“Duck lower,” he instructed as he stood straight and started firing shots out the now-absent window, and I bent lower.
“Cover me, Devlin,” he called to the man to our left.
As the manor was thrown into chaos, I saw that I was no longer a nurse caught in a war.
I was now a part of the fight.
Chapter Sixteen
Konstantin’s POV
Two of the guards joined Devlin in firing covering shots as I crossed the distance of the smoke-filled room with Alina behind me.
“We’re under siege,” I declared as I led Alina and some guards to the safety of the hallway downstairs.
“Stay behind me,” I told Alina as I led the way to the short hallway after the gym. “It’s safer here. But don’t leave your gun.”
“Yeah,” she answered as we moved on.
I turned around to face her and was about to tell her I needed to go back out to finish the intruders off when Sergei emerged.
“Boss, they remain under control, but a few of them are advancing into the manor,” he announced.
“Then they didn’t do their homework,” I remarked, throwing the gun I held to the floor and signaling to him to hand me another one.
“Killian and the snipers are attacking from the attic,” he added.
I was torn.
First was my anger at the attack as a whole. It was an intrusion into my private space. The idea that someone or a group of people thought to attack a Lobanov filled me with rage. I couldn’t wait to find out the people behind the attack, the people who dared come against a Bratva residence.
On the other side of my anger was the adrenaline that shot through me at the feel of having Alina pressed to my back, pistol in hand. I had never liked this kind of close proximity, whether the person was a soldier or even any of my men. Butnow that it was Alina, I more than liked it. It felt like we were partners.
I heard heavy footsteps and, from the way Sergei and the guards with us turned their necks forward, they heard it too.
The shot to my left was the first of many as five men in black shirts, khaki pants, and boots emerged. The bulletproof vests they wore made it clear that they were mercenaries. They fired, and we answered in the same language. Three of the men were down in a minute, but another four joined us in the hallway. Still shooting with my left hand, I brought out the gun in my belt holster and started firing with both hands, advancing towards the men with Sergei by my side.
The gunfire exchange became brutal until two of the men were left standing. One of the guards to my right shot again, making a clean hole in the middle of his head. As his body hit the floor with a thud and the other man looked towards him for a second, I shot him right in the throat. He spluttered blood out of his mouth before falling to his knees and collapsing to the floor. I wiped his blood off the side of my face with the sleeve of my T-shirt.
“Bastards!” Sergei cursed as the hallway became silent.
It’s over.
I turned back to Alina. She was shaking, but there was no fear in the brown eyes that looked up at me. What I saw was steady defiance. I’d never seen a woman like her; so bold and brave even in the face of danger.
She’s something else entirely.
“Sergei,” I called, my eyes not leaving hers. “Take control. Settle things.”
“Yes, boss,” he answered as the guards went towards him.
Taking her by the hand, I dragged her to one of the secure rooms further down. Throwing the door shut, I turned to face her in the dim light of the room.
We stood opposite each other, eyes searching, bodies trembling.
“Were you hit anywhere?” she inquired, her voice soft.
“No. They’re not up to par. They never stood a chance.”
