Chapter Thirty-Two #2
Gratitude that the first of his reinforcements had arrived tangled with his guilt for dragging his younger brother into this shit and putting his life at risk. But without help he could trust, innocent people would die today.
Matt rushed to his side, against the house, and wrapped Seth in a fierce embrace. “You doing okay?”
“Define okay,” Seth quipped, clapping his brother on the back before releasing him. “You?”
“I’m worried shitless about Mom and fucking furious at—” Matt’s words died when he spotted Beck slumped against the house. “Oh, shit.” He crouched down beside him. “You’ve been shot.”
“Your observation skills are as sharp as your brother’s. It’s just a flesh wound,” Beck said flatly.
Matt sent him a skeptical stare, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he glanced back at Seth and held out a SIG with a suppressor. “Brought you this.”
Seth accepted the Glock and gripped it firmly.
“Stay here.” Matt clapped Beck on the leg. “Don’t die and don’t worry. I’ve got Seth’s back.”
As Beck nodded, something loosened in Seth’s chest.
“How blind are we gonna be going in?” Matt rose to his feet, gaze locked on Seth.
He gave his brother a quick rundown.
Matt’s expression turned arctic. “Got a plan?”
“Working on it.” Seth’s gaze flicked back to the house, to the closed drapes and the unnatural silence.
“Work faster, man. We need to move.”
“Not yet. We’re waiting for more backup.”
Matt frowned. “Who?”
Two vehicles pulled up and parked on opposite sides of the street. The doors swung open and men whose dangerous expressions and tattoos ensured they’d never be mistaken for cozy suburban neighbors stepped out.
Then, from the back of the lead car, another man opened the door to the back seat. Nikolai slowly emerged, doffing his thousand-dollar sunglasses with a raised brow.
Seth watched the big Russian gesture to his men—quick, silent signals. They dispersed, blending into the area and taking invisible positions, tightening the perimeter around his mother’s house.
Gene would never see them coming.
“Holy fuck! That’s—” Matt blinked. “Nikolai Volkov.”
“Yeah.”
“The Bratva boss. That Nikolai Volkov? You know him?” At Seth’s nod, Matt’s voice dropped. “How the fuck do—”
“Long story,” Seth interrupted as he watched Nik approach. “I’ll explain later.”
Matt was quiet for a beat, still gaping. “Do you trust him?”
“Mostly, but definitely today.” Seth shrugged. “Gene’s been invading Nik’s turf, so our interests align.”
“Damn.” Something like respect flickered in Matt’s expression. “You swim in way darker waters than I realized.”
Seth didn’t reply. His thoughts were churning. Whatever happened next, there’d be no going back. But that didn’t change the facts—or his objective.
He couldn’t let Gene escape with a hostage. Or start executing people.
And he couldn’t be too late.
Nikolai reached them, moving with a stealth and predatory grace that usually had his enemies scurrying away. Or shitting their pants. He clasped Seth’s hand—familiar, solid. “My friend.”
“Thanks for coming,” Seth said.
“Of course.” Nikolai turned to Beck, who wore a guarded expression. “Dr. Beckman, I owe apology for startling your woman at hotel. Was not my intention to frighten.”
Beck’s jaw clenched. “You were warning Seth. I get it.”
“Precisely.” Nikolai’s gaze dropped to Beck’s shoulder. “You need doctor. After this, I take you to mine. He is expert with gunshots.”
Beck shook his head. “I’m good. Thanks.”
Nikolai shrugged like it was his loss, then shifted to Matt. “Pleasure to meet you, Seth’s brother. For record, you are all under my protection now.”
Clearly, Matt wasn’t sure what to make of that. “Um…thanks.”
Seth watched the exchange, trying not to torture himself with what might be going on in the house. He had to compartmentalize. Now wasn’t the time for guilt—for digging when he swore he wouldn’t. Or fear—for Heavenly, their baby, his son, and mother trapped inside the house.
Instead, he focused on what needed to be done: containment, rescue, fallout. Denying Gene an exit.
Seth stood next to Beck, who still slumped against the house.
He gestured Matt and Nikolai closer. When they moved in a tight circle around him, he dropped his voice.
“We’re out of time. Gene knows I’ve got the evidence to destroy him, and he knows I’m here.
I’m sure he’s just waiting for backup before he makes a move. ”
“Specter will wait long time. My men stop them.”
Seth raised a brow. “Tell them to incapacitate only. No killing.”
Nik pressed a tattooed hand to his chest. “You insult me, Seth Cooper. I am not amateur. Dead cops, even crooked ones, are problem.”
“Exactly,” Seth agreed. And if the situation wasn’t so tense, he’d poke fun at Nik’s dramatic flair. Wouldn’t be the first time.
“How do we stop him?” Matt asked.
“We’ve got maybe ten minutes before Gene realizes he’s been outplayed and goes off the deep end. Somehow, we’ve got to get in there, rescue everyone, and neutralize him. If he panics, he’ll either start shooting or run with a hostage, probably Mom or Heavenly. Either would be catastrophic.”
“Specter will not get far,” Nik assured.
Matt nodded, face grim with resolve. “If he fucking tries, I’ll kill him.”
Seth shook his head. “No. That son of a bitch is mine.”
Matt hesitated, then nodded.
Nik looked less convinced, so Seth got in his face. “This is just business for you. This asshole destroyed my life twice. He killed people I love, so it’s fucking personal for me. I’m the one who ends this. You got it?”
For a moment, Nik glowered. Then he rolled his eyes. “You steal fun.”
But the big Russian had given in.
Seth clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll make damn sure he pays, one way or another.”
Nikolai’s phone buzzed quietly. He glanced at it, then typed something back. He’d barely hit Send when it buzzed again.
As Nik’s thumbs flew across his screen, worry gripped Seth. “Problem?”
He shook his head. “My men intercept Specter’s backup around neighborhood. They take nap in trunk of car.”
“That was fast.” Matt was clearly impressed.
Nikolai flashed his brother a toothy smile. “No one wishes to disappoint me.”
Seth knew that was true. “Beck, you up to filling everyone in, like you did me?”
A glance at the good doctor’s gray face and jaw clenched in pain worried the hell out of him.
But Beck nodded, clearly determined to help however he could.
“Carl is locked in the basement. Gene has Grace, Heavenly, and Hudson in the living room. And as you can see”—he pointed to his shoulder—“he has a gun, and he’s not afraid to use it.
This was an ‘attention-getter.’ Spoiler alert: it worked. ”
“If we’re going to get inside the house without more bullets flying, we need a diversion to pull Gene’s attention away from the hostages. Then we can rush in through different points of entry, surround him, and free everyone.”
Matt shifted his weight. “What kind of diversion?”
Seth shrugged. He hadn’t gotten that far. “I’m up for—”
A gunshot cracked through the air.
From inside the house.
The hope that he could extract everyone without bloodshed shattered in that one sound.
Seth stopped breathing. Ice flooded his veins, followed immediately by white-hot terror that threatened to obliterate him.
Heavenly.
The woman Seth loved more than anything. The mother of his unborn child.
If Gene was going to kill someone, he’d choose her first. The son of a bitch knew it would destroy Seth fastest.
He gripped the gun in his fist as his vision tunneled.
The time for talk was over. The time to destroy that cocksucker was now.
“Go. Go. Go!” he roared.
Seth didn’t wait for confirmation, didn’t look back to see if Matt and Nik were moving.
He ran straight for the door, his boots pounding the pavement. Adrenaline screamed through his system, drowning out everything but the primal need to get inside.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Matt veer toward the side of the house, pointing in the direction of the mudroom. Nik split away, heading for the patio door around back.
Three entry points. Surround the bastard. End this.
Now.
Seth hit the front porch at full speed and, gun raised, kicked in the front door. It exploded inward with a splintering crack, the frame giving way under the force of his boot. He surged into the foyer, every nerve firing as he scanned the family room.
What he saw made his heart lurch.
Hudson—his sixteen-year-old son—had slammed Gene flat on the floor.
The bastard who had murdered Seth’s father and wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in his son’s skull growled threats as he thrashed, trying to strong-arm the kid off him.
Hudson bared his teeth and shoved at Gene’s shoulders, white-knuckled and straining to keep the crooked cop pinned.
Equally shocking, a flush-faced Heavenly stomped on Gene’s arm—the one with his fist still gripping the gun—grinding it into the floor. His proper, very Catholic mother balanced on the same arm, spewing profanity that would have made a sailor blush.
Relief hit Seth so hard his knees threatened to give out. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks.
Though fucking reckless, they were incredibly brave.
And by some miracle, they were all alive.
But that didn’t absolve Gene fucking Hammond.
The murderous bastard had threatened to end everyone in the room. If not for Hudson, he’d have killed them all without an ounce of remorse.
Fury crashed Seth’s system, spiking with the terror in his veins. He crossed the room and hauled Hudson to his feet with enough force to send the kid stumbling. “Get back—all of you!”
The women scrambled away, wide-eyed and trembling.
Hudson came up fighting, his expression wild, his pupils adrenaline-blown and wide. “Dad—”
“Back!” Seth barked as he bent and slammed the barrel of his gun against Gene’s temple.
The asshole froze, his body going rigid beneath the cold steel.