Present day.
We’ve followed Isabella back to the harbor, and just like I thought, she’s here for another shipment.
Only this time, there are men swarming all over. The shipment coming in must be of high value for Sonia to guard it so heavily.
“There’s no way Isabella will be able to pull this off on her own,” Demitri whispers next to me where we’ve taken position on one of the warehouse roofs. I have my rifle out, and lying down, I use the scope to survey the area below.
“There are easily over a hundred men down there,” I mutter.
Demitri gets his own rifle ready, then asks, “Do you plan on helping her?”
“Yes.” I grin at him. “That way, she’ll owe me.”
I turn my scope to where Isabella’s taken cover on one of the containers. I can barely make out her black-clothed figure as she lies dead still.
“Movement on the ship,” Demitri says.
“You watch the shipment. I’ll keep my eye on Isabella,” I instruct him.
Slowly Isabella gets up, and then she jumps to another container. I watch as she stealthily moves closer, and it makes the respect I already feel for the woman grow.
When she’s close to the first line of guards, she jumps to the ground, and I lose sight of her for a moment. Then, seconds later, she creeps into the open, holding a gun in each hand.
“The moment she takes down the first man, all hell will break loose,” I voice my worry.
“I have the left side covered,” Demitri whispers, his voice tense with focus.
Isabella moves into action, and it’s fucking breathtaking as she raises both her hands and opens fire on the men. I train my sights on the men nearest to her and begin to take out the ones that are the biggest threat to her.
Isabella’s head snaps in our direction as I drop another body for her.
You’re welcome, little one.
I take another shot, and it has Isabella jumping back into the action.
Demitri begins to fire off shots, but too many men have broken away from the left side, and they’re moving in on Isabella’s position.
“I’m going for her,” I say as I get up.
“I’ve got your back,” Demitri replies, and then I’m running toward the side of the warehouse. Jumping onto the aircon units and then a stack of crates, I reach the ground in a matter of seconds.
I break out into a flat-out sprint, firing shots as I move in Isabella’s direction. Bodies drop around me as Demitri covers me. I come up to the side of the containers and weave my way through them, not wanting to face Isabella head-on.
Right now, she’ll see me as another target.
As I move around a set of containers, I come up behind Isabella. She’s being forced back by the men, and then Demitri’s voice sounds up in the earpiece I’m wearing, ‘Reinforcements arrived. Get out of there.’
“Not without Isabella,” I grind the words out as I walk up behind her, firing shots at the nearest threats.
Isabella darts to the side, trying to stay focused on Sonia’s men while glancing at me.
“This place is about to be overrun. Reinforcements just arrived,” I shout at her as I keep firing shots. I’m on high alert that she can turn on me at any second.
‘Get the fuck out of there,’ Demitri hollers in my ear as he keeps dropping one body after the other, giving us a moment of reprieve.
With my free hand, I grab hold of Isabella’s arm, and shaking my head, I say, “You can’t free them. You’re outnumbered.”
Isabella looks back to the war Demitri’s waging against the men running in our direction, and then I yank her into the maze of containers.
For a moment, she comes with me, but then she yanks back against my hold and assumes a fighting stance. “Who the hell are you?” she demands, warning lacing her voice.
She’ll probably kill me the moment she hears my name. The corner of my mouth lifts. “The Devil.”
Isabella’s eyes widen behind the ski mask she’s wearing. “What did you just say?”
A man comes up behind Isabella, and I just react. Planting three shots in his chest, I grab hold of her arm and yank her against my body.
There’s an explosion of flowers, vanilla, and something earthy. For a moment, I’m caught off guard as my eyes lower to the wide eyes staring up at me.
Holy. Fuck.
I recover quickly. “Nice seeing you again,” I say, amused by how this is all turning out.
‘Fucking move, or I swear I’ll shoot you myself!’ Demitri hollers in my ear again, yanking me back to our present predicament.
“How about we kill each other later and first get out of this mess alive?” I ask, the corner of my mouth lifting higher from learning the identity of the hook-up I had a couple of months back.
The hook-up that’s turned out to be a mischievous goddess of chaos, taking blow after blow at the cartel.
Isabella recovers from the shock, and we begin to move deeper into the containers until we break free on the other side of the harbor.
“Where are you?” I ask Demitri.
Isabella’s eyes snap to me as Demitri answers, ‘To your right.’
Turning my head, I see the SUV coming my way. But, when I glance back at Isabella, I come face to face with the barrel of her gun.
She begins to back away from me, slowly inching in the direction of her motorcycle.
I hear the SUV come to a screeching halt and hold up my hand, so Demitri doesn’t shoot Isabella.
“When you’re ready to talk, let me know,” I say to her.
“Who are you?” she bites the word out, her body tense as she keeps moving backward.
My mouth lifts into a smile again. “Alexei Koslov.”
Isabella freezes for a moment, shocked at hearing my name. Then she spins around and runs toward her motorcycle.
I’ll see you soon.
ISABELLA
Shock waves keep shuddering through me as I make my way to where Ana’s waiting.
Tonight was a failure of epic proportions.
Shit.
The girls.
Pulling over the side of the road so I can take a moment to process my failure, I climb off the bike, and then I let out a frustrated scream.
I yank off my helmet and ski mask and throw them to the ground.
Alexei Koslov.
My God.
The freaking devil I had sex with turned out to be the head of the bratva.
My God.
I breathe through the rampant emotions waging war in my chest. My disappointment for not being able to free the girls. My shock of having Alexei freaking Koslov help me get out of there.
I wouldn’t have escaped alive otherwise.
When the bodies started dropping around me, I was totally caught off guard. But there were too many men for me to fight on my own.
God, my mother sent an army.
I stop moving, and feeling drained, I suck in deep breaths of air as I stare into the darkness around me.
Just then, the unmarked SUV I saw at the harbor pulls up a couple of yards behind me.
He knew I’d be at the harbor.
My eyes dart to my motorcycle.
Shit, he’s been tracking me, which means he might know everything about the double life I’ve been leading.
There’s a sinking feeling in my chest as everything I’ve worked so hard for begins to crumble around me.
Knowing I have to face off with Alexei at some point, I pull my Heckler & Koch from behind my back and train the barrel on the SUV. Alexei and his custodian, Demitri, climb out of the vehicle, looking every bit like the powerful duo they are.
Demitri Vetrov. I think I can take him.
But I can’t take them both.
I have no idea how good Alexei is. If he’s better than Demitri, I’m dead.
I move my aim to Alexei, the uncertain threat.
“You have a tracker on my motorcycle?” I ask as they come to a stop.
“Of course,” Alexei answers. It’s too dark to make out his features clearly, but I can hear the amusement in his voice. “My turn,” he says as he takes another step closer to me. “Why are you freeing the slaves?”
“They’re not slaves,” I bite the words out. “They’re innocent people.”
I can make out as Alexei nods. He moves a little closer, and my finger tightens around the trigger as a wave of danger washes over me. The power this man holds radiates into the night.
Unlike where it was a turn-on the night of the party, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck now rise in apprehension.
Alexei Koslov is known to be unpredictable and ruthless. He’s deadly and the most feared man. Those facts alone should make me take the shot while I can, but for some unknown reason, I don’t.
He’s also my mother’s biggest enemy.
He can destroy her.
“Why are you watching me?” I ask.
“Actually, I’m watching Sonia. Discovering you was a pleasant surprise,” he replies.
Another step from Alexei has me biting out, “That’s close enough.”
“So you’re the party crasher?” he asks.
Goosebumps spread over my skin, as a flash of him thrusting inside me throws me off balance for a moment.
Keeping my voice neutral, I reply, “It was a moment of stupidity.”
Alexei lets out a sexy chuckle. “It’s too late for lies, little one.” Little one. It sounds more like a term of endearment than a derogatory pet name.
Demitri keeps still, but I can feel his presence.
“What do you want from me?” I demand.
Another sexy chuckle from Alexei sends a tremble through my body. “I wouldn’t say no to a repeat performance, but for now, I’d like to offer you an alliance. Of course, that’s assuming we have the same goal.”
“What goal?”
“Taking down your mother.”
“What makes you think I’ll work with you? You’re no different from her.”
Alexei slaps a hand to his chest. “That hurt. I’m nothing like Sonia Terrero.”
It’s my turn to chuckle. “Right. You don’t kill while ruling the world with a ruthless fist.”
Alexei shakes his head, and ignoring my warning from earlier, he takes a couple of steps closer to me. I fire off a shot in the ground by his feet, but he doesn’t even flinch. Instead, he lets out a burst of amused laughter.
Demitri has his gun trained on me so fast that I didn’t even notice him moving.
Alexei doesn’t even bother looking at Demitri as he says, “Lower your weapon, brother.”
Demitri listens, but his body is wound tight and ready to explode into action at any moment. Looking at him, a smirk forms around my lips as I say, “You’re no match for me, Vetrov.”
“Want to put down your gun so we can find out how good you really are?” Demitri asks.
“Another time. I have a mess to clean up,” I answer before turning my attention back to Alexei. He takes a final step closer, which will make it easy for him to try to disarm me, then he tilts his head and says, “I don’t kill innocent people.”
I’ve heard people say that about him.
Now that he’s closer, I can make out his features. He’s attractive if you’re into being devoured by a wolf.
Like I was.
I lower my gun a couple of inches until it’s no longer trained on his chest but instead on his cock.
Again Alexei laughs. “Do you really want to deprive the world of the ecstasy you felt when I fucked you?”
My left eyebrow shoots up. “Vain much?”
“No, just confident.”
Lowering my weapon completely, I’m still on high alert as I ask, “What’s your proposal?”
“We take down Sonia.”
Cynical laughter bursts over my lips. “And then? What guarantee will I have you won’t kill me after I’ve helped you?”
“You’ll have my word,” he states as if it should actually mean something to me.
Giving him a condescending smirk, I shake my head. “Thanks for the offer, but I work alone.”
Alexei crosses his arms over his chest, looking more like a god than a man. “It’s only a matter of time before your cover is blown.”
“Is that a threat?” I bite the words out, taking a threatening step toward him. Our eyes lock, and for a moment, there’s a power struggle between us before he lets out another bark of amused laughter.
“Fuck, are you real?”
He asked me the same thing while we were hooking up.
This time the corner of my mouth lifts with confidence. “Yes.”
Alexei meets my smile as he looks at me with admiration. I’ve never had anyone look at me like that, and it makes a weird sensation ripple through my chest.
His expression turns serious, then he says, “Join me, Isabella. Together we can take down Sonia. I’ll owe you a favor.”
A favor from Alexei Koslov? Damn, that’s tempting.
I actually take a moment to think about it but knowing this man is still my enemy, I shake my head. “As I said, I work alone. Thanks for the offer, though.”
I take a couple of steps back, raising my weapon on Alexei again. “You can leave.”
Alexei stares at me a moment, then he says, “Until we meet again.”
Which will hopefully not be any time soon.
I watch as they walk back to the SUV, and only once they’re driving down the road do I shove my gun behind my back and pick up my helmet and ski mask.
As interesting as that was, it’s time to get back to Ana so we can decide where to go from here.
