?tefan reaches back into the Land Rover and grabs two semi-automatic rifles, the ones we discovered at the cabin. “Can you manage one of these?” he demands.
“I don’t think…”
“Beggars can’t choosers. You point and press. Use the Land Rover for cover.” He crouches behind the bonnet, the muzzle of his gun trained on the road just visible through the tangle of broken branches.
I scurry to get in place beside him. If I’m to die here in this forest, I shall do it fighting.
CHAPTER 15
Rome
Arina has surprised me.
Bloody delighted me, in fact. She’s courageous, and fucking cool in the circumstances. Who reloads a Glock perfectly the first time?
And now, she’s right beside me, ready to fight for her life.
It should never have come to this, but I’m realising that if I have to have someone at my back, I’m glad it’s her. I risk a quick glance to my side and experience a swell of pride.
She meets my gaze. There’s fear in her eyes, but determination, too. Her mouth curls in a smile before she shifts her gaze back to the road.
I could love this woman…
That unbidden and unexpected thought is banished the instant the Bratva van comes into view. It screeches to a skidding and ungainly halt, the two front wheels embedded in a drift of snow. Both front doors fly open, and the occupants leap to the ground. One charges around to the back to open the double doors there, and three more men emerge. They are all armed, and they fan out when they enter the woods.
I sight the one closest to us and pull the trigger. Blood spurts from his chest, and he goes down with a gurgling cry to lie twitching in the bracken. His comrades return fire.
Arina and I duck as the hail of bullets clatters in the trees. Lumps of wood and bark explode from the pines on either side. One shot misses my ear by millimetres when I poke my head out to try again.
Arina curls into a defensive ball, but as soon as the roar of guns ceases, she’s on her feet and letting loose her own volley of shots. She misses her mark as often as not, but it’s helping. I’m there beside her, firing at will but also looking for any opportunity to escape.
If we can somehow get around and behind them, reach their vehicle…
I point to a stand of trees over to our right where the undergrowth is particularly dense and impenetrable. “Can you make your way around behind those? Keep low and out of sight, but I’ll cover you.”
She nods. “I think so.”
“Try to circle round and reach the road. Get in their van if you can.”
“In the van? Their van? But, what if—?”
“They won’t be coming back,” I growl. “Now go.”
More nodding. Her belief in me is touching. She drops back into a crouch.
I swing my gun between the two men I can see picking their way towards where we’re hiding. I select my target and squeeze the trigger. It’s another lethal shot. Arina crawls away from me in the time it takes for his comrade to realise he’s alone. He fires wildly, succeeding in shredding the door of the Land Rover but little else. As he comes closer, I get my first decent look at his features. He’s the man who spoke to me at the roadblock.
Piatro Velkov.
The remaining two Russians are not in sight. By my calculation, they are somewhere to my left. I despatch Piatro with one shot between the eyes. He’ll be a loss to Olaf Sokolov, so I guess we can expect a backlash, if they ever discover who they were stupid enough to go up against.
Including Arina who is now out of sight behind the trees, that makes it two against two. I don’t mind those odds. Time to flush out the other Sokolov soldiers.
I move slowly out of the cover of the Land Rover, scanning the forest all around me, my ears attuned to any sound. I whirl around when a twig cracks behind me but see nothing. I dive for the cover of a boulder and reload.
“There is no escape. We have you surrounded. You might as well give up now.” The warning reverberates through the eerie, frigid stillness. It seems to come from somewhere just ahead of me, but the blanket of snow muffles and distorts the sound. They could be anywhere.
I brace myself against the boulder. “Fuck you,” is my response. “Your friends are dead. You could still save yourself, mudak.” I throw in a bit of Russian to rattle them. “Make a run for it now, while you still can. Take what’s left of Piatro with you.”