Chapter 48
Dominik
Having Gavriil’s confidence in me to take over for him makes me feel like I’m ten feet tall and bulletproof.
And I’m pretty sure that Alina is the reason he’s willingly handing over the crown, even if it’s only temporary.
She’s changed him for the better.
I want Alina to be mine but loving her means accepting that my brother has a claim on her heart too.
It’s as deep as the connection that I have with my brother. Not as complicated, but it’s ingrained in my soul all the same.
That’s why I’m not upset when she winds her arms around his neck, hugging him tight before pressing a kiss on his lips, then his cheek.
He needs her the way I do. And I’m certain that Gavriil won’t ever hurt her again.
Besides, how can I be jealous when Alina immediately gives me the exact same treatment she gave to him.
“Be careful,” she says against my lips, her fingers stroking the back of my hair. “Come back to me.”
“We will, dikaya koshka,” I promise her.
Despite my reassurance, worry shadows Alina’s face.
She takes a deep, steadying breath and straightens up, nodding, then crosses her arms over her chest, making her stance that much sturdier. “Okay,” she says. “I’ll find a mic and give you guys updates.”
She was already tough when we first met, and she put up a hell of a fight. But her time with Gavriil helped her grow from fiery and reactive to steady and strong. She’s become more resilient, and that makes her more dangerous and ready for the fight ahead.
She’ll never cower and run if things get hard.
“We’ll listen for you,” Gavriil tells her over his shoulder as our men start grouping together, ready to go.
I cup Alina’s cheek and press another gentle kiss against her lips, a silent but loving goodbye.
Gavriil doesn’t turn away. He only nods to me when I pull away and says, “I’m ready when you are, Bratishka.”
I respect him for wanting to dive back into the fray despite everything that’s already happened. I can tell that he’s hurt, but he’s trying not to let it show. I know that he doesn’t want to worry Alina.
He cares. He actually fucking cares about her, and I’m…happy about that.
Fighting alongside him is as natural as breathing to me, and if I had to pick anyone next to me in a fight, it would be him. He’s the best, after all. It doesn’t matter how many times that we’ve fought against each other, he never loses.
We look out for each other. We protect each other. He’ll always have my back.
I just hope that we don’t die together because we have someone waiting for us to come back to her.
Once I get an earpiece in my ear and a gun in my hand, I head out of the bunker, following closely behind Gavriil.
We all crouch low in a line, making our way through the darkness toward the broken-down fence that surrounds the estate. It isn’t long until I spot movement up ahead, shadows slipping out of the nearby trees.
Gavriil pauses, motioning for everyone to stop as Maximo Luciani emerges with two men on either side of him.
“Ah, the Morozovs,” Maximo says in a quiet voice, an eager grin crossing his face. “Ready to take back your estate?”
“We’re ready,” Gavriil replies. “Understand the plan?”
“Surround and ambush. Simple but effective,” Maximo says as he pulls a handgun out of a holster on his waist. “Ready when you are.”
“Here,” I reply as I hand an earpiece to Maximo. “So that we can stay in contact. We’re about to put a drone in the air to get a better idea of where our enemies are located.”
“Smart,” Maximo comments before tucking the earpiece in place.
“Let’s start fanning out. We’ll hit the front of the house and the left side if you want to take the back and the right side,” I tell Maximo.
Maximo nods and motions for his men to follow him out of the cover of the trees. They slip through a break in the fence to creep toward the house.
“Lead the way,” I tell Gavriil.
Gavriil breathes in deeply before heading the other way, moving along the fence that faces the left side of the house. He eventually breaks away from the fence and edges closer to the house, keeping low and going slow.
We both pause when we hear a light whirring noise. Our eyes lift just as the small, black drone glides overhead toward the house. There’s our eyes in the sky.
“Can you hear me okay?” Alina’s voice sounds in my right ear.
“Yes,” Gavriil whispers.
“We’re going to wait for your report before moving forward,” I tell her.
“The drone is circling the house,” Alina says.
“There are no men on the left side of the house. There are five men out front, including two smoking on the porch. Two men are close to the downed gate. Three men are roaming around the back. The fire has died down so Renat is trying to find an opening to enter the house.”
“We’re going to take out the ones on the outside and then breach the house as quickly as possible,” I tell her before pointing to a handful of our men, including Viktor and Petrov.
“We’re going to hit the front. Five men are waiting for us, so get ready,” I say before nodding to Gavriil. “Let’s go. Everyone, start moving.”
“On it,” Maximo says in my ear.
Gavriil leads the way to the front of the house, and I move near him like a shadow, blending in with the darkness. He motions for us to slow down as we reach the left corner of the house, muffled voices sounding nearby.
I ready my gun at my side, my muscles tensing.
Gavriil moves first, stepping around the corner and lifting the gun. He fires once, the bullet clipping the shoulder of one of the three hanging around the front yard.
“What the fu—”
Before the other can finish his sentence, I rush out of cover and shoot, his head snapping back as my shot finds its target.
The other three enemies finally realize what’s happening and scramble for their weapons, burning cigarettes dropping to their feet.
“On the second floor!” Simeon says into my ear.
“Fire is still burning up here!” Viktor adds.
Gunfire starts popping off everywhere. Outside of the house, inside it, too close to tell the difference.
Voices flood my earpiece with positions, warnings, and shouted curses, too many at once.
Alina’s voice stands out, giving us information on what the drone sees.
It’s chaos, but Gavriil and I stick close together as we make our way toward the front of the house.
An Irishman bursts out of the house as we step onto the porch and slams into Gavriil, knocking him onto the grass. I whip around and lift my gun to fire at the man’s back, but my finger pauses on the trigger. If the bullet goes through him, it’ll hit Gavriil.
“Fuck,” I grit out as I hurry down the stairs.
Gavriil manages to get a hand free as the Irishman tries to pin him down against the ground. He slams his fist against his jaw, unbalancing him.
I grab the man’s head and twist, breaking his neck and making him slump over Gavriil.
Gavriil throws him off with a grunt. He snatches his gun off the ground next to him.
I reach down and grab his free hand, hauling him to his feet. “Good?”
Gavriil nods and walks past me to lead our group inside of the house, his grip tightening on his gun. “Where’s the drone, Alina?”
“Second floor. There’s heavy fire,” Alina reports. “Two enemies are heading toward the staircase.”
Toward us.
We storm the foyer just as two men rush out of a connected room, one with a knife and one with a gun.
Gavriil grabs my arm and yanks me to the side just as the one with the gun fires at us. The bullet zips past me where my head was just a second ago.
My heart leaps into my throat for a second, but my body reacts naturally. I lunge for the guy with the gun, slamming against him so hard that he drops his weapon.
Gavriil shoots the one with the knife before he can reach me to help his friend, making him drop to the ground with a loud thud. “Up the stairs! We need to help those on the second floor.”
Two of our men rush past us toward the stairs, only to face off with the two enemies who were heading our way. Gunfire rings out as they fight on the steps, the loud bangs filling my ears.
“Damn it,” I grit out as our men take bullets and tumble down the stairs to hit the floor at the bottom.
Gavriil lifts his gun to fire at the one enemy remaining, but it clicks. Empty.
My heart drops as the bastard aims at us. I’m not fast enough to reload and fire first.
But someone else does.
A pop goes off, and the man flies back against the wall, blood blooming through his shirt.
I turn to see Maximo and a small group of Italians following him through the doorway that leads to the middle and back of the house.
“You have to be faster than that, Morozovs,” he tells us with a cocky grin on his face. “The grounds are clear.”
Gavriil reloads, breathing heavily but steadily. “I need an update from the second floor.”
“Pinned down in the meeting room! We’re running out of ammo!” Petrov says.
“We’re taking fire in the office!” Matvei shouts into the mic.
“There are at least five out in the hallway,” Alina says. “Wait. No, no, no! They shot the drone!” she says, her voice breaking for the first time. “We’re blind now.”
“Fuck,” I say as I turn to Gavriil. “We need to get up there.”
Gavriil nods before looking at Maximo. “Are you with us?”
“Right behind you,” Maximo confirms.
“Incoming!” one of our men shouts from behind us.
I look up just as three enemies rush down the stairs with their guns drawn. One of them immediately aims at Gavriil, but I don’t have time to lift my gun and fire. All I can do is shove Gavriil to the side instead.
Pain detonates in my upper arm, white-hot and blinding, as blood instantly soaks my sleeve.
The impact knocks me off balance, and the world tilts violently as I hit the tile.
Gavriil’s voice shouts my name, but the sound drains away, swallowed by ringing silence.
If I die tonight, at least it’ll be for the two people I refuse to lose.