9. Danil
Everyone else can hear us in their ear, so they all pull their goggles off, preparing for when the lights come on. Within seconds, the room is flooded with bright light, and we’re all left blinking and trying to adjust to it.
Talia’s still gripping her knife, covered in dried blood, and when I look past her, I see a man on the ground with a hole in his neck. He’s obviously dead, the darker color showing up on the thermal imaging had proven that, and I’m guessing she killed him to protect my son.
Vasily pulls his daughter into his arms while I run my hands over my son, trying to assess the damage. His hand is completely disfigured—swollen and a deep purple color, fingers fucked up and bent out of shape, and I want to burn the whole goddamn world down for what they’ve done to him. Tony kneels beside me, quickly checking Max’s vitals, while Roman comes over and squeezes my shoulder.
“He’s going to be okay,” he reminds me. “We’re going to get him home and fixed up.”
Tony turns to ask Talia. “Is he on anything?”
She nods from where she’s standing by her family. “I thought it was aspirin, but he’s been like this ever since he took it.” She scurries back over to a sad pile of water bottles and granola bar wrappers and holds up the bottle. “It’s in Spanish.”
Tony looks at it and then shows it to me. “It’s fine. It’s a high dose of morphine, but he’ll be fine.” He looks back at my son’s ruined hand and then meets my eyes. “We need to get him out of here.”
Val leans down and squeezes his cousin’s good arm. “Time to go home, Max,” he tells him, but my son doesn’t respond.
I can’t stand the thought of Simona worrying for a second longer, so I send her a quick text telling her our son is alive and safe and that I’ll text more as soon as I can. I have to force myself to pocket my phone again, wanting to tell her every detail but knowing now isn’t the time.
Tony starts unpacking a soft stretcher from his bag. He’s just straightened out the canvas when I hear Lev say, “We’ve got trouble out here.”
“What is it?” I ask, staying by my son’s side just like Talia had done. I refuse to let more than a couple of feet separate us. Vitaly and Matvey scoot closer, guarding Max from the sides while Tony stays focused on getting everything set up so we can move him.
“Lorenzo and a shit-ton of his men,” Lev says, and then he yells out the door, “Don’t fucking move!”
Alessandro relays what’s going on through the radio, getting status updates on the other groups still fighting outside while Lorenzo hollers back, “We want to talk.”
“Fuck you, Lorenzo,” I holler back at him. “I’m going to fucking kill you for what you did to my son!”
“He’s alive, isn’t he?” he yells. “I could’ve killed him, but I didn’t.”
“We just want to talk,” another voice hollers. “I’m Mateo, his son.”
“He helped us,” Talia whispers to her dad. “He gave me the medicine and the knife. Don’t trust his dad, though. He’s the one who ordered this,” she says, pointing at Max’s hand.
“Can the two of us come in?” Mateo asks again. “Your guns will be on us the whole time, and we’re not going to try anything. We just want to see if there’s a way out of this for everyone.”
I don’t bother telling him that there’s no way in fuck for them to get their asses out of this. Instead, I say in Russian, “Let them in. It makes no difference if we shoot them in here or outside.”
“Fine,” Lev tells them. “Just you two. If your men come any closer, I’m shooting them.”
I watch as the two men walk into the room—one with greying hair and a smug look on his face, the other with jet-black hair and a much more cautious air about him, both of them in suits, and both of them looking every bit like men who don’t bow easily. This is going to be a real eye-opener for them.
Lorenzo and his son stand in the corner so they can face all of us at once. I’m stunned by the hubris of these fuckers. They’d rather walk into this room, thinking they can sweet talk their asses out of this mess, than fight us. At least in a gunfight, they might stand a chance—a really fucking small one, but at least it’s a chance. In here? They were as good as dead as soon as they crossed the threshold.
The Jefe of the Amaya Cartel gives a soft laugh and looks around at us. “You boys have had your fun. You killed some of my men, and you’ve got your kids back. We’re even, so let’s talk business and figure out a deal.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “You came into our territory, kidnapped two of our sons, tortured them, and ruined my son’s hand. You’re a fucking dead man, Lorenzo.”
“He’s alive,” he starts to argue, but before he can say anything else, Mateo surprises the hell out of all of us by raising his gun and firing one shot into the side of his dad’s head. Before his body’s even hit the floor, Mateo is holding his hands up with his finger off the trigger, making it clear he’s not a threat.
“Jesus, kid,” Vitaly says. “And I thought I had daddy issues.”
Mateo looks at us and then runs his eyes over the dead body that’s off to the side. He gives Talia a nod. “Glad to see the knife helped.”
“It did. Thank you,” she says. She looks at her brother and uncle before putting her focus on her dad. “He saved our lives. Without that knife, Miguel would’ve killed us.” She points at the dead man, and there’s no way in hell Vasily doesn’t notice the very incriminating detail of the man’s unbuttoned pants. Talia’s sugarcoating it. He was going to do a lot more than kill her. “He also brought us extra food and water and did his best to keep the guards from hurting us.”
Vasily looks back at Mateo, clearly torn between wanting to kill him and wanting to let him live for saving his daughter. “Why’d you do it?” he asks, nodding at Lorenzo’s body.
“I don’t want a war with the Bratvas,” he says. “I told my dad it was a bad idea, but he wouldn’t listen. He became too emotional about it and wouldn’t see reason.”
“So just like that?” I ask. “Why not shoot him earlier and end all this?”
Mateo shrugs. “There was still a chance I could convince him to see reason, but it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, so he needed to go.”
“You mean it became clear about five minutes ago?” I ask.
“Yes,” Mateo says, not sounding even slightly affected by having to shoot his dad. “He was ruining the cartel.”
“Oh, your cartel is fucking ruined,” Vitaly says with a laugh.
“We’ve suffered a setback,” Mateo says in the world’s biggest understatement. “But we’re still the Amaya Cartel, and we can come back from this.”
“You think so?” Roman asks.
“I have no desire to interfere with your territories.” Mateo looks around the room. “You’ll never see or hear from my family again.”
“You shot our men,” Matvey says. “We saw you on the security footage.”
Mateo meets my brother’s eyes. “And you shot mine. I was following orders that day. Surely, you can understand that.”
Muffled groans of pain filter in from the hall, and when I look over, I see Lev grinning right before Sasha walks in with Volodya and his sons right behind him. All four of them look like they’ve been enjoying a literal blood bath, and as soon as Talia catches sight of his mask, she lets out a horrified, “Oh my god,” and clamps a hand over her mouth to stifle the scream that wants to come out.
“Take your mask off, son,” Lev says. “You’re scaring her.”
Sasha looks over at Talia. The white of his mask is now covered in blood, his hair and chest are soaked in it, and the serrated knife he’s holding is coated in red and dripping spots of blood onto the cement by his boots. It’s an eerie sight to see, even if he is my nephew and I used to change his diapers. He lifts his mask, but the dead look in his eyes has Talia letting out another scared sob. He can usually hide the dark part of himself, but he’s killed too many people tonight, and there’s no hiding who he really is right now.
“Put the mask back down, Sasha,” Vitaly says, giving his nephew a grin. “You look scarier without it right now. Let’s cover the crazy.”
The corner of Sasha’s mouth lifts in the smallest of grins before he slides the mask back down. Lev looks over at Talia. “I promise he won’t hurt you.”
She nods, but she doesn’t look convinced and stays slightly behind her older brother. Her uncle and cousins aren’t looking any more sane than Sasha, but I guess she’s used to their brand of crazy. I watch Volodya nudge Valeri and say, “Twenty with a knife, fifteen with a gun.”
“Fucker,” Valeri mutters. “I was in here. I didn’t go running off into the woods like a fucking psycho.”
“Don’t be a sore loser,” Volodya says with a grin.
Dima looks at his phone and interrupts them by saying, “Bran says it’s quiet outside. We need to go.”
Tony spreads out the canvas stretcher and then helps Matvey and me lift Max onto it.
“It’s all right, Max. We’re getting you out of here,” I tell him, hoping that some part of my son will register my voice and know everything is going to be okay.
Sasha walks over, and even with the mask, I can tell he’s furious at what he sees. The bloody skull he’s wearing slowly turns to where Mateo is still standing. He points the bloody knife at the man who’s now the head of the Amaya Cartel, and to Mateo’s credit, he doesn’t appear to immediately shit himself.
“Why is he still alive?” Sasha asks.
“He gave my daughter a knife and your cousin medicine,” Vasily tells him. “He protected them, and they’d be dead if it weren’t for him.”
Sasha slowly crosses the room to stand in front of Mateo. At six-five, Sasha has a few inches on the man, but Mateo tips his chin up, refusing to back down. My nephew doesn’t seem to care that Mateo’s still holding his gun. It’s held down at his side, finger off the trigger, but we all just saw how fast he is, and if he didn’t care about dying, he could easily shoot my nephew.
“You let them do that to his hand?” Sasha asks.
“Max volunteered for that,” Mateo says.
Sasha lets out a harsh laugh from behind his mask. “My cousin, a fucking pianist , volunteered to have his hand ruined?”
Mateo doesn’t back down. “He did.”
Sasha steps in closer. “What the fuck did your family do to him to make him willingly do that?”
Mateo briefly glances at Talia. “He did it to save her. He was given a choice. The entire cartel could have their way with her, or he could give up his hand.”
Even though we’d suspected this, it’s still hard to hear. Vasily lets out a curse in Russian, the raw anger in every word is exactly how I feel at hearing the news, but my chest also swells with pride. I know what it took for Max to offer himself up like that, and I’m so fucking proud of him. He willingly embraced his worst fears to save a young woman from being abused in the most horrific ways imaginable.
“And they call me a monster,” I hear Sasha mutter before he raises his blade and slices a long line on Mateo’s face from cheekbone to chin. The skin splits easily, and blood pours out, dripping onto the floor as Mateo gives a grunt of pain but holds his ground.
“That’s for hurting my cousin. Be thankful I’m not allowed to kill you.” He gives a soft laugh as Mateo uses his hand to try and keep the skin on his face together. “I think I killed your mom, though, so that makes me feel a little better.” Sasha turns his head so he can see his dad as he adds, “She tried to shoot me, so she was fair game.”
Lev nods in agreement, letting his son know he hasn’t broken any rules. The bloody skull mask turns back to Mateo. “If we ever run into each other again, you’ll be fair game. Understand?”
Mateo nods, still trying to staunch the blood and looking a few shades paler. Before we lift Max up, Tony grabs a few supplies from the bag and hands them to Mateo, who gratefully takes the gauze and suture kit. When the bloody mask turns to him, Tony meets the light blue eyes behind the mask and says, “I’m a doctor, Sasha. I can’t help it.”
Sasha gives a soft laugh and pats Tony’s head as he walks back over to where Lev and the others are waiting. I don’t miss the relieved breath Tony lets out when Sasha is a safe distance away.
“Are we ready to move him?” I ask.
Tony nods and slings his medical bag back over his shoulder before grabbing the canvas beneath my son. “Yeah, as soon as we’re on the plane, I can start an IV.”
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Roman says, and then relays the message to our men outside.
With the lights back on, we don’t need to worry about using our goggles, and Niki will let us know if he sees any cartel men headed our way. They’ve taken a hit, though, and my guess is any remaining Amaya men have run off into the jungle. Mateo may be able to bring the cartel back, but it won’t be easy. I’m not comfortable leaving him alive, but I can’t kill a man who saved my son. I can only hope that he’ll be a better boss than his father was and that he’ll stay the fuck out of our city. If not, then like Sasha said, he’ll be fair game. This was a one-time pass. If he comes up against us again, he won’t be spared.
Matvey and Vitaly each grab an end of the canvas stretcher while Tony and I get the other corners. We lift him, making sure his injured hand is secure on his chest as the others get in line ahead and behind us so they can secure the group for the walk back to the boats.
Aside from the pile of dead bodies that Sasha and Volodya left, the hall in front of us is empty. We step over them, and I hear Talia give a soft gasp when she sees deep gashes along their throats and the amount of blood we’re stepping into. It makes a wet squelching sound under our tactical boots, and when I look back behind us, I see Dima leaning down so he can piggyback his sister out of here. It’s for the best, the poor girl looks like she’s going to pass out from exhaustion, and I’m not sure she would’ve had the strength to make the hike to the waiting boats.
Val leads us out the way we came, and when we get to the marbled hall in the main part of the house, Mateo veers off, disappearing further into the mansion, and I genuinely hope it’s the last time I ever see the man. We keep going, managing to get outside without encountering anyone. Niki turned the security lights back on, illuminating the bodies that litter the nicely manicured lawn. More of our men line the property, watching and giving us extra cover as we carry my son down the path to the shore.
“What was that?” Sasha asks, stopping to look off to his left.
“I don’t hear anything,” Luka tells him, but right after he says it, we hear a whimper, too high-pitched to come from a man.
Sasha pulls his mask back up, takes a few more steps, and then kneels beside the tall brush that lines the jungle side of the property.
In a very un-Sasha-like tone, he murmurs, “Hey, pupper, what happened to you?”
There’s a low growl before he pulls his hand back sharply and lets out a laugh. He turns to look at us and says, “He tried to bite me.”
Instead of being pissed, we can all hear the awe in his voice.
“Goddammit,” Lev mutters, knowing this is going to complicate things.
Sasha runs back over and holds out his hand to Tony. “I need some gauze.”
Tony sighs and tells him to dig some out. Sasha gets what he needs and jogs back over to where the animal is still whining. I hear Sasha’s laugh again and then I catch a few words as he wraps the gauze around the dog that’s still hidden in the bush.
“That’s a good doggy,” he says, making Vitaly shake his head while Lev gives a soft laugh. “Don’t bite me. I’m trying to help.”
Once he’s satisfied, he picks the dog up and starts walking back over to us. I get my first look at the large doberman he’s decided to save. Gauze is wrapped around his shoulder, but the blood is already seeping through.
“Let me guess, this is my next patient?” Tony asks.
Sasha grins even bigger. “No man left behind, Tony.”
“I think that only applies if he arrived with us,” Vitaly says.
The doberman’s head hangs off the side of Sasha’s arm, too tired and hurt to muster up anything more than a pitiful whimper.
“I’m changing the rules. We can’t just leave him here to die,” Sasha argues, and we all know he’s right.
“Fine,” I say, “but let’s get the fuck out of here.”
The hike to the coastline is uneventful, and by the time we get there, Bran is coming towards us from the jungle, rifle slung over his shoulder and an unreadable face, but as soon as he sees Talia, he breaks into a big smile and signs something to her. Dima sets her down, and as soon as her feet hit the sand, she’s running to her brother. He pulls her in for a hug as soon as she’s close enough and then pulls back with a grin and plugs his nose.
She signs while she laughs and says, “I know. I smell awful.”
He nods his head in agreement, but still gives her another hug to prove he doesn’t care.
Niki jumps down from the boat to see his brother and thanks to the lights on the boats, I see the horror in his eyes when he gets his first look at Max’s hand.
“He’ll be okay,” I remind him. “He’s alive. Everything else can be fixed.”
He nods and reaches out to squeeze his older brother’s shoulder before we carry him onto the boat. Niki’s already set up an inflatable mattress that we can lay him on for the boat trip back up the coast. We ease Max onto it and then use straps to keep him secure. He’s still completely out of it, and as much as I don’t want him to be in pain, I’ll breathe a lot easier when he’s conscious and I can really see for myself that he’s okay.
Tony doesn’t bother with a seat and instead sits down next to the cot, checking Max’s vitals again. He looks up at me and says, “I can mobilize his hand and put ice on it when we’re on the plane. I also want to get an IV started.”
Talia walks over and sits down next to Tony, putting her hand on my son’s thigh in a movement that speaks of a lot of familiarity. I look up and Vitaly meets my eyes, raising a brow and giving me a look that makes it clear he wants to know every detail of what’s going on between them. I shake my head at him, making it clear that now is not the time.
He relents, but I can tell he doesn’t want to and takes a seat in between his son and Matvey. Sasha’s still carrying his new best friend when he sits in one of the last remaining seats. The dog’s eyes are open, and every once in a while, he gives a soft whine.
As soon as everyone is loaded up, Roman gives the order to leave and we start making our way back up the coast to where the convoy of trucks are still waiting for us. Dawn is a few hours away, and if all goes according to plan, we’ll be in the air before the sky lightens.
After what feels like an eternity, the boats pull up to the dock, and we start to unload everything again. The trucks are waiting, and after another bumpy ride through the jungle, we arrive at the airport. I think we all let out a collective sigh of relief once the planes are loaded up and we’re cleared for takeoff.
Tony doesn’t waste any time. He’d already set up a makeshift medic station, and as soon as we’re in the air and it’s safe to do so, he puts an IV in Max and gently secures his hand so it’s protected and won’t be jostled around. He’d already explained that the damage was too severe for him to try and fix. He’d very likely do more harm than good by trying, and none of us are willing to risk that.
“Talia, you need one of these, too,” Tony tells her, holding up another IV bag.
She takes the seat Tony points out, and Bran sits down in the one next to her, unwilling to let her get too far from his sight. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were fraternal twins. They obviously share a strong bond, and while Talia gets taken care of, Sasha quietly works on his dog, cleaning the gunshot wound in his shoulder and speaking softly to him in Russian while he does it.
“I’m glad my wife’s not here for all this, but, fuck, I’d like to chase her through the woods right now,” I hear Volodya say to his brothers.
Sasha perks up at that and looks over at them. “You chase your wife? I mean, she likes that?”
Volodya grins. “Fuck yeah she does.”
Valeri claps his brother on the back with a laugh. “He wanted to name his daughter Sitka Spruce, because that’s the tree she was conceived against, but Maddie convinced him to shorten it to Sitka.”
“Thank god,” Vasily says. “I’m not calling my niece Spruce.”
Volodya shrugs. “It’s a beautiful tree.” He laughs and adds, “And very resilient. Besides, my daughter loves her name, and I’m sure she would’ve loved Spruce as a middle name.”
“Uh-huh,” Valeri says with a laugh.
Sasha goes back to his dog, but I can tell he’s still thinking about what they’d said. I have too many things to worry about right now, so I push my nephew’s piqued interest in primal play from my mind and start texting Simona again. While I fill her in on everything that’s happened, I hear Vitaly say, “Is there a meal on this flight? Did anyone bring snacks?”
“Jesus,” Vitya groans and pulls out a couple of packages of fruit snacks before tossing them to his father-in-law.
Vitaly catches them with a grin while Valeri looks at his two brothers. “Why don’t you carry snacks for me?”
Vasily groans, and Volodya just laughs at his younger brother and says, “I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring you some animal crackers for when you got the munchies on our rescue mission to Colombia.”
Valeri shrugs a shoulder and motions towards my family. “I mean, they remembered.”
Vitaly laughs and tosses one of the bags to Valeri. “They’re a good source of Vitamin C,” he tells him. “It’s important to keep your stamina up on missions like this. Plus,” he adds with a laugh, “they all know I get hangry.”
“It’s easier to just carry snacks than to deal with him when he’s hungry,” Lev tells them.
Vitaly takes zero offense and pops another gummy in his mouth while Valeri rips open his bag and does the same. “Thanks, man,” he says, grinning at my brother.
“We’re never going to hear the end of this,” Vasily mutters.
“We’re going to have to start carrying snacks now,” Volodya agrees. “He’ll never stop bitching until we do.”
“I can hear you,” Valeri says.
Volodya grins. “We know.”
Putting my focus back on my phone, I tell my wife that we’re headed home.