Page 125 of Brutal Reign
Before anything more can be said, the conference room door explodes open. Kira storms in, followed by Liza and Sofiya.
The room goes dead silent, every head turning toward the interruption.
“We’re coming with you tomorrow,” Kira announces, her finger pointed at the table full of dangerous men. “If you think we’re sitting at home worrying, you’re out of your minds.”
“Kira,” Maxim warns, slowly standing to face his wife. He walks right up to her, using every inch of his considerable height to loom over her menacingly. But if anything, Kira looks vaguely amused. “There’s absolutely no fucking way you’ll be anywhere near Element for the meet.”
“Don’t you “no way” me in that tone,” she purrs, completely unfazed. “If you’re all going, so are we. A little moral support for Hope.” She winks at me, and despite everything, I have to fight back a smile.
Niko growls and pulls Sofiya into his lap possessively. “Not happening. Not even a discussion I will entertain.”
Sofiya crosses her arms, matching her husband’s intensity. “It’s a Syndicate club, filled with your men. We’d be safer there than anywhere else in the city.”
“Over my dead body,” Roman snarls, his voice dropping to a growl that makes the air vibrate. Still sitting, he pulls Liza toward him, his large hand covering her growing baby bump protectively. I can see murder in his expression at the thought of his pregnant wife anywhere near danger. “You are not going near Element. End of discussion.”
Liza smiles and calmly grabs her husband’s face between her hands, forcing him to look directly at her. “But you’ll protect us, won’t you, babe? You always do.”
“Always, but it’s going to mess with my head if I have to worry about you and our baby,” Roman says through gritted teeth, though his voice softens as he looks at her.
The fact that these women are willing to put themselves in danger for me makes my chest tight with gratitude. After years of being completely alone, having friends who actually care enough to fight for me feels surreal.
I clear my throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “I appreciate the offer more than you’ll ever know, but your men need to be completely focused, and they can’t do that if they’re worried about protecting you too.”
The men around the table visibly relax, and the women’s faces soften in understanding.
“We want to be there for you however we can,” Kira says finally, her voice softer but no less fierce. “Just tell us how.”
“You’re incredible for doing this,” Sofiya adds, squeezing my hand across the table.
The kindness in their voices threatens to undo me completely. I blink hard and look down at my hands for a second, composing myself before smiling at them. “How about when this is all over, we celebrate with a night out and margaritas the size of our heads?”
“Deal,” Kira assures me with a grin that promises mischief.
Pavel stands and clears his throat, claiming control of the room. “Alright, now that we’ve got that sorted,” he says, “let’s discuss the actual operation. Element opens at nine sharp. The main floor will be open to the public as planned, to maintain normal cover, but we’ve completely taken over the VIP section. It will be filled with our soldiers, both men and women who are trained fighters.”
Dinara connects her laptop to the wall display, bringing up detailed building schematics and photos of the club’s interior and exterior. Every entrance and exit is clearly marked, and Istudy them intently, trying to memorize every detail that could be important.
“Chen is confirmed,” Pavel continues. “We believe he’ll enter as a regular guest to avoid suspicion. But we should expect him to bring backup positioned throughout the club. The real danger comes from the soldiers blending in with regular guests.”
“Why does Hope need to meet with Chen at all?” Liza asks with a frown. “Can’t you just grab him when he walks through the door?”
Pavel shakes his head grimly. “It’s safer if we wait until Chen’s alone and isolated. If we grab him the moment he walks into the club, his men are likely to attack, and that’s when innocent people can get hurt.”
“How does he plan to get Hope out of a Syndicate club in the first place?” Sofiya asks, still seated in her husband’s lap.
“Multiple possibilities.” Vadim points to the schematics. “But the most likely scenario is that they’ll use the service tunnels to the old metro system, or they’ll try to fight their way out through main exits.”
“Fighting their way out would be suicide, but it doesn’t mean he won’t try if he’s desperate,” Maxim observes. “Either way, we’ll have all exits and entrances covered.”
“The roof is also a possibility,” Eva points out. “But Vadim will be positioned in the building directly across the street, acting as sniper, so he can cover any escape attempts from above. And I’ll be operating the drone, watching from above.”
I feel Pavel’s eyes on me, searching for any signs of fear or hesitation. I keep my expression steady, even though my heart is hammering against my ribs. Despite trusting everyone in this room, I’m scared.
But stronger than the fear is my need to move forward with my life. That means telling Pavel that Kin is his son. I know Kinwill be thrilled; he already adores Pavel and looks at him like he hung the moon.
But Pavel’s reaction will be more complicated. Will he be angry that I kept it from him? Will he be disappointed that he missed the first four years of Kin’s life? I know in my gut he loves Kin as his own, but it’s still a revelation with a lot of emotional weight.
I need to survive tomorrow. Then I can think about the future.
