Chapter Twenty-Two

“We are going to follow this hidden tunnel and figure out where it goes. We need to be alert. We will be in groups with space between each group.”

“This will allow the first group to go in, and if they get ambushed, it’ll allow for backup,” Max told the group.

“Our goal is still the same: we get Joseph and Gloria. Kill anyone who threatens you; leave the women and children alone.”

The first group started following Max down the tunnel.

Max wanted to be first. He didn’t know what they were going to run into and wanted to make sure that Dimitri was around for Kyle.

With their plan changing, anything could happen, and he wasn’t sure they could keep their promise of both of them returning.

It didn’t take long for them to walk through the tunnel. The tunnel brought them to what Max thought was another house. He quietly radioed Dimitri, telling them to make their way through.

“Thought you had us fooled, didn’t you?” Joseph came through a hidden door on the other side of the room that Max and his men were in.

“Tell me what you did to make one of my men turn on me.”

Joseph laughed at Max. “It wasn’t that difficult; money and promises always influence people.”

Max pointed his gun at Joseph. “Where are your men? I know they’re not far.”

“You won’t make it out of this room alive if you shoot me.”

“I’m pretty sure we have more men, and I’m willing to risk it.”

“Are you sure about that? You wouldn’t want your daughter to grow up without a father—or should I say, fathers.”

“What kind of female has a relationship with two men at a time? It says a lot about her character.”

Max was getting angry even though he knew this was part of Joseph’s plan.

“You’re not going to shoot me, Max. You don’t have the balls. That lady of yours holds them in the palm of her hand.”

Max didn’t give a shit about the consequences; he wanted Joseph gone. He pulled the trigger and hit Joseph in the arm.

“Fuck!” Joseph yelled out. “You’re a little rusty.”

“I don’t want you to die quickly; I want to watch every breath leave your body slowly and painfully.”

Just as Max was going to take another shot, another hidden door opened and revealed some of Joseph’s men.

“I told you, Max, you won’t make it out this room alive.”

Max’s men raised their guns ready to take on Joseph’s men.

“I think you’re wrong,” Anatoli said before shooting the first guard in the head. “Don’t underestimate Russians—we always win.”

The second wave of Max and Dimitri’s men came through the tunnel, giving a distraction and allowing them to open fire at the guards in the room.

“Where’s your wife?” Max asked Joseph.

“She doesn’t mean anything to me; she’s on the second floor of this house.”

Just as Joseph said the last word, a bullet hit him in the middle of his head.

“Stop fucking around, Max, and let’s clean this shit up,” Dimitri said as he came walking into the room.

“He didn’t deserve to die quickly. It’s because of him and Viktor that Kyle suffered.”

“It’s over. That’s all that matters, and if his men were smart, they would lay down their weapons,” Dimitri yelled while looking around the room.

One by one, they laid their weapons on the floor. It wasn’t until everyone was in the room that Max realized how little backup force Joseph had.

“Why are you so angry?” Max asked his brother.

“It was fucking James, our man scout for tonight, that gave away the information.”

“Where is he?”

“Not a problem anymore. He tried to stop us, and that’s when I knew he was the one who did it.”

Dimitri walked over to Anatoli and Ryan. “Round them up, kill anyone who fights. They either join us, or they can leave.

“If they have a problem with doing either of them, put a bullet in them. I’m done dealing with their shit.”

Max looked around and realized Mike was missing.

“Where’s Mike?”

“That’s how James tried to stop us. James went to shoot me, and Mike took the bullet for me. I sent two men with him to get him looked at. He didn’t look good.”

“Let’s go take care of Gloria.”

“Max, wait. Joseph willingly gave us his wife. I don’t think there’s any loyalty there.

“We should offer her some of his money and tell her to leave, but if we feel like she is loyal to him, we’ll take care of her.”

Max nodded before gathering some men and heading upstairs.

***

The girls had tried to turn in for the night, but Kyle couldn’t sleep and stayed in the room with Evie. She couldn’t help but think of everything that Sarah went through.

She felt guilty; while she didn’t have a stellar childhood, hers was better than Sarah’s.

She never cared about having a relationship with Sarah, but Sarah needed a family, and she was willing to bring Sarah into hers.

Headlights brought Kyle out of her thoughts, and she watched as two men helped carry another person to the house. She couldn’t make out who the person was, so she ran to the front door.

As she entered the living room, the men were coming in. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it wasn’t Max or Dimitri, but guilt overwhelmed her as she realized it was Mike.

“Did you call the doctor?”

“He’ll be here shortly,” one of the men said.

“Umm, you . . .”

“Trevor.”

“Trevor, I’m Kyle. I need you to go get me some towels. They’re in the bathroom by the stairs, and your partner . . .”

“Ben.”

“Right, Ben, you need to go upstairs and get Sarah—she is on the second floor to the left, the third bedroom on the right.”

“Don’t fuss over me,” Mike said.

“I’ll fuss over you if I want. Are Max and Dimitri okay?”

“When I left, they were. I didn’t get to see what was happening.”

“It’s okay . . .”

“Oh my gosh, Mike!” Sarah yelled as she came into the room.

“I’m fine. It’ll take more than this to kill me.”

“Here—put pressure on the wound.” Kyle handed Sarah some towels and did as she said.

“The doctor should be here soon.”

Sarah kissed Mike’s cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ll be fine. Can you get me some water?”

Sarah went to get up, but Kyle placed her hand on her shoulder to prevent her from getting up.

“I’ll get it. You stay with him.”

Kyle let out a small sob once she got into the kitchen. She was relieved it wasn’t Max or Dimitri, but at the same time, she felt guilty. Her sister didn’t deserve to take another blow.

She knew this would kill her sister if Mike didn’t pull through.

When Kyle got back with the water, the doctor was already with Mike, and Sarah refused to leave.

“Kyle, I’m going to need help, so if you wouldn’t mind . . .”

She went to the doctor but stopped when she heard Evie crying.

“Ben, can you go to the second floor and wake Violet up? She is the first door to the right, and ask her to take care of Evie?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

“All right, I need to remove the bullet once the morphine kicks in, and when I remove the bullet, you need to put pressure on the wound quickly.”

The process was quicker than Kyle expected, and she didn’t seem bothered by any of the blood.

“I have one more favor. He’s lost a lot of blood. Would you be willing to donate for him as you did with Dimitri?”

“Yes.” Kyle didn’t hesitate. She knew it was important for Sarah, and she wanted to do everything she could for Mike.

She knew how it felt to watch the person you loved lying there helpless, hoping to a higher power that they’d make it through.