Chapter 27
Sasha
Russia.
Our mother country.
A country I’d never been to and had never had a desire to visit.
There were obvious reasons. Politics. The extreme level of danger.
People disappeared all the time. Our surname might have weight with certain parties and oligarchs, but once anyone learned we’d defected to America for a better life, our bodies would never be found.
The full twenty-four hours of traveling had done nothing but increase the tension and anger. I’d slept maybe an hour, the sixty minutes fraught with horrific visions. Instead of being exhausted, I was wired.
At least we’d landed without incident in the private airfield that I’d arranged. We’d called in several favors, even finding several combat trucks waiting for our use. Given the climate of the country, the trucks traveling through the countryside toward our destination wouldn’t draw any red flags.
Or so we hoped.
The element of surprise was required and we’d used some creative tools including AI to generate the appearance that we were still in Las Vegas. It was also risky, but our computer whiz kids had assured us they could pull it off.
At least long enough to buy us time to attack.
We had everything in our bag of tricks to make the invasion successful, including heat sensors and night vision goggles.
With twilight already blanketing the city, the cloak of darkness would also be our friend.
The tricky part was getting into the compound.
“There’s sixteen soldiers crawling the roof,” Alessandro said as he pointed them out on aerial photography. We’d also enlisted the help of some rogue Russians who hated the Dmitriyev regime, utilizing their drones to canvass the compound and surrounding encampment.
Our uncle had several hundred acres of rough tundra with few access roads outside of Moscow. We were at the point of trusting my contact who’d provided a schematic of the compound and the only road we had a chance of using to keep our approach secretive for as long as possible.
Now that our trucks were rumbling down the rocky terrain, all we could do was hope since I wasn’t a praying man.
“We head into these building on these two sides and can easily take them out.” Vissarian dragged his finger from one access point to another. We also had grappling hooks and rope.
“From there we head in through here. The concentration of heat is located in these two buildings. One I would assume is housing for the soldiers,” Mikhail determined.
“That means Lainey and Nina are being kept inside the main house,” Alexsey offered.
“If they’re still alive,” Stefano said quietly.
“They are. I would feel it if they weren’t.” I was certain about that. As the driver slowed, the tension in the back of the truck we were in increased.
I allowed one more vision of Lainey’s beautiful face in my mind before whispering to myself, “I’m coming for you, baby. Just hold on.”
The three trucks stopped at the point we’d previously decided on and without hesitation, we rushed from them, heading into the woods.
Alessandro and Stefano had been assigned to cut the security system.
That would buy us maybe five minutes. In that time, we needed to eliminate the officers on duty outside and make our way to the entrance we’d chosen.
After that, we could expect hell to break loose.
There was a huge benefit to remaining in shape through the years. We made good time in heading for the compound. The moment we broke through the trees, we reacted with precision. There was also a benefit to those twenty-four hours of planning.
We were forced to wait for all of sixty seconds before the Costa boys performed magic and managed to cut the security including the power to the roof.
With a grappling hook in my hand, four soldiers with me, and Vissarian on the other side with the same number of our men, we went into action. The hook in place, I took a deep breath and climbed up the wall.
Pop! Pop!
I’d be damned if Vissarian didn’t make it onto the roof up before I did. I grinned from the thought, dropping down and firing off two shots. After a quick roll, I managed to get another enemy soldier between the eyes.
The fight was in full effect, the enemy screaming out obscenities in Russian as well as orders.
I raced toward the center of the building, swinging the AK-47 back and forth.
A figure appeared from the shadows, managing to slam his weapon against the side of my head.
Down I went, stars jetting in front of my eyes.
That didn’t stop me. Just as he drew back, ready to fire, I kicked out, catching him in the leg.
He was pitched to the cement roof. My anger getting the best of me, I yanked him up by his neck, smashing my fist into his face.
After another brutal punch, Vissarian called from the other side of the building. “Time’s up. Clean the roof.”
Ah, fuck. I couldn’t have any fun. With three bullets shot, I turned and spun in a circle, catching what should be the last two soldiers before they had a chance to fire. Then I rushed to where the rope was hanging, swinging over the roofline and sliding down.
With the power cut, the entire building and grounds were in darkness. With the night vision goggles in place we made our way to one of several doors.
Just before we entered, I glanced at Mikhail and the others.
Maybe the training our fathers had insisted we take meant something after all.
Five minutes before…
Lainey
“Put this on.”
The gruff sound of the voice of a man I’d never seen pissed me off. He leered at me as every other guard had done over the last week. Or however long we’d been here. Nina was beginning to lose hope, not even bothering to look up when the bastard had burst into the room.
He tossed a bag onto the floor, sneering as he did.
“What is it?” At least he was speaking English. I glanced at the open door. Since the earlier incident when I’d nearly made my way out, two guards had been assigned. Tonight there was only one.
Or at least I assumed it was nighttime.
“A dress. You’re being sold.”
Sold. The word shackled me with terror. However, I had no intention of backing down to the monsters or showing any fear. “Like hell I am.”
He laughed and took a quick glance toward Nina. “You’re going to do what I say. Get the kid ready as well. We have an audience in an hour.”
“You’re going to leave that little girl alone.” As if on cue, Nina started sobbing. While she was a little fighter, I had to believe she wasn’t playing for effect. We were both exhausted and I’d started to believe no one was coming to save us.
When he took a step forward and toward her, I moved in front, fisting both hands. “You dare try and touch her and I will kill you.”
His look became even more heated and he licked his lips in an exaggerated way that made me sick to my stomach. “I’d love to see you try.” He meant what he said, pushing me by growling like some wild animal while tilting his body forward quickly.
Instead of jerking back, I threw a punch, catching him in the mouth. Shocked, he tumbled backward into the doorway. I lunged toward him, issuing a brutal shove. He tumbled against the railing of the stairs and I could tell within seconds he was going to retaliate in a way I couldn’t handle.
“Lainey!” Nina screamed from behind me.
While he became distracted, I acted on a plan I’d concocted in my brain. I’d managed to save a portion of the broken lamp and with no time to waste, I slipped the thick cord against the bottom of the door.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
“Lainey,” she said so softly a knife was driven into my heart.
“It’s okay.”
A loud rumble vibrated the floor beneath us, which drew the soldier’s attention. He righted himself and turned toward the stairs, almost immediately snapping his head back in my direction.
Loud shouts could be heard coming from everywhere. He rushed closer, slamming the door.
Fuck. Exasperated, I glanced at the piece of the lamp. It was still wedged in place. Please, God. Whatever was going on, this might be the only chance I had of breaking free.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The sound was muffled, but I would never be able to forget it after the couple of shots I’d heard at the birthday party. Something was going on. With my hand shaking, I tried the door. Oh, my God. As the handle turned, I took a deep breath then closed it again, rushing toward Nina.
“Hey, girlie. Do you think you can walk?”
She lifted her head, her eyes wide but focused. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but we’re going to try and find a way out. Okay? Can you come with me?”
Nodding, she sat up. With her hand in mine, I pulled her behind me as I headed for the door. My pulse was racing as I opened it, darting my head outside. I heard noise coming from one of the lower floors. Shouts. Gunfire.
Nina tried to pull away from me and I immediately dropped to my knees. “Nina. I know you’re scared. So am I. But I need you to be brave for me. I will do my best to get us out of here. We need to find your daddy. You with me?”
She eyed me quizzically for a couple of seconds. This time her little mouth twisted with all the fire and fury I’d seen in her father. “I’m fine. Let’s go get Daddy.”
Thankfully, a strange orange glow highlighted the hallway. Emergency lights. With the gunfire, that meant the people keeping us were under attack.
I led her from the room, clueless as to where to go. Maybe if we could just get outside, we could find a way to get a phone or… Oh, God. I was in a foreign country. Think girl. Think. You can do this.
I pulled her toward the top of the stairs, peering down. Several figures raced by and we both hugged the wall. I could tell we were in a house of some kind. There were pictures on the walls, several open doors in the hallway. That gave me a sense of hope that I might find a way out.