Chapter 26 #2
The man’s voice drops to a whisper, as if speaking quietly might somehow protect him from retaliation, and the acrid scent of urine fills the air around us as he urinates on himself.
“She said it was a tight timeline, and she had to handle something before you found out. I don’t know what, but she said it represented a threat to everything she’s worked for.
She has to marry you for her plan to work. That’s all I know, I swear.”
Her plan, of course. Katya isn’t just planning to marry me.
She’s planning to inherit everything after my convenient death.
It’s what I’ve suspected, but her actions and determination to remove whatever besides Sarah she perceives as a threat to her plan gives me all the proof I need and eliminates even the tiniest shadow of doubt that remained.
I stand, my decision made with crystalline clarity. “How many men does she have at the compound?”
“I don’t know.”
I run the knife across his cheek, making him flinch. “Don’t you?”
“I was going to say, I don’t know exactly.” His voice is trembling. “I’m just guessing she has maybe ten or twelve. It’s a guesthouse at the family compound, where she can handle sensitive business without interference.”
I turn to Valentin, who’s been listening to every word with growing alarm. “Get me the layout of the Nikitin compound, with satellite imagery, building plans, and security protocols. I want anything you can find but pay special attention to the guesthouse.”
Valentin pulls out his phone to start making calls to our intelligence contacts. “Yarik, if Katya has that many men defending the compound, and if she’s had time to prepare?—”
“We’ll go through them.” I check my weapon and signal my team to prepare for immediate departure. “I’m not leaving the woman I love in the hands of someone who wants her dead.”
The man on his knees looks up at me with desperate hope, probably thinking cooperation might save his life. “If I helped you, told you about the compound’s defenses, the guard rotations?—”
I consider his offer briefly, weighing the potential value of his information against the time we’ve already lost. Then I shake my head.
“You were going to burn evidence that could have helped me find her faster. That makes you complicit in whatever happens to her.” One quick motion ends his pleading.
I don’t have time for witnesses or complications and leaving him alive would only create more problems later.
Valentin studies his phone screen, scrolling through satellite images and architectural plans.
“The compound is forty minutes north of here. It’s a private estate with multiple buildings in heavily wooded area.
There’s the main house, the guesthouse, a security building, a vehicle garage, and various other smaller buildings that probably aren’t relevant.
They’re likely for storage or other purposes, like a pool house, but we can’t afford not to search them.
We’ll need at least four men for the perimeter search to ensure those buildings don’t house nasty surprises. ”
“Find me four more men. Pull them from the docks or wherever. Get Luco, the gardener, and the chef from the estate if you have to but get them there.” I head toward our vehicles, my team falling into step behind me. “We’re leave now, so bring everything we have.”
The drive through the Connecticut countryside passes in tense silence broken only by radio chatter as my men coordinate with additional teams. I sit in the passenger seat while Valentin drives, my mind focused on what we’ll face at the compound.
Katya has had months to prepare for our retaliation and position her men.
She’s also had hours to hurt Sarah in ways I don’t want to imagine.
She made one critical mistake. She assumed Sarah was just another obstacle to be eliminated, not understanding that touching her means declaring war on everything I am and everything I’m willing to do to protect what matters to me.
The Nikitin compound comes into view as we crest a hill. It’s a sprawling estate with multiple buildings connected by covered walkways, surrounded by thick woods that provide both concealment and tactical challenges.
I count at least six guards visible on the perimeter, which means more inside.
They’re professionals using proper positioning, maintaining overlapping fields of fire, and surely have secure communication lines.
Katya has prepared for a siege, but she’s also made herself a target by concentrating her forces.
I turn to address my team, keeping my voice low but clear enough for everyone to hear. “Sarah is somewhere in that compound, probably in the guesthouse. Our objective is to get her out alive. Everything else is secondary.”
One of my men checks his weapon and adjusts his gear, his face grim with determination. “What about the guards?”
“Neutralize any threats but remember that some of them might be regular security who don’t know what Katya is really planning. Use judgment, but don’t hesitate if they’re shooting at you.”
We approach the compound from three directions, using the wooded terrain for cover and the darkness to mask our movements.
The perimeter guards are well-trained but not expecting a coordinated assault from multiple vectors.
We take them down quickly and quietly, advancing toward the guesthouse.
Our back-up team, clearing the buildings around us, check in periodically to announce another building cleared.
Suddenly, the shooting starts. Muzzle flashes erupt from windows on the second floor of the main house as Leonid’s men open fire on our positions.
We dive for cover behind trees and outbuildings, returning fire while pushing steadily forward through the gardens.
I leave half my team to deal with the main house guards and take Valentin and the rest toward the guesthouse, where four guards wait.
I work my way around to the side of the guesthouse, using the ornamental gardens and decorative fountains for concealment. A guard appears at the corner of the building, weapon raised and scanning for targets, but I’m faster. He drops silently, and I continue toward the back entrance.
Inside, the guesthouse is dark except for emergency lighting that casts everything in red shadows.
It’s larger than it looked from the outside but still a smaller space to search than the main house.
I move through corridors lined with expensive artwork, my weapon ready for any threat that might emerge from the shadows.
The sound of gunfire outside is muffled by the thick walls, but I hear my team advancing through the compound. Each exchange of shots brings them closer to the main house or the guesthouse, while each step I take brings me closer to Sarah and ending this nightmare.
The guesthouse has two stories, and I reach a staircase leading to the upper floor and start climbing, testing each step for creaks that might give away my position. The house feels empty despite the guards we encountered outside, like most of the defending force is concentrated in specific areas.
That’s when the attack comes.
A figure lunges at me from the shadows at the top of the stairs. He’s a Nikitin guard, who’s been waiting in ambush. We crash into the wall, both fighting for control of our weapons in a deadly dance of violence and desperation.
He’s younger than me and strong, with the desperate energy of someone fighting for his life. He slams his fist into my ribs, driving the air from my lungs, and I taste blood where my teeth cut the inside of my cheek.
I’ve been fighting longer, and I know how to use desperation as a weapon. I drive my knee into his solar plexus, then bring my elbow down on the back of his neck when he doubles over. He collapses, unconscious but alive.
I continue down the hallway, noting the expensive carpet that muffles my footsteps and the oil paintings that watch my progress with painted eyes. At the end of the corridor, light spills from beneath a heavy wooden door.
Sarah is behind that door. I can feel it with absolute certainty. I have to save the woman I love or lose her forever.