She’s right. I know she’s right. But admitting how afraid I am—for the baby, for Konstantin, for all of us—feels like it might break whatever tenuous control I’m maintaining.
“I’m scared,” I whisper finally. “I’m scared that something’s happening to the baby. I’m scared that Konstantin is in danger. I’m scared that I’ve put you and Julian and Lila in the crosshairs of… whatever this is.”
Elena’s expression softens. She crosses to me, wrapping her arms around me in a fierce hug.
“Listen to me. We’re going to get through this. All of us. Including that stubborn little bean growing inside you.”
I laugh through sudden tears. “Stubborn little bean?”
“Well, it is half you and half Konstantin. That’s like the genetic formula for stubbornness.”
Before I can respond, the kitchen door bursts open. Viktor staggers in, blood streaming from a wound on his upper arm, his gun drawn.
“Get down!” he shouts, just as the sound of gunfire erupts somewhere in the facility.
Elena and I drop to the floor, my heart thundering in my chest.
“What’s happening?” I demand, panic rising like bile. “The children—”
“Secure,” Viktor says grimly, moving to the kitchen’s inner door and locking it. “Oleg has them in the panic room.”
“How is this possible?” Elena asks, her usual humor completely gone. “We’re in a fortress inside a mountain!”
Viktor’s face is a mask of cold fury as he checks his weapon. “Someone gave them the access codes. We’ve been compromised.”
“By who?” I ask, though I already suspect the answer.
“Doesn’t matter now,” he says, pulling three handguns from a hidden compartment beneath the kitchen island. He hands one to each of us. “Both of you know how to use these?”
Elena nods, surprising me.
Viktor barely acknowledges this, already moving to Yelena, who stands frozen in the doorway. “Ma’am, take this. Safety off, point, and shoot. Aim for center mass.”
Yelena takes the weapon with steady hands. For the first time, I glimpse the steel beneath her polished exterior. This woman was not always just thePakhan’swife.
“How many?” she asks Viktor, her voice clinical.
“At least twelve. Maybe more.” He presses a hand to his earpiece. “Communications are down. We’re on our own.”
The gunfire is getting closer now. Shouts echo through the corridors.
Fuck. No. No. No.
Please, God. No.
“We need to get to the children,” I say, rising with the gun clutched in my trembling hand.
“The panic room is locked from the inside,” Viktor says. “Oleg will protect them with his life.”
“That’s not good enough,” I snap, fear making my voice sharp. “Those are my—” I stop, catching myself. “Those children are my responsibility now.”
Viktor assesses me for a moment, then nods once. “Secondary route. Through the ventilation system. It’s tight, but you’ll fit.”
“I’m coming with you,” Elena says immediately.
“No,” I tell her. “Stay with Yelena. I need to know you’re safe.”
“And I need to know you’re not crawling through air ducts alone while armed men storm the place!” She looks at Viktor. “Show us both.”
