Chapter 25
Kirill
The art of playing cat and mouse was centuries old. There were men and women who’d perfected techniques, often to the point the instigators had no real fun in trying to dupe another.
Or as my mother had often said in Russian, “Bez koshki myshi chuvstvuyut sebya polnymi khozyayevami.”
Without a cat, the mice have free rein.
Very true.
With Mikhail, his need to destroy Kazimir was all about revenge, enjoying the long waiting game to find the right moment.
The banished brother knew enough about how Kazimir would react to various scenarios, so he’d gone into hiding, biding his time for the perfect moment.
The christening had been too good to pass up.
In him tossing out a premade ghostly reputation and travel plans to New York, he’d all but controlled the setting.
Maybe he’d believed Kazimir would head to New York himself, but at this point it just didn’t matter. What did was that he’d remained in Italy, controlling the scene, orchestrating how I’d meet Vivian.
All because I’d protected his brother.
Over the months of peace, I’d concluded there were two distinct reasons Mikhail had snapped, one of them being he wasn’t of right mind. After all Kazimir had done for him, there was no chance he could be.
Unless he was pure evil.
Either way, Kazimir had seen fit to spare the man his life.
That was no longer acceptable.
For either of us.
I could see it in my friend’s eyes, the combination of anger and sadness everything that would haunt him for the remainder of his life. As we neared the facility, he yanked out his weapon and a fresh magazine, slamming it into his Glock while taking a deep breath.
“He doesn’t walk out alive. Neither one of them do.”
Who was I to argue. “Understood.” I stared out the window at the city’s bright lights. There was no apprehension, no anxiety with either one of us. Sean had been right about one thing.
This was strictly business.
Once emotions were involved someone else could pull the strings.
How foolish not to remember.
And how deadly.
Betrayal in business was classic. To be allowed to use it as Mikhail had done was amateurish. Unacceptable.
As we neared, Dante leaned forward in his seat. “Do you see what I see?”
I moved in between the seats, peering out the windshield. “Smoke.”
The empty building was on fire.
“Shit. That means they saw us coming,” Kazimir half whispered.
“Sean wasn’t lying.”
While we’d come equipped with flashlights, we hadn’t thought about gas masks or other protective gear. There hadn’t been any time.
The SUV was barely brought to a stop before Kazimir and I jumped out. We’d brought several of our soldiers with us, leaving Stash and Dimitri to hunt down those involved in helping Enzo with his own vendetta. But at this point did it really matter? All that did was saving Vivian.
And I would die to make that happen.
We were careful in following Sean’s direction, although I had my doubts about trusting him. Still, when we found the door he’d mentioned unlocked, it made our job easier.
One by one we slipped inside, listening for any sounds. There were the usual ticks and creaks, the smoke yet to be too thick or toxic.
“Keep the beams low to the ground,” I told the men. Keeping our cover as long as possible could mean the difference in a rescue and not.
We’d laid a basic plan, but until we knew what we were dealing with, we were simply going on instinct alone.
Kazimir motioned for me to take a group of men to the second floor while he covered the first. I headed to the stairwell, every step cautious.
Our only hope was an element of surprise. And if I had to guess, I’d say Enzo had no clue we’d find them so easily. The fire was meant to consume the building, killing Vivian and destroying the product as a warning, a pain point that Sean wouldn’t quickly recover from.
We moved quickly, checking one room then another. I was even more impatient, finding almost nothing. As I made my way up to the third floor, I stood on the landing, able to gather a stronger stench of smoke.
The fire had been started on one of the upper floors. Without bothering to wait for anyone else, I bounded up to the fourth floor.
That’s when I heard a noise.
A sharp yet muted sound.
Her cry.
There was no time to waste. With the weapon in both hands, I rushed through the floor, scanning one side then the other until the smoke began to roll down the hallway.
I pulled back, covering my mouth and nose. A loud boom coming from below caught my attention.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The three gunshots were followed by several shouts.
So much for our clandestine approach. I rushed forward, kicking open one door then another.
The beam of the flashlight barely cut through the rolling fog of smoke, but it was enough that when a shadow came out of nowhere, I had two seconds to react.
Pop! Pop!
The bullets were at close range, the man’s head blown halfway off. I rushed from the scene, avoiding a patch of debris by jumping over it. Within seconds, another form appeared in the hallway.
I dropped and rolled as the soldier fired.
Boots were heard behind me and I swung around, barely recognizing Dante before I fired. He had a couple of soldiers behind me. “We heard sounds. The door we came in was locked.”
“Fucking shit,” I hissed. The fuckers had been waiting for us.
“This way,” I yelled and continued running. Almost to the end of the floor, a door was thrown open and all I noticed was a blur a split second before a hard, heavy body was thrown against mine and the force pitched us both into another room.
A wash of pain tore through me as I crashed into several crates, breaking through them to the floor.
The assassin yelled, trying to fire his weapon, but I grabbed it. We fought, rolling back and forth while pieces of wood were crushed under us. He almost managed to point the barrel in my direction, but I threw everything I had into altering my grip, bending my wrist.
“Aaaawwww…” I snarled and as soon as I had the barrel against his chest, I fired.
He was thrown back, gasping for air. I jumped to my feet, kicking him down before grabbing the weapon and firing again. This time, he’d stay down.
The smoke was even worse. I wiped my face with my sleeve, stumbling back into the hallway.
More thumping drew my attention.
Dante flanked my side, struggling to catch his breath. “Two are down.”
“This way.” With the smoke the fucking floor was becoming a goddamn maze. Another sound and I swung around, this time to find Kazimir directly behind.
“Another fire on the first floor. All the entrances blocked.” He shook his head.
Something caught my attention and without hesitation, I ran toward it. We were suddenly in a massive room, half the floor having already given out.
I skidded to a stop just before being tossed through a large hole and threw my arms out.
Flames were swimming across the roof, but that wasn’t what bothered me. The sight of Vivian tied to a pole was.
“Fuck,” I hissed. Both Kazimir and Dante were right beside me. I swung the beam in her direction, catching her eyes. She was in a goddamn gag. “Stay there, baby. I’m coming.”
Only I wasn’t. At least not yet. There was additional movement as more soldiers lunged in our direction.
I managed to get off a clean shot that barely nicked an asshole before he snapped his weapon across my face.
Pop! Pop!
With a hard kick to the fucker’s abdomen, he was pitched over the edge. I didn’t have time to give a shit whether he was down for good before another came at me.
A loud whoosh and a series of crackling noises meant the building was coming down. I could not look up and see the sky, smoke billowing from the hole.
What I’d also noticed were several crates of ammunition on the third floor. With the fire crawling up from the first floor, it wouldn’t be long before explosions started. The chance of survival would be next to nothing.
After another few seconds, we thought we were alone. Somehow my flashlight had ended up being tossed across the hole, providing limited light to the entire room. A grim sight.
Then Vivian let out a muffled scream and someone jumped Dante, pushing him over the edge. As the two men tumbled below, a loud thump was followed by silence.
Both Kazimir and I dropped down, peering over the edge, his flashlight providing some light.
“Fuck,” Dante hissed. “I’m fine.” He huffed and pushed himself off the assailant’s dead body, immediately picking up his flashlight. “There’s a window and a fire escape. A way out.”
“Then get out,” Kazimir told him. “We’ll be right there. Get the others out. Now.”
“We can’t leave you.”
“Yeah, you can,” I told him. “We’re saving Vivian.”
“Alright. I’ll finish off any others.”
I knew Dante would.
Without waiting, I moved to find a way to bridge the hole.
“We’re coming, Vivian. Just hold on. I’ll be right there.”
Kazimir didn’t ask question or bark orders. He simply did the same, both of us struggling to find pieces long and large enough. Once we did, I swung the flashlight toward her. She was fighting with the rope, almost managing to get herself freed.
The fire was worse, the smoke acrid and the building unstable.
“Come on,” I told him. “We don’t have much time.”
Kazimir laughed. “Your wedding will go down as the one with the most excitement.”
“Over yours? Any day.” With the floor, the ceiling and everything in the building creaking, it was only a matter of time.
We’d both crossed the makeshift bridge when the building began to shake. Smoke stung my eyes, the air stagnant.
A loud explosion caught our attention. We glared at each other before rushing toward her just as my lovely bride managed to free herself.
“Oh, God, baby.” I pulled her into my arms.
She clung to me, gasping for air. “You came. I knew you would.”
“What a nice little reunion.” The accent was Italian and the three of us stiffened.
Kazimir was quick to react, lunging toward Enzo as I yanked her out of harm’s way.