And I know she will, too.
Because she will do anything to keep her sisters safe.
“Do you have another gun?” she asks.
“I’m not gonna just hand you a gun and hope for the best.” I look at her like she’s just grown a tit out of her forehead. “Have you ever even fired one before?”
“Not recently, but yes. And I’m a damn good shot, too.”
“Part of your training?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Just in case. I hated it but my dad insisted. And right now, I’m so grateful he did.”
My brain works overtime during the next ten minutes, and I can’t kick the nagging thought that there was a specific reason why Savio wanted me out of Syosset this morning, why the situation with Lugo came to a head when it did.
Savio couldn’t know I was bringing Kristina with me, although I’m sure Lugo clued him in after we’d left his place.
And he knew the girls would be at school.
I scrub a hand down the front of my face, all of the mysterious dots that I can’t connect for the life of me dance before my eyes, taunting me.
I need answers, but all I keep getting are more questions.
But everything leads back to Savio.
What the hell is his endgame?
That’s what keeps eluding me. And every day that passes just presents a new roadblock to figuring out the truth.
So many questions.
Even more lies.
I make a sharp right turn, a sudden thought wrenching my gut.
Is Frank part of Savio’s plan?
Could Savio actually be working through that asshole?
It would explain a hell of a lot.
And I wouldn’t put it past Savio to sink his claws into anyone with access to the Ivankov house.
He clearly doesn’t trust me, otherwise he’d have already divulged what I’m supposed to be looking for in the house.
Unless he found another way to get to it.
Kristina’s house comes into view and she gasps when I pull up to the curb. “Stop here. I don’t want to let them know we’re here.”
I pull out a gun case from under my seat and load the magazine. “It’s a twenty-two. Are you gonna be okay with that?”
“Yes,” she says, her eyes still on the house. “You know, when I came home a couple of weeks ago, before everything happened, I remember looking around and thinking that this neighborhood and the houses in it looked so picture perfect from the outside, that nobody would ever think that any harm could come to the people living behind these doors. Meanwhile, it’s the most deadly and dangerous place on the planet for me and my family.” She looks at me, her eyes glittering with pent-up rage. “It’s time to fix that.”
“This was exactly what I was talking about before,” I say, reaching into my backseat for a Kevlar vest. “You’re strong and brave and a total badass. Don’t ever question that. Now put this on.”
“Another ‘just in case’?”
“Yeah. I’m not taking any chances with you.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’m thinking that maybe you should have given it to Quinn, instead.” She manages a small smile.
“Yeah, well, I’m banking on him being smart enough to have worn one.”
She nods, doing a quick change and putting it on under her sweatshirt. “Come on, we’re going in through the basement.”
We get out of the car and run around to the back of the house toward the double doors leading into the basement. It’s dark inside the house, which is good for us.
“Can you disable the alarm from your phone? We can’t risk them hearing us come inside.”
She swipes through screens on her phone before sticking it in her pocket. “Okay, let’s go.”
We creep into the house, moving slowly through the darkened space. The doors let in some light, but the rest of the basement is drenched in darkness. We head toward the stairs, and I lead the way to the first level, taking the steps one at a time and as lightly as possible to avoid any creaks or cracks.
“Please stop!”
The petrified sound of Maria’s panicked voice grabs me by the throat and Kristina clutches my shirt.
“Uncle Frank, don’t hurt her! Ple—!”
Bang!
Kristina lets out a choked gasp and I spin around with a hand pressed to Kristina’s mouth, giving my head a quick shake to indicate that she needs to stay quiet.
My heart hammers against my ribcage, my ears straining to pick up any other sounds. A piercing cry erupts and we scale the remaining steps. I reach out and grasp the brass knob, pressing my ear to the door to see where the sounds are coming from.
Everything is muffled, and a quick look under the door confirms that there are no shadows in the floor.
Nobody is standing guard.
Frank, you fucking tool. Didn’t you ever learn to cover all of your blind spots?
I twist the knob, Kristina pressed up against my back. We inch into the foyer, sunlight streaming in through the large, arched window over the front door. I scour the perimeter before creeping farther into the expansive space.
Droplets of blood stain the hardwood floor a few feet away. I say a silent prayer it doesn’t belong to one of the girls.
Kristina clutches my arm and I know she sees it, too.
“Get off of me!” Maria’s shrill scream pierces the air and Kristina runs out in front of me, darting in the direction of her voice.
Pop! Crack!
Motherfucker.
More gunfire erupts into the air.
Kristina runs through the conservatory with me right on her heels. “Maria!”
Heavy footsteps follow her outburst and within seconds, three men emerge from the kitchen with their guns pointed right at us.
So much for the element of surprise.
I shove her against the wall to get her out of the path of any shots that may be fired, and then I shower the men with a spray of my own bullets, using one of the sofas as a shield. Two of the guys go down like lead weights, but one manages to escape and takes off for the back of the house.
“I’m going for the girls,” Kristina mumbles, pushing me off of her. She runs through the kitchen toward her father’s office. “Sof!” she yells as a thick hand reaches out from the shadows and pulls her against the wall, dragging her out of the conservatory.
Thug number four.
He closes his fist around her throat, winding his arm around her chest so that she is plastered against him. He holds the tip of a knife against her throat, the stainless steel blade digging into her neck. A dot of red appears before it streams down the side of her throat. She reaches up, clawing at his hands, but it only makes him dig the tip in harder. She screams, struggling against him.
I grit my teeth, unable to take a shot because he’s using her as a human shield.
“Leave her alone!”
Sofia runs out from a darkened corner and dives at the guy’s ankles, knocking him off-balance. I empty my mag into him, bullets shattering his body as well as a nearby Ming vase. Bits of porcelain shoot left and right, large chunks crashing to the floor around it.
“Sofia, where the fuck is Quinn?” I hiss.
“Locked in the office. With Maria,” she weeps, leaning onto Kristina’s chest. “He told me to stay in that corner, but I couldn’t let anything happen to Kristina. Especially since it’s my fault we’re in this.”