Nora’s eyes were wide, fixed on me with desperate hope. “Mom,” she whimpered.
Alexei’s momentary shock had given Jake and Mikhail time to reposition themselves, but they still had no clear shot with Nora in the way.
“You were just a child when I last saw you,” Alexei said, his accent thickening with emotion. “Three years old. Before that bastard MacGallan took you, and I killed your mother.”
“I remember,” I lied, trying to keep him talking. “I remember you, Alexei.”
His expression flickered between suspicion and something almost like longing. “You cannot possibly—”
“The wooden horse,” I interrupted, pulling from my hazy childhood memories. “You carved it for me. It had a red saddle.”
The memory seemed to hit him like a physical blow. His grip on Nora slackened further, and she seized the opportunity, stomping hard on his foot. He cursed, loosening his hold just enough for her to wrench free.
“Nora, run!” I screamed.
She bolted toward me as Jake and Mikhail both surged forward. I caught Nora in my arms, clutching her to my chest as I backed toward the door.
“You’re okay, you’re okay,” I murmured into her hair, my heart pounding so hard I could barely hear. “I’ve got you, baby.”
“I knew you’d come,” she sobbed against my shoulder.
Behind us, chaos erupted. Alexei lunged for the panic room, but Mikhail tackled him before he could reach it. They crashed into a side table, sending an antique lamp shattering to the floor. Jake was there in an instant, his gun trained on Alexei as Mikhail pinned him down.
“Get her out of here,” Jake called to me, never taking his eyes off the struggling men.
I didn’t need to be told twice. With Nora still clinging to me, I backed out of the study and into the hallway, fumbling for the comm in my ear.
“Declan,” I gasped. “We have Nora. We need extraction now.”
“On our way,” came his terse reply. “South entrance, two minutes.”
I carried Nora down the corridor, her face buried against my neck. She was trembling violently, but her arms around me were strong, desperate.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” she whispered. “I went to see the kittens. I didn’t mean to—”
“Shh, it’s not your fault,” I soothed, moving as quickly as I dared through the unfamiliar house. “None of this is your fault.”
The sound of a gunshot froze me in my tracks. It had come from the direction of the study. Nora flinched in my arms, a small cry escaping her.
“Jake,” she whimpered.
I hesitated, torn between running for safety and going back. Before I could decide, footsteps pounded down the corridor behind us. I pressed Nora against the wall, shielding her with my body, ready to fight with everything I had.
But it was Jake who rounded the corner, his face grim but unharmed. Relief flooded through me.
“Mikhail has him secured,” he said, slightly out of breath. “Let’s go.”
We moved swiftly through the house, Jake leading the way, checking corners before waving us forward. The diversion at the front gate was still keeping most of Alexei’s security force occupied, but we could hear shouting and orders in Russian as they realized something was wrong.
“Almost there,” Jake murmured as we reached the service corridor that led to the wine cellar. “Stay close.”
We had just reached the cellar door when a burst of gunfire erupted somewhere behind us. Jake pushed us through the door, slamming it shutbehind him.
“Down to the tunnel, now,” he ordered, already moving to barricade the door.
I carried Nora down the spiral staircase, my legs shaking with adrenaline and exhaustion. The wine cellar was as we’d left it, dimly lit and silent.
“Jake,” Nora said, looking back up the stairs. “He’s coming, right?”
