Epilogue
Three days later...
“There’s nothing to see,” Reyna said.
Lev stared at the video of the night Lorraine and her men had been killed. The man responsible had his back to the cameras. He’d kept his face hidden at all times, but there was no mistaking the phone call he’d made.
“It looks like we have a friend,” Lev said. “At least, I hope he’s a friend.”
“I’ll send this over to Callie. She might be able to get something off of it that we can’t,” Reyna said.
Lev nodded in agreement. He leaned back in the chair Sergei had occupied for years. It felt weird to sit here, but also right at the same time. Lev wasn’t a fool. He knew that things wouldn’t be smooth with the men. Most had accepted him taking over, but there would be some who objected.
And he already had his eye on three of them. Moreover, he suspected that the Saints had at least one person within his ranks. He’d need to ferret them out.
Reyna suddenly sat in his lap, looping her arms around him. “We did it.”
“We certainly did,” he said with a smile.
She glanced away and licked her lips. “What now?”
“We prepare for the war.”
Reyna swallowed. “I finished writing down everything I learned from the Saints during my years there. Names, locations, events. All of it.”
“What about what you discovered at headquarters?” It was the first time he’d asked, though he’d been curious from the moment he learned of it.
Her lips split into a grin. “I wondered if you’d ask.”
“I wasn’t sure you wanted to tell me.”
“I don’t have any secrets from you,” she said and gave him a quick kiss. She straightened and sighed. “The instructions were explicit on how to get into the building and down to archives. I was directed to one file specifically.”
“And that was?”
“A location,” she said.
He smiled slowly. “Looks like we’ve got more traveling to do.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Maks wanted it finished. The Saints had done enough damage, destroyed enough lives, and controlled too much. It was time for them to come to an abrupt and violent end.
And he was happy to be the one to do it.
The phone in his pocket vibrated with an incoming call. He pulled it out without bothering to look at the screen. He didn’t say a word as the line connected, and he listened to the voice on the other end.
When the caller finished, Maks hung up and turned to walk to the car he’d parked on the side of the road. He got behind the wheel and turned around. He wasn’t leaving Russia anytime soon.
Thank you for reading THE DEFENDER. I hope you enjoyed the story!