I catch sight of him through a gap in the shelves. He's reloading, his hands shaking. I take aim, waiting for the perfect shot?—
The shelf beside me explodes in splinters. I fire twice more in quick succession. The first shot catches him in the shoulder. The second hits his knee. This time, he goes down hard, his weapon clattering across the hardwood floor.
I'm on him before he can recover, kicking the gun away and pressing my boot against his chest. The pain in my arm screams at me, but I ignore it. Blood soaks through my shirt from the wound in my side, but that doesn't matter either.
All that matters is that Bogdan is finally at my mercy.
"Don't kill me," he gasps, his earlier bravado completely gone. "Please, Dante. We're family?—"
"You gave up that right when you tried to murder mine."
I press harder with my boot, watching him struggle to breathe. It would be so easy to end this now. Put a bullet in his head and be done with it. But I need him alive. Need him to face the council, to confess everything.
Sergei bursts into the library, his weapon raised, taking in the scene. "Boss, you're hit."
"I'm fine. Secure him."
Sergei hauls Bogdan to his feet, none too gently, zip-tying his hands behind his back. My cousin is whimpering now; all his grand plans reduced to this—a wounded man begging for mercy he doesn't deserve.
"Take him to the basement," I order. "Put him with Radimir."
We drag Bogdan through the destroyed house, past bodies of his men who died for his ambition. The estate that was my sanctuary this morning is now a war zone, but we're still standing. We won.
The basement interrogation room is cold and stark. Radimir sits in a chair, already restrained, his expression dark with calculation. When he sees Bogdan being dragged in, something shifts in his face.
"You failed," Radimir says to Bogdan, his voice flat. "You promised me you could handle this."
"Shut up," Bogdan snarls. "This isn't over?—"
"It is over." I lean against the wall, pressing my hand against the wound in my side. The bleeding is slowing, but I'm startingto feel lightheaded. "Your coup failed. Your men are dead or captured. And you're both going to face the council for treason."
"The council won't believe you," Radimir says. "Your word against ours?—"
"Against yours and the testimony of Ivan, who's been very cooperative about detailing your entire plan." I glance over at Ivan who is now chained to the wall looking more terrified than ever. I pull out my phone, ignoring the way my injured arm protests. "Plus recordings of tonight's assault, financial records showing the embezzlement, and evidence that you framed Richard Quinn."
I watch the blood drain from both their faces as they realize how completely they've lost.
"They'll hear all the evidence. And then they'll decide your fate."
"You can't?—”
I walk out of the room and call Alexei. After being assured they’re safe, I tell him to give us thirty minutes.
I want the bodies gone before Mila returns. I can’t do much about the blood and damage, but I don’t want her to see the dead men. I’ll preserve that last bit of innocence just a bit longer.
I make my way to the garage—the only place untouched.
Hannah climbs out of the SUV with Mila. There's blood on her clothes—some hers, mostly not—and her hands are still shaking slightly from adrenaline. But she's alive. They're both alive.
"Papa!" Mila launches herself at me. I catch her, holding her tight against my chest. She's crying now, the fear she held back during the battle finally breaking free.
"It's over,milaya," I murmur into her hair. "You're safe. Everyone's safe."
"I was so scared," she sobs.
"Hannah protected you," I say. "She was very brave."
I look over Mila's head at Hannah, who's watching us with exhausted eyes. There's a cut on her cheek and bruises forming on her arms where she must have been thrown against something during the explosions.
