“Done,” one of the agents behind me says.
“Meet you in the middle,” Donovan says and winks at me before he’s gone. As he leaves, his footsteps are silent, and I can’t help but think I would never want to be on his bad side.
It doesn’t take long before we hear the sound of a horn blaring, but it’s not just a couple of times. It’s like someone sat a brick on the wheel, and it's a loud siren screeching through the quiet.
Just like Donovan planned, we see the men in the back of the house rush to the front to inspect. The four agents and I crouch down low as we quickly creep to the house, and one of them puts their hand on the door. They count to three, and I swing around, gun pointed ahead. There’s no one in this room, but I keep my gun straight ahead of me as I go through the kitchen and dining room to find the spot where Donovan got the heat signals.
In the distance, I hear a man shout and then cry out. His screams are cut off abruptly, and the sound of something crunching fills the almost pitch-black hallway. There’s a gunshot that sounds close, but I can’t focus on that right now.
When I turn the corner, I see a door and grab the handle. Slowly, I turn it open and when the door is cracked, I kick it open and point my gun straight ahead.
“Curt!” Demi shouts, and I’m both relieved and terrified at the same time.
She and Gracie are huddled together on the floor of the bathroom and I immediately go for them. Turning around, I look at the agents, but there’s only one left.
“Go help Donovan. I’m getting them out the back.
“I should stay with you,” he says.
“I know, but none of us will get out of here if you’re with me when you could be helping take those guys out.”
He nods, not wanting to argue with me. I’m not sure if this is the best idea; I just know I have to get them out of here.
“Come on, angel. We’ll untie your hands in the car.” I grab her face and look her over to make sure she’s not hurt. “Can you do that for me?”
“Yeah.” I see the tears in her eyes, but she doesn’t let them fall as she gets up from the floor with the help of Gracie and me.
I keep reminding myself that I’ll worry about everything later. I have to get her out of here first, and then I can worry about all that’s happened to her and how to help her. Right now, the only thing I can do is make sure she stays alive.
“Get behind me,” I say to Gracie as she wraps her arms around Demi.
With them tucked close behind my back, I take the gun, and we exit the bathroom. I look down both ends of the hallway and don’t see anyone. The sounds have gone quiet, but it could be because it’s happening outside.
Retracing my steps through the house, we make it back to the kitchen, and I’m relieved when no one is there. Just as we exit through the back door, I hear the sound of a gun being cocked.
“That’s far enough,” I hear someone say, and I turn to face the leader of the Shapoval mafia, Boris.
He’s the one the feds have been after all this time. He uses his men to do his dirty work while he hides in the shadows.
“Must have been an important exchange to bring you all the way out to the suburbs,” I say, stalling for time.
“You took my crown jewel.” He glares behind me at Demi, and I move a little to cover her.
“She doesn’t belong to you.”
My hackles rise, and my hand on the gun tightens. I’d pull the trigger and shoot him right now, but I’m worried it wouldn’t be enough to take a big fucker like him down, and he’d get a shot off first. I can’t chance a bullet getting my Demi or Gracie either. I know how much Donovan loves his wife, and I would risk my life to protect her.
“I heard you spoiled her.” He sneers at me. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of her left to be had.” The smile he gives me is greasy.
“When I kill you, I’m going to kick in what’s left of your teeth.”
He lets out a small laugh. “Kill me? I’m Boris Shapoval, and I won’t be killed by some nobody.”
“What about a trained assassin?” Donovan says as he sneaks up behind him and makes Boris flinch.
It’s enough of a distraction that I squeeze the trigger and hit him in the chest. He manages to fire off a round, but thankfully it misses. Donovan is there and knocks him to the ground as I run over and kick the gun away from him. I stare down at his dying body and he blinks up at me, trying to choke out something in Russian before he dies.