His voice is closer. I’m going to have to move, and fast. Before I can do anything, another round of bullets explodes out the door. I flinch, pulling back from the door and stumbling back toward the bushes. It’s then that I see one of my men being peppered with bullets. His body jerks under the force of the bullets riddling his body before he falls to the ground.
I move, running to the other side of his car just as he opens the door and steps out. I haven’t seen Vladimir since before I left for Russia. Maybe I’m misremembering how rotund he is, but it seems like he’s actually gained at least fifty more pounds since Ileft for Russia. He’s wearing a gray track suit with a jacket that rides up as he waddles slowly outside, his AR-15 in hand.
I glance to the side of the house and see my men posted up by the side, ready to strike. I should just let them light Vladimir up. I still don’t know where Natalya is. I need to be strategic about this.
He’s looking for me toward the bushes where he heard my voice. “Anton? You haven’t run, have you? I hope not. The fun was just starting.”
I don’t have a chance to answer. Gunshots sound from inside the house. Vladimir flinches and pauses, then turns and runs back inside. I get up and follow him, doing my best not to be heard before I get to the door. By the time I get there, I don’t see him in the foyer. I open the door, take two steps in?—
A loud drilling of pops fills the hallway, hitting the wall next to me. Plaster falls over me as a sharp burning in my side sends me to my knees.
I grab my side and feel the sticky, hot wetness of the blood from the bullet that hit me.
Fuck…
“Didn’t Maksim ever teach you to check every corner before you walk into a strange place?”
I look up to see Vladimir standing on the stairs, his gun aimed at me. He walks down the rest of the way and stands over me. I raise my gun, but he just kicks it out of my hand and it clatters across the floors.
The next thing I hear is fighting behind me. Gunshots go off and the sound of hand to hand combat. Shit. I must have missedsome of Vladimir’s forces. I’ll have to stall Vladimir until they can get to me.
“You were surprisingly easy to defeat,” he says. “All this talk about the ‘Great Lion’ and all along, you were just a cub.Stilla cub. It’s a curious thing, is it not?”
“A lot of talk for a man who’s under siege,” I say to him. “As soon as my men are done out there, they will come for you and take your head as a trophy.”
“Big talk for a man on his knees,” he says with a big smile. He studies my face for a long moment, then, “Why did you come here, anyway? Did you figure out my little game? Is that it? Or… or could it be that the big, bad Bratva has his nose open for a little gash from the wrong side of town?”
“That’s rough words for your own daughter.”
He laughs. “Right. Yes, well, at least we can both admit that love is not dead, right? It’s too bad you’re about to be.” He tilts his head and aims his gun down at me.
“I should have realized all along that bait was the only way to really gain power,” he says. “I wish I’d thought of using Natalya to my advantage instead of letting her do all the work for me. All well. At least I get to take your head myself.” He nudges me and adds, “Sit up so I can see your face.”
At least he’s giving me some honor. I sit up straight and look up into his eyes.
“That’s it,” he says. “I will be sure to tell your men that you died well… once they are calling me Pakhan.”
I don’t say anything and I keep my eyes locked with his.Natalya, my love. I hope to meet you again in the next life. Maybe we’ll have a chance then…
29
NATALYA
Arseni pushes me down under the living room window, watching two entrances while my father yells out at Anton in the foyer, the one behind us that leads out and the dining room where we rushed through. I’m practically shaking in my boots as I crouch down here.
I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but he’s going to kill me. Maybe he’ll just shove me out in the middle of the gunfire. Maybe he’ll do it now. I don’t know.
I lift my head up a little and see movement in the dining room. Before I know, a shadow rushes forward and grabs Arseni from behind. They struggle until Arseni pushes the shadow back into the living room. And then in the light coming in from the window, I see the face of his attacker. Mikki.
My heart leaps as I realize how close I am to escape. The two of them struggle at first until Arseni breaks free of Mikki and darts off for the kitchen. Mikki stands and fires several shots after him.
“Are you all right?” he whispers at me.
I nod. He comes into the living room and takes my hand and says, “Let’s get out of here.”
We move slowly, keeping our heads down as we creep through the living room and dining room and across the kitchen. We don’t get far as I notice my father standing on the stairs, gun in hand…
And I hear the sound of the door opening. Someone’s coming.
