Page 85 of Triplet Babies
“It’s over,” I whisper against her hair, though my shoulder throbs where Katya’s bullet found its mark. “You’re safe now.”
Footsteps pound up the stairs as my men finally reach the upper floor. Valentin appears in the doorway, weapon drawn, and takes in the scene with professional assessment. He sweeps the room systematically before holstering his gun, noting Katya’s body, the blood on my shirt, and Sarah’s shocked stillness. “Status?” he asks, pulling out his radio to coordinate with the teams below.
“Threat neutralized.” I help Sarah to the chair she vacated during the fight, noting how she can’t stop staring at Katya’s still form. “What’s the situation downstairs?”
Valentin speaks rapidly into his radio in Russian, then turns back to me. “All Nikitin operatives have been neutralized, and we’re wrapping up at the warehouse where we found Roman and his Greek associate. The clean-up crew has been handled.”
He shows me photos on his phone displaying the accelerant containers still stacked around the warehouse where Roman and Yeorgi died. “We’re going to finish what the Nikitin cleaner started and torch the warehouse. Roman and his associate, along with the cleaner, ostensibly died in the fire, and any evidence burns with them.”
I nod my approval. “What about connecting it back to us?”
“Nothing traces to us, and Roman was using multiple aliases with connections to various criminal enterprises. The authorities will assume it was a deal gone wrong or retaliation from one of his other ventures.” Valentin pockets his phone and checks his watch. “Katya’s gun was unregistered, so when the warehouse burns, any forensic evidence, like the bullet in Roman, disappears with it.”
I nod, understanding the elegance of the solution. The Nikitin family values business over sentiment, so they’ll accept that Roman went rogue and paid the price for his unauthorized operations. “How long do we have?”
“Perhaps twenty minutes before the fire department arrives, which gives us enough time to extract you both and complete the scene staging. Fortunately, the Nikitin family, save for Katya, is in the city apartment, so there were no casualties among them. That will make it easier to come to a resolution with them about this situation, since one could argue Katya brought it on herself with scheming.”
I snort. “I’m sure that old bastard, Leonid, was in on it, but this will let him place all the blame on Katya.”
He nods and glances at Sarah, who hasn’t spoken since the shooting. “Does she need medical attention?”
I study Sarah’s pale face and the scratches on her cheek from the fight. “She’s in shock but physically, she’s fine.”
“Then we leave now.”
I help Sarah stand, wrapping my jacket around her shoulders to cover the tears in her shirt. She moves like someone sleepwalking, following my guidance without question or resistance. We exit through the back entrance, avoiding the main areas where Valentin’s men are staging the crime scene. The cool night air hits us as we reach the vehicles, and Sarah finally seems to come back to herself.
“Where are we going?” she asks, her voice hoarse from screaming.
“Somewhere safe, where we can talk.”
The drive takes forty minutes through winding back roads to a property I own under a shell company. While Luco drives, one of our medical staff on retainer cleans, stitches, and bandages my shoulder. It was a clean through-and-through that will only require bandage changes and antibiotics for the next couple of weeks. I accept the first antibiotics and a couple of NSAIDs but nothing stronger. I want a clear head when I’m going to be the only guard at our safe house, though I don’t expect any trouble.
We arrive at the property, which is a small cabin surrounded by woods, completely off the grid and unknown to anyone except Valentin. It’s the perfect place to disappear until the immediatecrisis passes. “Drive Dr. Abshi back to the city and send a vehicle back for our use,” I say to Luco, who nods. Once we’re clear of the SUV, he flips a U-turn in the long driveway and drives away.
There’s no key, but the biometric panel is secured behind the mailbox mounted to the exterior, so I flip it up and press my palm to it. The door opens smoothly, and I enter first, ensuring the cabin is as I left it. It’s deserted, so I return for Sarah standing in the doorway. “It’s safe to come in.” I hold out a hand, and she takes it.
Inside, I guide her to the couch and start a fire in the stone fireplace. The flames create an atmosphere of warmth and security that’s completely at odds with the violence we just escaped.
“I need to clean your wounds,” I say, noting the cuts on her wrists from the rope and the scratches on her face. I should have had Dr. Abshi do it, but he’d barely finished treating me when we arrived, and I wanted to get her inside. They’re superficial, and I can handle the task.
She nods mutely, still processing everything that’s happened. I retrieve a first-aid kit from the bathroom and return to find her staring into the fire with a vacant expression.
“Sarah.” I kneel in front of her, gently taking her hands in mine. “You’re safe now since Katya is dead, Roman is dead, and the threat is over.”
“I killed her.” The words come out flat and emotionless. “I looked her in the eyes and pulled the trigger.”
“You defended yourself and saved both our lives.”
“Does that make it easier?” She sounds almost academic when she asks, but there’s a brittle note to her tone that indicates she might break at any moment.
I consider the question while cleaning the cuts on her wrists with antiseptic. “No, taking a life is never easy, no matter the circumstances, but you did what you had to do.”
She winces as I apply bandages but doesn’t pull away. “What do we do now?”
I like how she says “we.” “We’re going to figure out what our future looks like without having to look over our shoulder, worrying about the past.” I set aside the first-aid supplies and take her hands again. “I’m done with the Nikitins, done with political marriages, and done with putting business before what matters.”
“What matters?” Her voice wobbles slightly.
