More men sent to take us out.
And we’re sitting ducks now.
CHAPTER FIFTY
VIKTOR
The moment I get the call, I leap into my bulletproof SUV.
My knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel. I’m tearing through the neighborhood. Tracking the GPS of Artyom’s vehicle.
Four other SUVs are behind me, filled to the gills with my men. We’re a few clicks out from the Strip, cutting north through the industrial sector. The kind of place where buildings are more rust than steel. Where businesses come to die in the quiet. It’s a place to make backdoor deals—or make a point.
I should be comforted Avelina is in one of our bulletproof vehicles. That she’s got someone trained with her instead of driving her own car.
But I’m not. Because I know that she’s in danger. And I’m not with her.
My chest tightens like a goddamn vise. I grit out an order into the comms in my ear. My men behind me confirm as we take the off-ramp.
Roaring into a construction site, our other SUVs are behind me and block the exit.
My pulse ticks faster as I close in. I can’t see her inside the car. I need eyes on her.Fucking now. “Tap into the interior camera,” I bark.
Matvey’s voice crackles through the earpiece. “Still working on it. Give me a few more seconds… Got a visual. She’s in the back, ducked down. Artyom’s alert.”
But the tension doesn’t break. It just gets worse. Like a knife twisting in my gut.
“Fan out!” I yell.I want her protected. I want her safe. And I want these bastards dead.
Our SUVs fan out like jaws clamping down. The two enemy vehicles panic and retreat, speeding down a service road that we didn’t know about. Fuck! They’ve got another way to get out of here!
I want to rush to Avelina’s side. But I know she’s now safe and has got Artyom to protect her. I turn hard, engine roaring as the tires squeal. “One SUV stay with Artyom and Avelina!” I yell into the comms. No fucking way am I leaving her at risk again.
The chase takes us past empty warehouses and blown-out windows.
The road narrows. Turns into a gravel yard behind some plant. One way in. One way out.
I know this place. No cameras. No witnesses.
Perfect for the slaughter that’s about to happen.
“Box them in!” I order.
My door shoves open before I can fully throw the SUV into park. My boots hit the dirt, gun drawn.
Shots fire.
The crunch of gravel behind me tells me my men are following.
I don’t even blink before one drops. Then another. We take them down hard and fast.
Silence reigns for a few long seconds.
Then my men drag one of them toward me as he coughs up blood.
I crouch down to his level as they throw him at my feet. My hand grips his stupid man-bun, lifting his head. “Why?”
He gives me a red-stained smile.
