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"That's it. Good. Keep going," Viktor said.

We were out of time.

I tested the sliding door—unlocked. The goon had left it open when he came back in.

"Jase. Breach in three. Two. One. Mark."

I yanked open the sliding door and moved.

The Russian near Katherine spun toward me, raising his weapon. Before he could fire, Katherine exploded upward from the floor and drove her fist straight up between the goon’s legs with every ounce of force she had.

The man's eyes went wide. His mouth opened in a soundless scream. He folded like a cheap lawn chair, weapon clattering to the floor.

That's my girl.

The main door crashed open. "Federal agents! Get down!" Jase's voice roared as he came through, weapon up.

The goon near the bathroom swung his weapon toward Jase. I fired twice. Both rounds hit center mass. He dropped.

Viktor moved faster than I expected. He spun, grabbed Katherine by her hair, and yanked her in front of him as a shield. His gun came up to her temple.

Everything went cold.

"Nobody moves," Viktor said pleasantly. "Or she dies."

Katherine's eyes locked on mine. Terrified. But steady.

I had my weapon trained on Viktor's head. The angle was tight—he was using Katherine as cover, only part of his face visible over her shoulder. I had the shot. I could make it. But Viktor's finger was on the trigger, pressed against Katherine's temple. If his dying reflex clenched that trigger, she'd die with him.

"Viktor." My voice was flat. Calm. "You know how this ends."

"I know exactly how this ends." His accent was thicker now, stress bleeding through. "I leave with Russell and the laptop. You stay here with the women. Everyone lives."

"That's not happening."

Jase had moved left, his weapon trained on Viktor from a different angle. But he had the same problem—Viktor's trigger finger.

"Then she dies," Viktor said simply.

Katherine's breathing was rapid, her chest rising and falling against Viktor's arm. Her eyes were still on mine.

Trust me, I tried to tell her silently. Trust me.

"You shoot her, you lose your shield," I said. "Then you die. Those are facts."

"Then we have a stalemate."

"No," Katherine said suddenly. "We don't."

Before I could process what she meant, she drove her elbow backward into Viktor's ribs, twisted her body, and dropped straight down.

Viktor's gun tracked her movement, finger tightening, but she was already falling. His shot went high, punching into the wall.

I fired twice. Center mass. Both rounds hit Viktor in the chest as his head exploded. My cousin was as pissed as I was. Viktor’s corpse hit the wall and slid down, blood smearing against the silver wallpaper.

I was moving before Viktor's body hit the floor. Katherine was scrambling backward on the carpet, breathing hard. I dropped to my knees beside her and grabbed her face in my hands.

"Are you hit? Katherine, are you hit?"