But they were.
Someone was coming.
No guards would be driving on an unscheduled trip. If any of my family had plans to visit, they would’ve arranged it so I would know.
Fuck.
As quietly and quickly as I could, I ran back toward my bedroom. After I grabbed my gun, I took off once more. Pausing only to ram my feet into boots at the front door, I sprinted outside to stop this invasion.
The second I landed in the snow, I was firing. Whoever drove up toward the cabin was already aiming out the windows of their SUV to shoot the guards. Too precisely. They fired and took out two of them positioned in the wood line.
Flashes of gunfire shone too brightly against the pure navy blankness of the night.
Fuck!
My pulse roared in my ears. The thud of my heartbeat droned deafeningly loudly.
But I didn’t wait. I didn’t flinch or choke.
Pushed to run forward and help the remaining guards hold back these intruders, I fired at the SUV that came too close.
Masked men filed out. They rushed into the snow, guns up, bullets flying. I did my best to pick them off. Crouching behind the snow fort that I’d made with Kalina and Misha, I aimed and didn’t stop firing.
Too many rushed at the cabin. With only my gun and what sounded like another guard still standing, the defense that stood between me and the cabin wore down.
I won’t fail.
I can’t.
They won’t hurt you.
I'd promised to keep Kalina safe and I would until I was no longer able to breathe and fight back.
I would give my life for my son.
Nothing would stop this determination to be their savior. But when a rocket was launched in the direction of the cabin, I had to reassess.
Fuck!
Glass shattered as the window broke. Through the opening left behind, flames licked out from where the kitchen was.
Fuck this.
I wasn’t saving them by shooting at the men out here when the whole place could go up in flames.
“Go!”
I caught Niko’s shout. He was alive, the only one left out here. The others were shot dead and lying in the snow. One man couldn’t fight off all these attackers.
“Go. Go get them,” he shouted louder before shooting.
We were outnumbered, but he was right. There were two of us and I couldn’t count on Kalina and Misha escaping the fire on their own.
I turned, counting on Niko to have my back. As I dashed back into the house, my heart seized at the sound of more gunshots coming from inside.
They were shooting their way in, using the side door. They were coming in to get them!
Running fast, ducking low, and resisting the sting of smoke on my eyes, up my nose, and into my throat and lungs, I barreled forward, aiming for the sound of my son’s voice.
