Page 51 of Collapsed

Turning to Ryan, I command him, “Go find Katia, She was up in that loft.” I point to the loft area straight forward. “You will need to draw her down here somehow, find some more men and figure it out. Once she is alone, grab her before she can suspect a thing.”

“Yes, Umbra. I will do whatever you ask of me. I have long ago chosen what side I am backing for a reason. The heir should have always been you, sir. We all know you have been running the show for Andrei for years now. The men that I bring with me are loyal to me, which in turn means they are loyal to you now,” he responds to my request, obedient and doting.

Nodding at him, I continue, “Yes, you’re one of the smart ones. But the girl needs to be your focus right now, not kissing my ass. Katia will be very useful in breakingMoy Oganagain. Once we are done with her, she will generate a pretty penny for us. Or maybe I will find another use for her, I am not sure. Get going, now!” I shoo him away with the wave of my hand. As flattering as he is, he also annoys me more than I ever thought humanly possible. I have thought of killing him many times, his ass-kissing leaves much to be desired.

As he is moving away from our spot, I see him grab two men, then smirk. It is almost as if I can see the light bulb turning on above his head. I follow his new line of sight and see King fighting with another one of the men who chose to back me. Ryan whispers something to the men and points. The two men shimmy along the wall and hide behind a forklift off to the side. They begin shooting at King, backing him into the corner. He realizes too late he is outnumbered and vulnerable, with nowhere to escape the oncoming fight.

Looking forward toward the loft, I see Katia has already taken notice of King’s situation and is moving toward the stairs.Perfect.

“Good Job,” I say out loud to no one but myself.I knew I was choosing to keep Ryan around for a reason.

It is then that I decide it is time to move and begin my search. Ryan will complete what I have tasked him with, I have no doubt about it now that the plan is in motion.

Slinking around the crate with my gun drawn in front of me, just in case, I see Alexie andMoy Oganfighting in the middle of the room. They are both very skilled with knives, hand-to-hand combat and killing in general, which could become a problem for my men when they are together. I need to distract them and separate the two. Knowing the fury and hate Alexie has for me, I decide to try to get his attention first.I would hate me too, if I knew the woman I loved was in love with another man.

I whistle, the tune that we used on missions together years ago, and he turns his head in my direction. I smirk at him, his expression turning to one of pure anger when he sees me. He bumpsMoy Oganwith his shoulder and gestures toward me with his head right as she takes down the last man in front of her. She has a devilish smirk that mirrors mine as she stands there dripping in blood. She starts moving, but Alexie grabs her arm, saying something to cause her to pause for a moment. He then turns to continue fighting the men coming towards him, clearly thinkingMoy Oganis still right there with him.

She waits until his back is to her again and stalks off towards me. I take that as my chance to disappear, dipping behind the various shipping containers. I know she is coming for me alone, and that will make it all the easier to get her.

On my way toward the back offices, I kill every man I come across. The first was a man guarding the back exit of the warehouse. I shoot him right in the temple, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. Then upon opening the door, I see men all over in that hallway fighting, some mine and some not. At this point, they are all in my way, so I begin picking them off one by one until I can get to where I need to be.

I am almost to the area of the office I am looking for, and the path behind me is littered with bodies, my men and theirs. I do not care. There is only one goal at this moment, and it is to getMoy Ogan. If someone is in my way, they must be disposed of, no matter who their loyalty lies with. Volkov was right when telling all the men that gathered here today that I do not care who dies, there will always be more men willing to bend to my will.

After stabbing my latest kill, a man I had to fight to the floor, I begin to stand up. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the trace of luscious red locks whipping around the corner of a doorway to my right. My cock begins to harden again at the thought ofMoy Oganstalking me, as I have her all these years. I’m so close to having her in my possession again, but then I think of the fact that those pesky men are all still alive. I do not believe they will ever quit looking for her if given the chance once she is in my clutches again.

It is at that moment I make a huge decision. My main goal has changed a bit. It is still to getMoy Oganand get out of here as soon as possible. But, if for any reason, I can’t get out of here with her, then we are both going to die. If I can not have her to myself, then no one else will ever have her again, either. We shall die together in a Shakespearean death like Romeo and Juliet, only caused by murder and not suicide. Then our love story will live forever.

Moving to the end of the hall, I peek around the corner to my left when I hear loud noises. I see Conrad in hand-to-hand combat with another man, and they fall to the floor.Well, that just will not do. What better time to start picking offMoy Ogan’stoys one by one than now when he has no backup; it should be quick and easy,

“Looks like it is your time to die, Conrad,” I stalk toward him, laughing just like a cartoon villain would, as he pops his head up, locking eyes with me.

He makes one final punch to the man's head, knocking him out, his head falling lifelessly to the side. Conrad stands up quickly, picks up a gun discarded on the floor, and points it right at my chest. I can't help but taunt him. While still walking in his direction, I raise both of my arms straight out to my sides, daring him to shoot me. I can sense his hesitation, causing me to smile.

Chapter 31

BANG!

The gunshot rings loudly throughout the silence of the room as shock and disbelief rocket through my body. I watch as the first casualty of the night drops to the floor the fresh bullet hole between his eyes starts to spew blood. Chaos breaks out in the room. I drop to the floor near Stryker as gunshots ring out. The echo in the room makes it difficult to know where they are coming from. I regain my footing, but stay crouched with my gun in hand.

“Take aim, Katia,” Stryker encourages me.

Now is my time to put their training to the test. My pistol raises, and I rest my hand against the rail in front of me for balance. One of the men, who chose Ivan’s side, is crouched behind some crates. He pops up twice but quickly drops down. I wait for him to pop up again, keeping my gun aimed. The man suddenly springs up, leaving his upper body exposed as he shoots blindly in front of him, and my finger squeezes the trigger, never taking my eyes off the target. He goes down, but I wait a moment to see if he comes back up.

“Nice hit, Katia,” Stryker congratulates me. I want to beam with pride and cheer, but then I see King getting pinned down on the far side of the room. We were outnumbered coming in here with Ivan showing up with so many. It was foolish to think this would be easy. One of the men moving toward King is that snake, Ryan. He thinks he is going to get the upper hand on my friend, but I can’t let that happen.I have to help him.

Without hesitation, I run toward the stairs and make my way down. Marcela is at the bottom, peering around the corner into the fight. She pops off a shot and swings back, concealing her body as a couple of shots whiz past her. Her eyes find me as she cocks her head to the side.

“What are you trying to do?” she asks.

“I need to get in there,” I tell her. “There’s so many of them, and King is getting cornered.”

“Then I’ll go in,” she says.

“You need to stay here and guard our exit.” Before she can throw out a rebuttal, I continue, “You know I’m right. I can’t guard it properly, and Stryker has his hands full up there; he can’t be left without someone watching his back.”

Marcela takes a deep breath and nods her head. “Alright, but do not get killed, do you hear me?”

“I’m going to try my best,” I reply with a smile. It seemed like a great idea. Join the firefight and save the team, but standing here, it seems like a terrible decision.Who the hell do I think I am?There’s no turning back now. I could never live with myself if something happened to any of them while I stood by doing nothing. They gave me as much training as they could, and while it's nowhere near what they have, it gives me a little more confidence in what I’m about to do.

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