Chapter 22 #3
I watched as Kirill fishtailed around an oncoming turning car, and blared horns followed us through the intersection. “Bandit’s there with you. He’s going to protect you. I’m less than two minutes out, okay?”
I heard a growl that made my stomach drop. Her voice trembled. “Bandit’s growling.”
“Don’t speak, Mila,” I told her.
She responded by breathing erratically in my ear.
Bandit growled louder.
I looked over at Kirill. “Punch it.”
It took another agonizing twenty seconds before we pulled up on the front lawn. I was out of the vehicle door and running before he’d even put it in park.
The wind pelted the rain down hard and cold, instantly soaking us. It bent trees and slapped branches against my face as I ran alongside the house and pushed open the gate. Two panting guard dogs greeted me. It was a good sign they were alive. I ran past them.
“Boss, it might be an ambush,” Kirill called from behind me.
“Then cover me,” I yelled as I sprinted past the pool toward the guard house, which sat dark and isolated in the corner of the yard. I didn’t see anything or anyone out of the ordinary.
“Mila!” I yelled.
By the time I reached the guardhouse, she had swung open the door. Bandit shot out, barking hysterically.
“It’s okay, Bandit,” she said from the doorway, looking forlorn and vulnerable in her soaking wet tank top and thin panties. Her arms were wrapped around her body, and she was shivering.
The relief I felt at seeing her safe and in one piece almost brought me to my knees. Behind me, Kirill shouted orders to the other men to search the house and the yard.
“Are you hurt?” I was working so hard to control the wild emotions inside of me that my voice came out almost completely emotionless. I wanted to touch her so badly, but I wasn’t sure I deserved it. So I stared at her in the pouring rain without moving.
She threw herself into my arms.
Nothing felt better than being able to wrap my arms around her and shield her with my body. I crushed her to me, never wanting to let go. “You’re safe now.”
“I knew you’d come.” Her voice was muffled against my neck.
She trembled with fear and cold.
“What happened?” I looked over her shoulder. Through the windows of my home, I could see the lights of my men as they searched every room. “Where’s the guard?”
“I don’t know.” She pulled back and looked around. Another shiver racked her body.
“They’re clearing the house, and then we can go inside,” I told her, as I steered her back into the guardhouse. I pulled my coat off and put it around her shoulders. “Tell me what happened.”
Kirill appeared in the doorway behind me. “Boss, we found the guard.”
I cupped her wet face in my hands. “Give me one minute, okay?”
She nodded, and I pressed my mouth against her cold lips. Bandit sat wet and shivering, pressing his entire body against her legs.
I stepped back into the rain. “Is he dead?”
Kirill shook his head. “He was knocked out on the other side of the house, at the front. He’s conscious now, but he’s pretty groggy.”
“Anything in the house?”
“So far, clean. What should we do about the guard?”
“Get one of the guys to drive him to the hospital. I want him thoroughly checked out. I want someone looking out for him while he’s there.”
“You got it.”
“I want that house checked twice, and I want to know what the fuck happened here.”
He nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
Mila was looking out the dark window of the guardhouse, my coat nearly swallowing her. She looked so young and innocent and once again I was struck by how unfair all of this was for her. “They’re just checking every corner of the house, including all the doors and windows, before we go inside.”
She gave me a faint smile. “Okay.”
I moved to stand in front of her. “Want to tell me what happened?”
“I was sleeping in your bed with Bandit, and he woke me up with a low growl. I went into the hallway to investigate. I saw someone come out of my bedroom, and at first I thought it was you.” She lowered her eyes and pulled my coat more tightly around her.
“He was wearing all black, and a mask, and Bandit lost his mind. I don’t even remember running through the house.
I did it in the dark.” She peered up at me with big scared eyes. “My thought was to get to the guard.”
“Which is how you ended up in the guardhouse.”
“One of the dogs was locked inside here, and he took off when I opened the door.”
Kirill signaled from the deck that the house was clear. “The guard was knocked out in the front yard when he was doing rounds.”
Her eyes widened. “Is he going to be okay?”
“We’re bringing him to the hospital.”
“And the dogs?”
“They’re both here and safe,” I assured her. But I made a mental note to get them checked out by a vet. “Come inside now. The house has been cleared. Let’s get you warm.”
I led her up to my bedroom, and she disappeared into my bathroom with Bandit. I heard the door lock, and then the shower started.
Downstairs, I found Maksim standing in the foyer and talking on the phone. He cut the call short when he saw me. “How is she?”
I walked toward the kitchen and turned on the light. “Shaken up. The guard?”
“He said that one of the front cameras went out, so he took one of the dogs to investigate. He remembers getting struck in the back of the head, and then nothing. We think whoever hit him took his master key and let himself into your home. The wet footprints upstairs show that the intruder went directly to Mila’s room. ”
It pained me that everyone seemed to know we had separate bedrooms. “Except she was in my room.”
“That’s probably what saved her. It caught him off guard and gave her a chance to run.”
“This is Volkov, isn’t it?” I rubbed the side of my face.
“Very likely.” He lowered his voice. “I heard that they never cross the line, but they like to terrorize their opponent’s families.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in fatigue. “How do we prevent this from happening again?”
“We can put two guards and three dogs on duty at night.”
“Do it.” I paused, looking around. My eyes stopped on the beautifully set table for two, highlighting the dinner I had promised to attend. “What’s happening with Sergei?”
“Still handcuffed.”
“Jesus.” I shook my head. “His timing couldn’t be worse.”
Maksim gave me a regretful look. “What do we do with him?”
It pained me to say the words. “Cut him loose. Tell him he starts the day after tomorrow, and that I don’t want to see his face before that.”
He looked concerned. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
“It’s a shit idea, and we both know it. But Grisha wanted to put him in charge and make me second in command.” I rarely shared what happened behind the scenes, but tonight I had lost anything that resembled a filter. “I threatened to walk if he did that.”
Maksim’s eyes filled with horror. “I’d be walking right behind you, along with a lot of our men.”
Both of us recognized the impossibility of dealing with Sergei. “It’s going to be a challenging time with him here.”
“Like it hasn’t already been?”
I held his gaze. “It’s going to get worse.”
He nodded, and then, without saying a word, stepped into the backyard with his phone pressed to his head.