Page 26 of Deadly Offer

“Sir, you need to turn around.”

Nikon immediately slowed the car. “What do you mean?”

“Dmitrii’s men are inside. At least six of them, armed.”

“I’ll call you back.” Nikon hung up, pulling the car into an empty lot a few blocks away from the casino.

The silence inside the car was deafening. He could feel Reuben’s eyes on him, waiting.

“Stepan says Dmitrii’s men are already inside.” Nikon kept his voice neutral.

Before Reuben could respond, Nikon’s phone buzzed again. This time, a text from Alexei.

Shots fired at the south entrance. Stay clear. Will call when secure.

“We need to move.” Nikon started the car, making a quick U-turn away from the casino. “Alexei says there’s gunfire.”

Reuben stiffened. “Shouldn’t we help?”

“We’re not running headfirst into a gunfight.” Nikon accelerated, taking a side street that would circle around to approach from the rear. “But we’re not leaving either.”

He drove to a delivery entrance he knew about, one that connected to an alley behind several businesses. It wasn’t on any official blueprints of the building.

“How do we get in?” Reuben asked as they parked.

“Service entrance. It’s how we move cash in and out.”

Nikon retrieved a second gun from under the seat, handing it to Reuben. Their fingers brushed in the exchange.

“Stay behind me. If I tell you to run, you run. No arguments.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Reuben checked the weapon, though not with the fluid confidence of someone born into this world. In the months since Nikon had started training him at the family’s private range, Reuben had progressed from the awkward handling of someone whose only experience had been with his father’s hunting rifles on childhood trips, to a cautious but growing competence. Enough that Nikon now trusted him with a weapon in situations like this.

Nikon hesitated, then reached across the space between them, pulling Reuben into a brief but fierce kiss.

“Stay close,” he murmured against Reuben’s lips before pulling back.

They exited the car in unison, and moved towards the service entrance cautiously, keeping to the shadows. Nikon punched in a code, and the door unlocked with a soft click.

The service corridor was empty, but he could hear commotion from the main floor. Shouting. The crash of furniture being overturned.

“This way.” He led Reuben through a maze of hallways, heading for the security room where they could assess the situation without exposing themselves.

They were halfway there when gunfire erupted, much closer than before.

Nikon’s hand shot out, fingers digging into Reuben’s shoulder. He jerked his chin toward a supply closet. “In. Now.”

Three heartbeats later, the door clicked shut behind them. The closet reeked of industrial cleaner and cigarettes. Nikon pressed his eye to the crack between door and frame.

Three silhouettes materialized around the corner. The tallest one stepped into a shaft of emergency lighting, illuminating a face Nikon had memorized from surveillance photos; Vasily, Dmitrii’s lieutenant. The same one who’d met with Andrey’s man at the warehouse.

Nikon’s finger tensed against the trigger of his gun. One shot. He could take Vasily out with one shot. But the noise would bring the others, and Reuben was too close, too exposed.

“I’m telling you, he’s here.” Vasily hissed to the others. “The back entrance was just used. It’s got to be Nikon. Find him.”

Nikon’s blood ran cold. How did they know about the service entrance? How did they know the code? Only family had that information.

Only family.

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