Konstantin glances at me, and we move with our crew through the front door, kicking it open hard enough to splinter the wood inward as we storm the entryway with our guns raised.
The two men inside barely have time to react before we put bullets in each of their foreheads, dropping them where they stand and leaving only Eli alive.
But not for long.
“Papa!” Lev cries from the sofa.
Beside him, Milo’s bottom lip trembles, while Eli stands behind them with a gun pressed to my boy’s head.
“You try anything, and I kill your kid,” he says, but the fear in his voice is already there, bleeding through every word no matter how hard he tries to sound in charge.
“You have nowhere to go.” I hold my position, waiting for the smallest opening. “We have you surrounded.”
He laughs, easing back from the boys just enough as his gun dips, and in that split second, I fire. The bullet rips into his arm, and all I can hope is that I didn’t just nick an artery. The weapon flies from his grip as he howls in pain, clutching the shredded flesh while stumbling backward just as my brothers rush in with their guns drawn.
“Papa!” Lev cries again, and a second later, both boys are crashing into me.
I drop to my knees and drag them against my chest so hard their hearts pound against my ribs.
“You’re okay. I’m here now. You’re okay.” I kiss the top of Lev’s head, then Milo’s. “I’ve got you. Papa’s here.”
Another shot goes off, muffled by a silencer, and both boys flinch. When I look back, Konstantin is standing there with his gun raised, Eli on the floor with blood pouring from his leg.
“He tried to run.” My brother shrugs.
I don’t care. All I want is to get the boys out of this house and home where they belong. They’ve already seen too much.
Konstantin holsters his weapon while one of our men hauls Eli upright and slams him face-first onto the floor. Zip ties cinch tight around his wrists as he thrashes and spits curses, blood streaking across his mouth and chin.
“I’ll kill you for this!” Eli screams. “I’ll destroy her entire life!”
A laugh breaks out of me as I rise, keeping a palm on each of my sons. “There’s nothing you can do to us now.”
He grins, half mad, chuckling through the blood. “Are you sure about that?”
Konstantin hauls him upright and shoves him out the door, dragging the screaming bastard toward the van waiting outside.
I don’t even watch him leave. My arms fasten around the boys as we step outside, and the second we do, Sloane is running toward us, tears pouring down her face as she drops to her knees right in front of us.
“Mommy!” Milo cries, throwing himself at her.
Lev goes too, clutching at her like he can’t get close enough. She wraps both of them up in her arms, like she’s afraid the world might try to take them again.
“I love you both so much.” She presses kisses all over their faces.
Lev fists her shirt in his hands.
“Mama,” he whispers.
The word stops me cold. I’ve never heard him call her anything but Sloane.
“I’m right here,” she tells them, cupping each of their cheeks. “I will never leave you.”
And for once, he has a mother who means it.
SLOANE
“Did they hurt you?” I ask Milo and Lev, both of them sitting on top of my legs in the den.
