Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
WREN
My foot bounces up and down with nerves as we drive toward the warehouse.
They asked me several times if I wanted to stay home, but I refused.
I want to be where they are. Plus, I’m itching to take Ivan out myself, even if that isn’t the plan.
After what he did to Jagger and I, and knowing how he murdered Jagger’s parents in front of him, I wanted vengeance.
Sly squeezes my knee in reassurance, and I give him a tight-lipped smile. It’s the best I can do right now.
“Everyone remember the plan?” Elias asks as he parks our rental SUV a mile from the warehouse, as discussed. We all nod in confirmation, then file out.
The atmosphere is tense as we silently march toward our destination. We’re all outfitted in white camo to blend in with the snow, and luckily, there hasn’t been any fresh snowfall since we were here last, so our footprints won’t give us away.
As we reach the first building on the street, we split into two teams: Sly, Jagger, and I go left, and Pete, Elias, and Dex go right, down the opposite side of the street. This time, instead of hiding between the buildings, we enter them from behind.
Jagger takes the first one, and Sly and I take the second. The other three take a building each across the street. I had argued I should cover a third building on this side, but they remind me that I’m a terrible shot.
Jagger moves to the roof of his building, and although we can’t see him, I know he must be lying low, ready to take out Ivan the second his head is in view. Elias does the same on the other side. Since they both have military training, it made sense for them to be our snipers.
The rest of us are going to find a broken window to set up in with a good sight line to the front of the warehouse, where we expect Ivan to make an appearance when he arrives and steps out of his car.
I have been given a gun, but with strict instructions to only use it in close combat, which is something we think we can avoid. I also have three knives tucked away. All of us are armed and ready for anything.
After an hour of staring at the street, I start to grow restless. I guess I had forgotten that I got this date from a note Robert had from way back in August. There was a decent chance it meant nothing anymore, and we were going to be staring at this building and street all day for nothing.
But we’d agreed to stay here until one a.m, which was over eighteen hours away. That’s why we had small packs filled with protein bars and water bottles.
“Do you think he’s going to show?” I ask Sly, taking a bite of my bar as I look out my tiny piece of clean window down the street, hoping to see a vehicle round that corner at any moment.
“I hope so.”
“If he doesn’t? Then what?” I ask, not sure what else we can do.
“We might have to make a plan to take him out in his home.”
My lips tighten as I think about being back there and how heavily guarded it is. “That’s going to be really difficult.”
“I know,” he says with a nod. “But we may not have—” He cuts himself off, his ears perking up as I look back down the street. The distinct sound of wheels on gravel reaches my ears before I see it.
Yanking out my phone, I text our group chat, ‘Incoming.’ I receive a text from Elias at the same time with the same thing. Good, he’s seen it too.
I watch with bated breath as a large black SUV moves down the street toward us, with two more in its wake.
“There are three of them,” Sly says, seeing the same thing as me. He already has his gun up and aimed out the window with the missing glass, pointing it toward the warehouse, where we expect the vehicles to stop.
The three vehicles pull into a semi-circle around the door, blocking them from our view as they step out. “Shit, I can’t see them. Hopefully Jagger and Elias have a better sight line from up top,” Sly whispers as we watch.
The sound of car doors closing and the murmur of Russian voices reach my ears, but we are literally blind to what’s happening because the vehicles block it all from our view.
Now I wish I were up top with Jagger, so I could see what’s going on.
“Should we—” I start, but Sly quickly shakes his head.
“We wait. That’s the plan. They’ll take the shot if they have it, then they might need our cover on the ground if the men start shooting at them.”
I nod, remembering this part of the plan since Elias explained it so many times. But waiting was hard. I sort of understood Dex and Pete’s need to charge into a situation headfirst, even if it was reckless. Waiting is the hardest part.
I hold my breath, staring at the vehicles, then suddenly a loud crack of gunfire breaks the silence, and chaos ensues.
Guards start yelling, and an array of shots ring out around us.
“Get down!” Sly yells at me, and I quickly do as he says, sliding to my butt under the window while he starts to fire back.
“What’s happening?” I ask, trying not to panic.
“They’re firing at the roofs.” Jagger and Elias are up there. I clench my fists, feeling useless, but knowing this is the plan. I just hope Ivan’s already dead.
“What can I do?” I ask as Sly takes what I think are a few well-aimed shots.
“Watch my back.”
“I’m on it,” I say quickly as I scurry to the back of the building, deciding to watch the back entrance in case they try to sneak up on us like they did last time.
I peek out the back door just in time to see someone slip inside the building Jagger is on the roof of. Chyort poberi! I curse in Russian. He’s going to sneak up on Jagger.
I contemplate going back through my building to tell Sly, but time is of the essence, especially since a second man follows the first one. Two against one, and they have stealth on their side.
Making sure there’s no one else out back, I step out and make sure the door is silent when it closes behind me. I arm myself with my gun in my right hand and a knife in my left as I quickly make my way to the door they disappeared through.
It’s stuck open, so I don’t have to worry about opening it as I peek inside and see the men quietly making their way to the stairs.
I move to the other side of the doorway so most of my body can be protected by the wall, then lift my gun hand and try to remember everything Elias taught me. Aim a little high, eyes open, hold firm, squeeze, don't pull.
I aim at the head of the man in front and take the shot. The glass in the front window behind him shatters, telling me I was at least ten feet off as I quickly pull back, pressing my back to the outside wall. A couple of shots ring out as they shoot through the opening.
At least they might have alerted Jagger to their presence.
I know if I lean back in to take another shot, I’m just as likely to miss again and just put myself at risk of getting shot.
Hearing them moving closer to me, I do the smart thing and run.
Of course, I’m on the wrong side of the door now, so instead of running back to the building Sly is in, I’m running toward the warehouse, since this is the last building before it.
I slow down at the edge of the building and peek around it, before I can even register what I’m looking at, I’m shoved back against the metal wall, my wrist slammed against it so hard I cry out and drop my gun.
The guard does the same with my other hand, and my knife tumbles to the snow along with my gun.
I try to reach for my other knives as he pulls back, but he slams his fist into the side of my head and throws me over his shoulder. My head spins from the pain, and being upside down helps nothing.
I’m vaguely aware that he seems to be running, and I am given a split second of clarity when he sets me on my feet right in front of one of their vehicles.
I sway on my feet, but my eyes immediately go to the rooftop, looking for Jagger.
I know the moment he sees me. His head shoots up before he drops it back to the sight glass of his rifle.
The man tries to push me into the SUV, and I glance the other way, seeing Elias on the roof fighting a guard.
Shots ring out from everywhere as guards fire back at the buildings, and the man behind me curses, stepping back as a shot rings out.
I see blood dripping from where he’s been hit in the shoulder, no doubt Jagger’s work, so I try to shove him back even further and give myself space to grab the knife from my thigh holster.
But this guy is big, and he barely moves.
This time, when the shot rings out, he freezes, and I watch his face, noticing a trickle of blood trailing down his forehead.
Dios mio! Jagger shot him right in the forehead.
I shove him so he falls backward, then try to run, but someone tackles me to the ground, knocking the wind from me.
When I glance at his face, my blood runs cold. It’s Viktor, the guard who whipped us. This guy is a true sadist. He grins when he sees the expression on my face.
“Nice to see you again, kukolka.”
“Get off me, you svoloch!” I yell as I try to wiggle free. He chuckles as he gets his feet under him, keeping me tight against him and staying low, clearly smarter than the other guard and not wanting to get taken out by a headshot.
I hear a car door open, then I’m shoved inside as he follows me. As I scramble to sit up, he grabs the knife from my thigh holster and points it at me. “Sit back and shut up,” he warns in Russian-accented English.
“The boss is gonna be so happy to see you.”
“He isn’t dead?” I ask, a feeling of dread pooling in my belly.
“Did you really think it would be that easy?” he asks with a grin. None of this seemed easy at all, but I had expected it to work. How did it go so wrong?
I never should have gone to that other building. But those guys would have snuck up on Jagger. If I ever get out of this, I’m going to insist we always work in pairs so we can watch each other's backs. It’s ridiculous that we hadn’t thought of that.