Page 166 of The Devil's Thorn
“No,” Nikolai hissed.
“Raf,” Yuri warned. “Don’t be a fucking idiot?—”
“One.” I stared forward.
“Rafael—”
“Two.” I tightened my grip on the gun.
“Goddamn it?—”
“Three.”
I shifted left and—Crack.
The sound sliced through the air like thunder. Pain tore through my arm, white-hot and brutal. The force of it snapped my shoulder back as the bullet grazed straight through the upper meat of my arm, missing bone but burning like fire.
I didn’t stop. I ducked and rolled toward the stacked crates as the warehouse erupted.
Yuri’s blade whizzed past me, embedding into the leg of the man charging in through the shadows.
Nikolai fired, the echo deafening in the enclosed space.
Footsteps thundered. Voices shouted. And all around me—Chaos. Blood hit the concrete. Sparks lit up from ricochets. They were in.
And now… They were mine.
I didn’t have time to check the wound. The pain was secondary. The smell of gunpowder, smoke, and adrenaline hit harder than anything.
Everything was noise.
Boots pounded concrete. Gunfire rang out, too close and too fast. Shells clinked across the floor like hail.
Yuri’s blade caught someone in the throat beside me. Blood sprayed like a snapped vein.
I didn’t stop moving. My vision blurred for a split second from the sting in my arm, but I blinked through it. I crouched behind one of the crates, gripping the edge with my good hand.My fingers were slick with blood, and I didn’t know if it was mine or someone else’s.
“This is a fucking setup,” I muttered, voice low and sharp.
“No shit,” Yuri bit out from across the shadows. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Another wave of men poured in from the far end—six, maybe seven—dressed in black, moving like they’d trained for this. Professional.
“This was never about the shipment,” Nikolai growled beside me, back pressed to a metal post.
“They wanted us,” I said, cold and certain.
“Then they’re about to get more than they asked for.” Yuri was already moving.
I looked across the crate to him. “Blow them the hell open. Rig the east side. I want chaos.”
Yuri gave me a savage grin and dipped into the shadows, disappearing behind stacked cargo like he was born for this. The bastard didn’t hesitate, didn’t ask how or when. He was already pulling wires, already prepping fire.
He thrived in blood. In war. And tonight, we were in it.
I turned to Nikolai. “Get ready to move.”
He looked down at my arm, then back at my face. “You’re turning pale.”
