He gives a curt nod before he stalks out, Zakhar and some of his men hurrying after him.
“What word?” Alonzo asks.
I want to tell him, but I also don’t want to give him false hope. Instead, I shake my head. “We’ll talk about it after this is all over. For now, we need to get ready.”
He nods. “Lead the way,orsetta. I’m right behind you.”
They come in blazing.The gunfire, explosions, and screams start immediately, and instead of fear or unease, I smile. Anticipation flows thick and steady through my veins. Explosions shake the house, rattling the windows, and Ilya’s men are on the move. I ignore the coms in my ear where I hear a mixture of Ilya, Zakhar, and Oleg barking and shouting orders to their men.
“Let’s go,” I tell Alonzo, giving Hades the guard and heel commands in Russian for him to know that we’re entering work mode. He sticks to my side like glue, head down and teeth bared as we jog.
The plan for us is simple. We need to find where they’re going to come in. Because they won’t come through the front with the attack. My guess is that whoever is already here will let them in,but I haven’t had enough time to study Ilya’s home. The plans I was studying quickly in his office aren’t as sharp as I want them.
It’s a frustrating disadvantage, and one that I shouldn’t have allowed to happen. Never doubt your enemy and never trust someone so completely that you let your guard down. And that’s exactly what I’ve done. So I’m going into this mildly blind, but I won’t let it stop or distract me.
I hear the gunfire getting louder as we run down one of the back hallways that the staff primarily use, until we reach the end, with another hallway going to the left, and a set of stairs heading to the second floor. I glance at Alonzo and he frowns. “We need to split up. Take toward the front, and I’ll head upstairs.”
“We are not splitting up. That’s fucking lesson one-oh-one in this shit.”
“Alonzo, we don’t have time to argue. You take Hades, he’ll keep you safe.”
“You are not sending your guard dog with me,” he snaps, glaring.
I ignore him. I give Hades another sharp command in Russian, and Hades quickly moves to his side. I look at Alonzo. “Keep him safe and I won’t have to kill you.” I climb the first couple steps, easily dodging his attempt to grab me. “Alonzo, you said you trusted me,” I snap, my impatience and temper finally bubbling.
That makes him freeze. “I do,” he gets out between gritted teeth. “But you promised me that you’d keep Hades with you.”
“I never said that. Hades is not going to save me, Alonzo. I will be the one to save me. He’s a helper. You either trust me to handle this, or you don’t. Now, go. We’re wasting time arguing.” Then, because I can’t help it, I grip him by the front of the shirt, pulling him hard against the railing, and press a hard kiss to his mouth. “Go.” I release him, and I take off up the stairs, not looking back.
I hear him curse, but I don’t hear him follow me.
When I reach the top of the stairs, I realize it’s the same hallway that leads to my room. I hear people running down the other halls, but no one seems to be heading this way. I ease away from the stairs along the wall, every warning in my head blaring.
There’s no way that the soldiers don’t know these stairs are here and wouldn’t use them. So either someone is blocking the hall, or they’re too scared to come down here. I rip out the coms in my ear, tossing it aside, needing no distractions.
I press my back against the wall, watching and waiting. Listening.
Patience, Aurora. Patience.
I don’t know how long I wait, hearing the screams, shouts, and barking of dogs, even as more explosions shake and rattle the windows. Most of the fighting still seems to be happening at the front of the house. Either they’ve taken out most of the fighters in the back, or they’re waiting for the all clear to bring the others in.
Just where are they going to bring them in, though? And how?
I try to recall if I noticed anything in any of the rooms in this part of the house. I only really paid attention to my room and the ones on either side, but nothing sticks out. I swear if there’s some kind of secret passage into this place like Nico’s mother used, I’m going to beat Ilya over the head when I see him next.
Especially for not locking it and not letting me know about it.
Finally, finally, I hear the hush of voices not far from me. I keep my muscles loose, and my mind clear as I focus on the sounds. No mistakes.
I nearly laugh when I finally see a door open.
Mine.
They’re coming out of my fucking bedroom. I narrow my eyes as I watch the door creak open. Thankfully, this part of thehallway is cast in shadows, and I can blend in with them in my corner to watch.
“Quickly,” a voice hisses, and I fight back the urge to curse. Simeon steps out of my bedroom, looking around fervently, like he’s sure I’m going to spring out and attack him at any second. At least he has one thing right.
And just how did he get away from Oleg to let them into my room? They would have had to scale the back of the house to get in, and surely someone would have caught that on camera? That’s a problem to address later.
