Page 90 of Owned By Shadows

“Bubby,” Hunt says into the quiet, and we all look up at him, then the kid. “You’ll also be in the van, setting up our communications and protecting Iris, understood?”

“Yes, Hunt,” the teen says, his voice serious as he straightens his spine. He will be an asset to the Shadowmen. He already is, though I’m tempted to recruit him for myself. I guess I could get him on loan when I need to.

Within moments, we are ready, and we step out of the room to find Iris waiting for us. Butterflies erupt in my stomach at the sight of her, her golden hair tightly braided, dressed all in black. Her pregnancy is obvious. There’s no hiding it anymore with how big she is, but she’s wearing a loose black jumper over tight leggings and black boots that make her look sexy as hell.

“Damn, you need to dress like that more, Princess,” Roman says, sauntering over to her with a salacious grin on his beautiful face. “I definitely want you to wear those boots the next time I fuck you.”

“Gross,” Bubby states, walking past me and out the front door, to the van that we’ve been modifying for the past week or so.

Iris’s cheeks bloom a beautiful pink, a look that I adore on her.

“Let’s move out,” Hunt says, striding past me, Rowan and Dima following. Hunt pauses next to Iris, grasping her chin in his finger and thumb, tugging her face to his. “If you disobey me, I will spank you so hard you won’t be able to sit down for weeks. Understood, Peaches?”

“Understood, Daddy,” she replies, jutting her chin up in a defiant gesture that has my cock hardening. If it wasn’t so fucking dangerous, I’d want her to disobey him just to see him turn her arse cheeks red.

“Fucking brat,” he hisses, stealing a quick but fierce kiss from her plush lips before he releases her and strides from the room.

Roman kisses her lips quickly, then follows Hunt.

“I have medical supplies, including some more magnesium sulphate, just in case, Iris,” Andrei tells her before he, too, leaves and it’s justMoye Solntseand me left.

I prowl towards her, her hazel eyes fixed on me as I get as close as her pregnancy will allow. “You will tell me if anything changes,Dorogaya.Da?”

“Yes, Nik,” she agrees, her eyes a little wide and sparkling. She’s excited, and the same feeling rushes through me. This feeling that tonight we will get vengeance from the man who has wronged us so grievously.

“He will not see another sunrise,” I say, and she nods, her breath stuttering from her chest.

“No, this morning was his last.” Her voice is husky, her pulse fluttering in her neck. She’s so perfect for us, my sun with a hint of darkness, a hint of the star that can destroy as well as give life.

Wordlessly, I take her hand in mine, both of us steady as I turn and lead her out of our home and into the night.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

“TOXIC” BY OMIDO, RICK JANSEN

HUNTER

The van is silent as we drive through the quiet London streets. There are few people around, given that it’s the night of Christmas, so most people are tucked up with their families watching Christmas films, playing games, or doing all the shit normal people do for Christmas. I guess I’m tucked up with my family, we’re just on our way to destroy the man, the monster, who has taken so much from us.

The Petrov Estate is something that shouldn’t exist but somehow does. It’s in London, and yet it’s vast, with land that must be worth millions. One of those old estates before London grew so big, and somehow, it’s maintained its old-world charm. If only it didn’t house such evil.

Nearing the west side, we pull up to a service entrance. We know from extensive research that there are a few more people here than we’d expected on account of the holiday and also Alexei’s dad, the head of the Volkov branch of the Bratva, beinghere with his men. We just have to trust that Alexei has that covered.

Nik’s phone pings with a message from the Fallen man.

“He says he’s in position in the east wing, but that there’s new security personnel that seem to have been trained by the military,” Nik tells us as we park.

“So not the usual mafia enforcer types,” Roman states, his face set in determined lines.

“At least they’ll provide more of a challenge then,” Rowan adds darkly, and I remember his killing spree from the time Iris was taken. He’s got a point. It wasn’t exactly a challenge, but we weren’t walking into a bloody nest of vipers then.

“We stick to our plan, clear the perimeter, and then Iris can join us.” We all look at her, and I notice the slight sheen of sweat on her forehead, the way her nostrils flare, and her skin is a little pale. “Okay, baby?”

“Fine,” she almost snaps, then takes a breath. “I’m fine. Just want to get this over with.”

“You heard the woman. Roman, you’re with me. Nik, Rowan, and Dima, you know what to do. Andrei and Bubby stay with Iris.”

The plan is beautiful in its simplicity. Rowan will provide a distraction with his grenades, which should draw out most of the security. We were never going to be able to infiltrate quietly given the level of security Sergi has, so brute force it is. We will pick them off until we’ve cleared the perimeter, hopefully Alexei working from the inside to clear that. Then we use Iris to gain access to the inner sanctum, because of fucking course Sergi has more security levels to go through. After that, we capture Sergi, then torture him a bit before Nik delivers the killing blow all before dawn. Simple.

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