The second knot loosened, ropes falling, revealing raw skin.Anger flared.“Can you stand?”Keisha asked, helping Tiana up.
Tiana’s legs buckled, Keisha catching her.“I’ve got you,” she said, steady.“I’m not letting anything happen.”
Sergei gestured—service stairs to the kitchen, side door.Tiana limped, breathing uneven.“The woman who drugged me said they’d come for you next,” she told Keisha.“Your files.”
Her case files.Coastal’s scam, months of evidence.Could Pavel find her hidden safe in her apartment?Keisha grit her teeth.
Sergei stepped back.“We have a problem and they have guns,” he said, tight.“Not the stairs,” he said, checking window latches.“Sealed.Fuck.We need to break it.”
Tiana whimpered, pressing closer.“Don’t let them take me.”
“Never.”Keisha moved to the window, Sergei worked at the seal with his knife.Their eyes met.
The door crashed open.Vera stood, pistol aimed, boots wide.Her eyes found Tiana, Keisha, then Sergei.
“Lisowski,” she spat.“I Knew you’d crawl back.”
Keisha shielded Tiana, heart in her throat.
“Put it down, Vera,” Sergei said, calm, but his stance screamed tension.
Vera’s smile didn’t touch her eyes.“Dmitri wants the girl.And her.”The gun aimed at Keisha.“One bullet, two birds.”
“No chance,” Sergei said, stepping forward.
Vera’s finger tightened.“Don’t—”
Sergei moved fast, clamping her wrist, forcing the gun up.A shot cracked, plaster raining.Tiana screamed.Keisha pushed her to the corner.“Stay there,” she ordered, turning.
Sergei’s fist hit Vera’s jaw.She staggered, twisting free, elbowing his ribs.He took it, slamming her against the wall.The gun clattered.Keisha lunged, legs buckling, tremor ripping through.She grabbed the chair, metallic taste sharp.Not now.
Vera kicked Sergei’s knee.He grunted, pivoting, slamming her back.Blood dripped.She didn’t know who it belonged to.
“Keisha?”Tiana’s voice shook.
“Don’t look,” Keisha said, voice unsteady, reaching the gun.Vera spun, blood streaming, spotting Keisha.She froze.
“You won’t shoot,” Vera said, accent thick.“Not with the kid watching.”
The gun weighed heavy, Keisha’s first time holding one.She kept it aimed, tremors shaking it.
“Try me,” she said.
Sergei’s eyes met hers over Vera’s shoulder.He grabbed Vera, twisting her arm.They crashed, glass shattering.Vera kicked his shin, but he spun her face-first into the wall, plaster cracking, blood splattering.
“Enough,” Sergei growled, arm locked.“It’s over.”
Vera stilled, gasping.“Dmitri’ll kill you all.”
“Not tonight,” Sergei said, eyes on Keisha.His question clear.
What now?
The gun grew heavier as Tiana’s fear and Dmitri’s crimes filled her mind.
“Tie her up,” Keisha said, lowering the gun.“We take Tiana and go.”
Vera’s eyes narrowed.“Big mistake social worker.He’ll find you.”
