"Don't worry." Dardan smiles the kind of smile that makes my trigger finger itch. "We won't kill you. You're too valuable for that. But you're going to wish we had."
The second Albanian reaches for her.
I step out of the shadows.
"Touch her, and you're dead."
Both men spin around. Dardan's gun comes up, pointing at my chest.
"Korolyov." He spits my name like it tastes bitter. "This isn't your business."
"Everything in this city is my business." I keep my hands visible, relaxed. Letting them think they have the advantage. "Especially when it involves girls disappearing from my family's casino."
"She's not from your casino."
"No. But her sister is. And you took her sister."
Dardan's smile widens. "Prove it."
"Now, now Dardan, you know men like us don’t deal in proof."
He pulls the trigger.
I'm already moving sideways, the bullet sparks off brick where my head was a second ago. My own gun is in my hand before he can adjust his aim. I put two rounds in his chest. He slumps to the ground, gurgling.
The second Albanian grabs Laney, using her as a shield, his arm around her throat. She gasps, clawing at his forearm.
"Back off," he snarls at me in Albanian. "Or I’ll snap her neck."
I switch languages. "You kill her, you die. You let her go, maybe you limp out of here."
His eyes narrow. "Bullshit. You'll kill me anyway."
"Probably." I take a step closer. "But at least you'll have a chance to run. Take it."
He's panicking now, I can see it in the way his eyes flick from side to side. His grip on Laney tightens, and she makes a choked sound that sends rage flooding through my veins.
"Last chance," I say softly. "Let. Her. Go."
He doesn't.
I shoot him in the knee.
He screams and goes down, releasing Laney. She stumbles forward, coughing, hands at her throat. I catch her before she falls, one arm around her waist, keeping her upright.
The Albanian is writhing on the ground, clutching his shattered kneecap. I walk over and press my boot to his chest, pinning him.
"Where is Zajmi keeping the girls?"
"Fuck you—"
I shoot his other knee.
His scream echoes off the alley walls. Laney flinches against me, but she doesn't look away. Brave and beautiful. Pride blooms in my chest.
"One more time," I say. "Where are the girls?"
"Henderson," he gasps out. "Warehouse. Off... off Boulder Highway."
