We move quickly through the house, taking down any man that comes our way. Six more bodies hit the ground before we get to the center of the deceivingly large house.
“This is it,” Dimiv whispers. “We’ve covered the whole floor. Every room is empty.”
I shake my head. “There’s a trap door somewhere. Has to be. He’s got her here. I can feel it.”
I start pulling at the paintings and mismatched hangings that decorate the walls in odd places. I hit the jackpot when I reach a long burgundy carpet that’s been nailed to the top of the wall. Tearing it down reveals a narrow, rickety wooden door that opens to a staircase winding down.
More darkness.
More caves.
More unknown creatures beyond.
I pull my gun out and creep down the stairs. It’s all silent on the way down, but the moment my boots hit the floor of the basement, a thumping sound echoes between walls. A woman in nurse’s scrubs with jet black hair spins around and gasps. She opens her mouth to scream but Nikolai takes her out with a bullet to the throat.
I step over the cooling corpse and towards the last door set in the wall. I kick it open to reveal a blindingly white room. It takes a long time—too damn long—for my eyes to adjust to the change in brightness. But I don’t have to wait for my vision to fully clear to realize that this whole situation is fucked.
Beneath the razor-sharp white lights is a bed.
In the bed is my fiancée, with her feet in stirrups and abject misery imprinted on her face.
And beside her… is Boris Sobakin—with a gun to Alyssa’s head.
I freeze, but she doesn’t seem remotely aware of anything that’s happening. I’m not sure if she even knows I’m here. She’s still pregnant but it looks like that won’t be true for long.
“Get the fuck away from my woman, you bastard.”
Boris only laughs and cocks his gun. “I was wondering when you’d show up. Now, the fun can begin.”
57
URI
“You hurt her and I’ll fucking destroy you,” I snarl. “That’s a promise.”
Boris just shrugs. “You can certainly try. Then again, you have tried. Where has it gotten you, hm? I’m still here, standing next to your woman with a gun to her head—and you’re over there, unable to so much as lift a finger.”
He smiles at me before his eyes flit to Dimiv and Nikolai at my sides. “Ouch, that looks like it hurts, Niko,” he laughs. “Wonder who did that to you.”
“Fucking bas—”
I throw my hand out, preventing Nikolai from going any closer. “Don’t.”
Boris laughs calmly. “See? You may have come with manpower, Uri. But a true pahkan doesn’t need manpower. Not when I know how to get the upper hand. Not when I have all the leverage.”
He drags the tip of the gun down the side of Alyssa’s face as she writhes around on the bed. Her face is drenched with sweat, her hair matted against her cheeks. She looks like she’s in pain—silent pain.
“When this is all over, this shadow war will become legend. Uri Bugrov, with all his power, all his money, and all his men couldn’t take down the lowly, lonesome Boris Sobakin. One against the universe, and the one is who came out on top.”
His gaze twists to the side and for the first time, I notice Grigory standing there in his white lab coat. My eyes go wide as I stare at the sniveling traitor. “You will pay for this, too,” I promise him in a low snarl.
Grigory doesn’t look anywhere near as calm as Boris does. He’s shaking in his shoes, in his fingertips, in his blue-tinged lips and the bloodshot whites of his eyes.
“Grigory, do me a favor and pass our guests here those handcuffs on the table?” Boris requests pleasantly. “They’re going to cuff themselves to the radiator like good little boys.”
Swallowing hard, Grigory picks up three sets of handcuffs, drops one in the process, picks it up again, and approaches the three of us gingerly. He stops several feet away as though we’re rabid dogs on loose leashes.
At this point, that’s exactly what I feel like.
Boris chuckles. “I think Grigory might feel a little more comfortable if you three drop your guns.” When none of us listen, he presses the gun hard against Alyssa’s temple causing her to whimper loudly. “Now.”
I don’t hesitate. I pop out the clip and drop my gun to the ground. I glance behind at Nikolai and Dimiv, who haven’t moved. “Do it.”
They follow suit without question and Grigory, obviously terrified to come any closer, tosses me the first set of handcuffs. I chain myself to the radiator and then Nikolai and Dimiv are forced to do the same.
“There we go. What good boys you are,” Boris snarls with a satisfied smirk on his face.
“Enjoy this while you can,” I hiss. “It’s not going to last long. I’m gonna get out of these cuffs and when I do, nothing you touch will be safe. Especially not that boy you smuggled out of Moscow with his mother.”
Boris shrugs. “My son and his mother are safe. They’re hidden somewhere you’ll never be able to find them. That’s the difference between us, Uri: I protect the things that are of value to me.”
Considering Alyssa is lying in pain in the basement cellar of one of Boris’s holdings for the second time in the last six months, I can’t exactly argue with him. I have failed to protect my family.
But that changes now.
I don’t know how exactly it’s going to happen, but I know from the tips of my fingers all the way down to the marrow of my bones that Boris is not walking out of here alive.
Alyssa moans suddenly, her back arching as though she’s going into shock. I try to move forward but the cuffs hold me back.
“She’s in pain,” I growl. “Do something!”
“Oh, I’m planning to.” Boris smiles. “But it’s probably not what you’re hoping for.” Then he glances towards Grigory, who looks like he’s close to pissing his scrubs. “Get your ass over here and tell me what’s taking so long. I thought you induced her?”
Grigory shoots me a furtive glance before turning to Alyssa’s bed. “I did… but she’s too weak to push out the babies. And they’re too small for a natural delivery.”
Boris shrugs and pulls out a large blade with a gilded hilt. “Guess I’ll just have to cut them out of her stomach.”
Is this what it feels like to go mad? Because I feel as though my sanity is holding on by a fraying string right now. If he brings that blade any closer to her, there’s no telling what will happen.
“I swear to God, Boris, if you—”
BANG!
The gunshot comes out of nowhere. For a second, I actually believe that Boris has shot Alyssa in the head. Then the gun falls uselessly out of his hand as blood gushes from his arm.
“What the fuck…?” Sobakin gasps, looking down at his injured hand in pure disbelief.
Dominik rushes into the room with a combination of my men and his. Boris takes one look at Dominik and tries to make a grab for his gun. But he doesn’t reach it in time.
Grigory does.
Despite his pale face and his constant shivering, the man moves pretty fast for a traitorous coward. He’s only a foot from Boris as he raises the gun.
“Give it the fuck here!” Boris snarls. “Give it to—”
BANG!