Page 68 of Claimed By Desire

Lev turns and storms off. I stand there for a beat, cursing him and myself. Then I start texting anyone that might be coming until I get a picture of the guys involved. Lev’s got two teams on their way, the nearest still five minutes out, which isn’t good. Why the hell did I let him drive us here in the first place without waiting for muscle? If Marino’s actually moving on our containers, he’s going to move in force. The two of us can’t do shit on our own.

But Lev’s not slowing down and I’m not about to let him go in alone.

He’s gone around a corner up ahead by the time I start moving to catch up, annoyed with this whole stupid operation. I’ve been so distracted by thinking about Natalya that I’m only right now realizing that Lev’s on some kind of suicidal fucking mission to prove himself.

As I get closer to a junction up ahead, I hear a shout. It’s an angry yell, not really words, and I start running. I’m not sure what’s going down but we’re close to our containers and the worst-case scenario plays through my head.

And I’m fucking right.

There’s a glut of people standing in a clearing up ahead. A ring of light makes it look like a glowing oasis in the center of an otherwise dark and claustrophobic group of containers. I don’t know the men, but I recognize a voice.

It’s Lev, telling them to go fuck themselves.

I rip my gun from my waistband and consider my options. I can wait for backup, but Lev will be dead by then. I can charge into the fray, but that’s probably not going to end well, considering I’m outnumbered big time.

If I die here, my kid grows up with a father.

But if I don’t do something, I’ll lose Lev, the only friend I have left in the world.

It’s a horrible moment of indecision. Widow Natalya or save her brother. Risk myself or stay alive for my kid.

With a curse, I turn to the containers and start climbing. I’m fast and as quiet as I can, and fortunately they all have ladders built into their sides to let workers scale them when needed. I get to the top of the three-container stack and sprint to the far end, trying to be as quiet as I can, before dropping down to my belly and crawling the rest of the way.

Lev’s on his knees with a sneer on his face. He’s staring up at Adriano Marino who has a gun aimed at his head. Their conversation finally reaches me as I edge forward into the ringof light. There are six other Italians, and if any of them looks up, I’m fucked.

“…your friend on a leash,” Adriano’s saying.

“I don’t control what Alexander does and doesn’t do.”

“Then you’re not worthy to run your family when the time comes. Should I make your father’s succession plans easier? Kill you and force him to find someone more qualified?”

“Go ahead, pull the fucking trigger. But we both know what’ll happen if you do.”

Adriano’s smile is startlingly calm. “There will be war. Real war, full blown war. But that’s an inevitability at this point.”

“I don’t even know why you care so much. You never like Natalya.”

“No, you’re right. But it embarrassed me when she was stolen away, and I can’t have that.”

“Then what? This whole thing was a trap from the start?”

“I knew you couldn’t help yourself. You’re too impulsive, and now you’ll pay the price.”

Lev tilts his chin up. He shows his teeth and doesn’t blink.

I’m proud of him, that crazy bastard. In the face of death, he’s not begging, flinching, or shying away. He’s facing it with strength and dignity.

But lucky for him, his guardian angel is watching.

I squeeze off a round. I’m at least fifty yards away and the lighting’s bad, which means my shot has to be perfect.Unfortunately, it’s not—and I only manage to hit Adriano in the calf.

He grunts in shock and staggers. When he shoots, the bullet goes wide of Lev’s head.

Well, so much for fucking stealth.

I start firing like a psycho. The Italians don’t know what’s going on at first. I manage to kill two of them while the rest scatter, looking for cover. Lev rolls to the side and stumbles as he picks up a dead Italian’s gun. But it’s Adriano who figures it out first, even though he’s down on one knee and bleeding from a wound. He shouts and fires back at me, forcing me away from the edge of the containers.

“Lev, run!” I shout, rolling to the side and coming out one more time to start shooting. It’s a dumb idea, but if Lev’s going to escape, he needs cover.

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