Chapter 22
Dmitri
Sleep weighs down my eyes as I sit on the couch with Cara tucked under my arm, a cup of coffee balanced on my knee.
“You should try to get more sleep,” Cara tells me before pressing a gentle kiss against my cheek. “You got in late last night.”
“I should be hearing back from Owen and Dex soon,” I murmur as I rest my head against hers. “I hate this part, the waiting, the digging through information for an answer. I just want to do something.”
I’m not a tech guy. I can’t filter through databases and pluck out information like a needle in a haystack. It’s not my strength.
What I can do is use that information to point me toward who needs to die.
I’m ready for my part.
“You’ll get to do plenty when they’re done,” Cara assures me before sighing. “That coffee smells amazing.”
“You can have a cup a day,” I tell her as a small smile tugs at my lips.
Cara shakes her head. “I’m too nervous to even do that. I’ve put the baby through so much already.”
I rub her upper arm gently. “The doctor said the baby is perfectly fine. Even after all you’ve endured, he or she is okay.”
Cara takes a deep breath and nods. “I know. I just don’t want either of us pushed too hard. Taking unnecessary risks. We’re going to be parents, Dmitri.”
That’s the problem.
I have to take risks to keep us safe, but one wrong move could end up blowing it all up. Where do I draw that line?
My phone buzzes on the coffee table, and I lunge for it. It’s a new message from Owen.
Come by. We need to talk.
“I think Owen found something,” I tell Cara as I stand up and head to the kitchen to dump out the rest of my coffee.
“I’m coming too,” she says as she pushes herself off the couch and makes a beeline to the bedroom to get dressed.
There’s no point in arguing, even if I would prefer for her to stay here.
Once she throws on some clothes, we hurry out of the door, only to nearly crash into Denis. “Shit. What’s the rush, Denis?”
“Where are you guys going?” he asks, his brow furrowing.
“Owen’s place,” I reply as I take Cara’s hand, already shuffling past Denis impatiently. “What is it?”
“It’s hard to explain. Me and some of the others have been looking deeper into the Italians, and I found something interesting,” Denis replies.
“Does it have anything to do with the latest hit or with Cara?” I ask him.
Denis shakes his head after a moment. “No.”
“Then tell me later,” I reply before taking Cara out to the car and driving to Owen’s house.
“Why couldn’t he just call and tell you?” Cara asks.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
Cara nods, tense and impatient as silence settles between us.
When we arrive at Owen’s house, we walk up to the front porch and knock on the front door. I glance around, taking in the quiet, normal neighborhood that this guy lives in. He has a typical cookie cutter house with a backyard and everything like he’s some sort of upstanding citizen.
No one on this street knows what he’s up to behind closed doors.
Owen pulls open the door and ushers us inside. “It took forever, but we found a name on a document they missed.”
Cara and I follow him into his home office where Dex is leaning over the desk looking at the main computer screen.
“I knew that would work. Broke right through their shitty encryption,” Dex says as he turns around. “Check it out.”
I get a better look at the screen, my eyes skimming past the legal jargon to reach the signature at the bottom of the page. It’s a jumbled mess, but just the initials tell me enough.
“Artur Suyunov.”
The name hits me like a gunshot.
Cara gasps sharply. “He paid the shooter? He wanted me killed?”
“Or his daughter convinced him to,” I point out with a bitter shake of my head. “Of course, it was him. That bastard. He’s hiding underground and tossing money at other people to do his damn dirty work!”
Dex and Owen share a look with each other.
“What?” I question them.
“I don’t think he’ll be underground for long,” Owen replies before pulling up an aerial map of the city. He clicks on a blurry building to pull up a clearer street view of it. “This business has a second story. An apartment.”
“Guess what business operates out of that building?” Dex asks me.
“One of the shell companies,” I say, the pieces steadily clicking together. “You two were busy last night.”
“Told you that we would get it done,” Owen replies with a wry grin on his face. “I bet you that they’re staying up there. There’s nothing in that area but old houses and local businesses. It’s quiet. Ignored.”
“Storm it,” Cara says, making me turn to her. Every feature on her face is tight, anger filling her eyes. “Before they figure out that we know where they are. We can’t lose them again.”
I nod my agreement, adrenaline racing through my veins as I make the call to gather a whole group of Bratva men. Hell, maybe twelve of us is overkill, but I don’t want to risk Artur or Annika getting away. We need to capture them both. Today.
As Cara and I are leaving Owen’s house she grabs my arm and stops me from stepping off the porch. “Wait.”
I face her, my eyes narrowing in confusion. “What is it?”
Cara breathes in deeply before speaking. “I won’t ask to go this time, but you have to promise me something.”
I thought she would push to come along at least, but her focus seems to be elsewhere. “Anything. Whatever you want, milaya.”
Cara lifts her chin a little as our eyes lock. “Don’t kill Annika. Not yet.”
That spark of revenge in her eyes does something dangerous to me.
I’m so damn proud of her. She’s so much stronger than others give her credit for, and I think her father has finally realized that. She isn’t one to fuck over, and it’s not just because I’m by her side.
“My plan is to capture both of them alive and then deal with them however we want,” I tell her as I take her hand, urging her closer to me. “Wait for me at the antique shop. This shouldn’t take long.”
Cara nods before raising up on her toes and placing her lips against mine.
I hold the back of her neck as I return the kiss, eager to give her the revenge she deserves.
It’s been a long time coming. Too long.
“Go,” Cara whispers, her lips brushing mine. “Be careful.”
“I will,” I promise her before flagging Isaak over. “You should be resting. I nearly had to bury you.”
“I’m fine,” Isaak assures me, moving slower than usual.
“You’ll take Cara to the antique shop. Have everything prepared for two prisoners,” I tell him as I coax Cara closer to him with a hand on her back. “I know you want back into the action, Isaak, but looking after her is the most important task that I can give you.”
Isaak nods in understanding. “Yes, sir. I’ll get her there and keep her safe.”
Cara gives me one more look before following Isaak back to one of the cars parked in front of Owen’s house.
“The rest of you, let’s go. We’ll meet the others closer to the building we’re hitting,” I tell the men before getting into my car and firing up the engine. My car lightly rumbles as I hit the gas, my eyes flickering to the rearview mirror to watch Isaak drive Cara away.
Every time that we’re separated, uneasiness seeps through me. I can’t help but fear that she’ll be taken away from me, and I won’t be able to find her the next time.
But if I can capture Artur and Annika, I can wipe out a huge threat. That would be doing the whole world a kindness.
I’ll eradicate anyone who tries to touch the woman I love.
Owen wasn’t wrong when he said that this area was rundown and neglected. A few people roam up and down the sidewalks, but everyone else is either in their houses or somewhere else. The street is quiet.
So quiet that there aren’t even any cars parked near the building. That doesn’t fool me, though. If Artur and Annika are staying here, they most likely have a driver transporting them wherever they dare to go.
Once my men and I park a street over, we split into groups, one taking the front of the building and the other taking the back. Our best bet is one big, concentrated effort to storm the building on both sides and surprise them.
So, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
“Now!”
Denis slams his foot against one of the glass front doors, shattering it on impact. He rushes inside, glass crunching under his boots as he enters the bare lobby. Dust lingers in the stale air, and I can quickly tell that this first floor hasn’t been used in weeks.
It’s just a front. A fake office space that looks legit at first glance.
“Stairs,” I say as I slip past Denis and hurry to the door that leads to the staircase.
Five men follow me as the second team crashes through the back. I take the stairs two at a time before reaching the door that leads out to the second floor.
One of my men passes me and throws open the door to take the lead. His body jerks backward as a bullet punches through his chest.
I grunt as his weight slams into me, knocking us backward into the wall.
“Shit! Shut the door!” Leo shouts from farther down the staircase.
Denis shoves his shoulder against the door, shutting it just as another shot rings out. The bullet thuds against the other side of the metal door.
“Check on him,” I tell Leo and Ivan as I carefully lower Avrey to the ground, his blood coating the front of my shirt and my hands.
Leo leans down near Avrey’s face, listening for any signs of breathing. He then lifts his eyes to mine and shakes his head with a somber look.
“Fuck,” I grit out, feeling a jab to my chest. We’re down a man already.
“What now?” Ivan asks me as he straightens up. “Whoever shot him is just waiting for someone else to come through the door.”
I narrow my eyes, racking my brain for an idea that’ll keep the rest of us from getting gunned down one by one because the layout of the building is killing us. This is the only way to the second floor.
“Have the second team go back outside and make sure no one leaves through one of the windows. In fact, see if any of them can find a way through a second-floor window,” I tell Ivan. “For us, we need some cover.”
Denis pulls out something from a pouch attached to his belt. “How about this?”
I catch the hand-sized canister as he tosses it to me. A smoke grenade. “That works. We’re going to use this to sneak onto the second floor.”
At my hand motion, Denis and Leo move close to the door with me, staying out of sight as I pull the pin, open the door, and toss the grenade out onto the second floor.
I slam the door shut as I hear another gunshot, along with the quiet hissing of the grenade as thick white smoke floods the hallway. I take a deep breath and wait a few seconds before throwing open the door again, a white haze filling the hallway.
“Stay low,” I tell the others before ducking down into a crouch.
I squint my eyes against the smoke, pressing my face into the crook of my arm to block it from getting into my nose and mouth. My free hand feels along the wall, guiding me forward as I hear thumping and hushed voices nearby.
“I can’t see!”
My burning eyes narrow as I make out Annika’s panicked voice. I can’t even tell if I’m in a room or a large hallway, but I keep moving, feeling Denis’ hand on my shoulder from behind so that we’re linked together.
Glass shatters from what sounds like across the room. My heart rate jolts. They’re trying to escape through the goddamn window.
I surge forward, making Denis lose his grip. I stumble through the smoke as it starts to slowly thin and fade. I slam into someone, both of us hitting the ground.
“What the hell?” Artur’s familiar voice rings out.
I look up and see a broken window up ahead, but no one is trying to leave through it. Some of my men are entering it instead. “Find Annika!”
“Check that room!” Denis shouts from somewhere behind me.
I look back down at Artur as he struggles underneath me, his face reddening with fury. I drive a punch into his jaw, stunning him for a few seconds. “Got you, bastard. You really thought you could fuck with me and Cara without any consequences?”
“Fuck you,” Artur growls through gritted teeth as blood flecks stain his bottom lip.
“You’re going to regret every single thing you’ve done to us,” I bite out before punching him again, knocking him unconscious.
“Let me go! My father will kill you if you don’t get your hands off me!” Annika shrieks from another room before Leo hauls her out of it. Her eyes land on her unconscious father, and she gasps with tears in her eyes. “Daddy!”
Bitterness fills my stomach as I glare at her. She’s been the source of so much of my damn misery. The thought of her trying to kill my child makes me want to toss her out of the fucking window.
But I made a promise to Cara.
“Take them down to the car. Get them to the antique shop,” I tell my men as they gather around.
Annika’s eyes dart to me, her face scrunched in fury. “You’re going to pay for this, Dmitri.”
“No, you are finally going to pay,” I assure her before stepping away from her father. “Both of you will. And Cara might rip your throat out herself.”