"Think so."
He tries to stand and immediately collapses. I catch him. His weight nearly takes us both down. He's deadweight.
This is going to be so much harder than I planned. I’m not exactly in the best shape myself.
"Come on." I get his arm over my shoulders, taking most of his weight. "We're moving."
We stagger into the hallway, and that's when I hear it.
Footsteps. Multiple people. Coming up the stairs.
Roman's men, cutting off our escape.
"Back room!" I pull Kira's father the opposite direction. "We find another way out!"
We stumble down a secondary corridor. I search for an escape. I know it’s unlikely, but I can’t stop trying. I can’t just roll over and die.
A window. Finally, a window.
I peer out. It’s too high to jump safely, especially carrying an injured man.
But our options are limited.
I ease Kira's father into the corner, propping him against the wall. "Stay here. Don't move."
"Not going anywhere," he wheezes.
I move back into the hallway, weapon raised, searching for another exit. There has to be a fire escape, a service elevator, something—
"Maksim Barinov." The voice freezes me in place. "I've been waiting for you."
I spin, weapon tracking to the source.
Roman stands at the end of the corridor. He looks calm. Composed. Like we're meeting for coffee instead of a firefight.
"You should have stayed dead," he says conversationally. "Would have been easier for everyone."
"Easier for you, you mean." I keep my weapon trained on him. "Harder to steal what's mine when I'm alive to stop you."
"Your father's empire was never yours. You were weak. Sentimental. He knew it too."
"My father loved me. Which is more than anyone ever felt for you."
His expression darkens. "Your father was a fool. Clinging to outdated ideals while the world moved on. I did what needed to be done."
"You murdered him." My finger tightens on the trigger. "Poisoned him like the coward you are."
"I freed the organization from his weakness." Roman takes a step closer. "Just like I'm about to free it from yours."
I'm about to pull the trigger when someone shouts from the stairwell. "Boss! Now!”
The first explosion cuts off his words.
The building shudders. The floor beneath my feet buckles. Somewhere below, support beams scream as they fail.
Another explosion. Closer this time. The walls crack, raining concrete dust.
Roman laughs as the building tears itself apart around us. "Perfect timing!"
