what she did,” I say grimly. Both Yulian and Lev turn to me in surprise. I explain, “Marina grew up in this house. She used to brag to me that she knew all its secrets. She also requested that their meeting take place in this exact room. She must have had a reason.”
“You think there’s a trap door in here?” Lev asks.