“Is yours,” Alexei said as he approached, gesturing at theweapon.
“I’m seeing double. Probably not a good idea for me to be shooting at anyone right now. Don’t want to hit our people with friendly fire,” Seantoldhim.
Alexei swore in Russian before taking the rifle from him. He ejected the magazine and tucked it into his back pocket for later use before dropping the rifle to the ground. “Stay between us when we move out. Followorders.”
Alexei didn’t think he needed to tell Sean not to use his power while they fought their way out ofthismess.
“I know.” Sean turned his body rather than just his head to look at the Wolcotts, a clear sign he was in pain. “Adrian? This is Alexei Dvorkin, the company’s COO. He’s going to get us outofhere.”
“Not time for small talk,” Alexeigrowled.
“He’s also easily annoyed,” Sean continued, acting like he couldn’t hear a wordAlexeisaid.
Adrian Wolcott looked more angry than scared, which told Alexei the man probably wasn’t as on the up and up his public persona portrayed. Most people wouldn’t react with anger in the middle of a brutal fight like this; they’d be scared shitless, likehiswife.
“Your COO doesn’t seem to be a fan of negotiating,” Adrian said tightly as he held his wife closely against him. “That’s not a good businesstrait.”
“Am ex-Marine,” Alexei snapped. “Only negotiating I do is with gun. Now shut up. Needtomove.”
“I have the door,”Trevorsaid.
Alexei looked over at where Madison and Trevor had taken position on either side of the door. As the only exit out of the office other than the window, they had no choice but to go through it. The only problem was the hallway beyond was a bottleneck. Alexei would bet his entire goddamn paycheck, hazard pay included, that more of Antonovich’s men were waiting for them outside the door, ready to shoot at the first sign ofmovement.
“Stay behind me. When clear, you move,” Alexei told hischarges.
Sean had training in a situation like this. Maybe not to the degree that Alpha Team did, but he would make sure the Wolcotts followed directions. Sean would do his job, even while dealing with a probableconcussion.
Madison got the go signal from Alexei and palmed open the office door while staying out of view. The second it slid open, a hail of bullets ripped through the office. Trevor kept everyone shielded from being hit, but Alexei heard Antonovich scream from farther in the office, the kind of scream anyone’s hindbrain would recognize as the panicked agony of the dying. A tiny flicker of satisfaction uncurled in Alexei’s gut. Considering the firestorm of bullets, he doubted Antonovich would live for muchlonger.
Asshole got what hedeserved.
The shooting stopped. In one smooth motion, Trevor and Madison twisted into position, protected by Trevor’s telekinetic shield from the enemy. The same couldn’t be said of their targets as theyopenedfire.
“Clear,” Madison said seconds later, never taking her eyes off thehallway.
Alexei smiled viciously as he heard the faint, distinctive click of his comms turning on. Katie’s voice was like a cool drink of water after going too longwithout.
“We’re in,” Katie announced over their encrypted comms. “I have you in sight. That’s quite a bit of carnage you’ve delivered. I see you’vebeenbusy.”
“Get us way out,”Alexeisaid.
“Annabelle is holding the front with some of the Wolcotts’ misplaced personal security people. Cut through the house. I’llguideyou.”
Madison and Trevor took point. Alexei waved at Sean and the Wolcotts to follow after them. Alexei took up the rear, discreetly forming a ball of fire in the palm of his hand before tossing it into the office once the Wolcotts weren’tlooking.
“Really?” Kyle asked over comms, joining the conversation. “You got enough problems with hostiles, you wanna throw in a house fire while you’reatit?”
“Antonovich in office. If he still alive, won’t be for long,” Alexeimuttered.
“What’d he do to piss you offthatmuch?”
Alexei remained stubbornly silent, eyes constantly roving over their position as they kept moving. He didn’t like being reminded of his early childhood, and Antonovich had rubbed him the wrong way from the first call. Alexei knew men like that would never let go of a grudge. Leaving him alive wasn’t anoption.
Besides, he’d hurt Sean. Asshole got what was comingtohim.
“Got company!” Madison called out from her position near the double-stairway a minute later, sounding entirely too happy about that fact. “I’m going in.Coverme!”
Alexei prodded Adrian and Chloe against the wall, urging them to “Closeeyes.”
