Touching Lena's face, he wished he could see her but there wasn't enough light. "I've got you. Just hold onto me."
Sobbing hysterically, she gripped his arms and pushed her face into his chest. The rapid fire of high caliber sniper rounds and smaller caliber handgun fire continued all around them. He didn't know how the hell they were going to get out of here but he didn't care as long as she was safe in his arms.
To his utter shock, two headlights came into view. One of his SUVs equipped with the very latest in defense technology bounced as it raced across his beautifully landscaped yard. The SUV maneuvered onto the far side of the fountain, effectively blocking the sniper's attack.
A door popped open and Jake appeared. "Boss! Let's go!"
Snatching Lena by the waist, he dragged her to her feet and tossed her over the fountain's ledge. "Run!"
She sloshed through the knee-deep water and scrambled into the idling SUV. The vehicle continued to take heavy fire but Yuri felt confident it would allow them to escape their precarious position. Sasha bounded after him as he slogged through the chilly water to reach Lena and the SUV.
Once they were all safely inside, Vasya punched the gas. Yuri pulled Lena onto his lap and put a steadying hand on Sasha's neck. The dog's incessant growl covered the snap and pop of bullets hitting the racing SUV. Lena continued to sob against his throat. He squeezed her tightly and silently vowed to never let her out of his sight again.
When they were safely inside the garage, they poured out of the SUV and into the house. The guards rushed them into the ground floor panic room where Feodor already paced nervously. Seeing them uninjured, the older man relaxed but his I-told-you-so expression didn't bode well for the conversation Yuri was certain they would soon be having.
Not caring about his mentor's opinion at the moment, Yuri ignored his censorious look and carried Lena to a chair. He carefully placed her on the seat and ran his hands over her body in a desperate attempt to convince himself she was okay. There were scratch marks on her shoulder and thighs from Sasha's paws but she looked otherwise unhurt.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The words spilled from her mouth. "This is all my fault. Oh God. I almost got you killed."
He clasped her sweet face in his hands and captured her frantic gaze. "Stop. Breathe. You're fine. We're both fine." He glanced at the dog resting next to her. "Sasha is fine. Everyone is okay."
"It's not okay. It's not." She roughly wiped at her wet face. Streams of tears left her skin glistening. "This is all because of me. Because of my stupid family."
"We don't know that." Even though he suspected this was cartel related, he wasn't going to jump to that conclusion yet. He used his shirt to wipe her face clean and then kissed her tenderly. "Don't you dare apologize for something you didn’t do."
"But—"
"No." He kissed her again. The reality of why she was out there in the first place hit him hard. "It's my fault you were out there tonight. I'm the one who hurt you. I'm the one who betrayed your trust and sent you running from the house." His throat became painfully tight. "If it hadn't been for Sasha—"
She leaned forward and wrapped her slender arms around him. With her face buried in the crook of his neck, she whispered, "Sasha deserves a steak dinner for, like, the rest of his life."
Yuri laughed softly. "At the very least."
"Boss?" It was Derek. "It's all quiet. We think the threat is gone—and the cops are on their way. We're about to have every police officer and sheriff's deputy within fifty miles up our asses."
Though Derek put it more colorfully than he would have, he didn't disagree with the sentiment. Kissing Lena's cheek, he gave her a direct order. "You are to stay here in this panic room with Feodor and Sasha until I come to get you. Understood?"
She nodded dutifully. "Yes, Yuri."
Feodor brought over a blanket and bottle of water from the supply cabinets. Certain she was in safe hands, he exited the panic room to find Derek and Vasya waiting for him. He touched the giant Russian's arm. In their shared language, he gave one command. "Watch her."
Vasya placed his huge body between the rest of the house and the door. Walking with Derek, he left the small hallway.
"What's the party line, Boss?"
He knew what Derek was asking. How much did he want them to reveal to the investigators who would soon be traipsing over every inch of his home?
"I trust your discretion."
Derek understood. "I'll pass the word along."
"Do that."
Heading to his office, he grabbed his phone and made two quick calls before the police began to beat down his door. He needed two men at his side tonight if he was going to survive this scrape and keep Lena's father alive—his lawyer and Nikolai.
Chapter Fifteen
It was after one in the morning before Yuri got the last detective out of his house and walked his saint of a lawyer to the door. Craig and his legal team would more than earn their retainer over this mess.
He'd already sent Lena upstairs with Sasha, Kelly and Vasya to guard her. Feodor was still puttering around in the kitchen but he would turn in eventually. Derek and Jake had taken the first shift. With the cop cars sitting on the house, Yuri wasn't worried about a repeat performance of the nightmare they'd just survived.
In his office, he found his closest friends waiting for him. Dimitri had arrived soon after the first police officers. Apparently he'd given Vasya strict instructions to call him with updates. Yuri hated that Dimitri's new businesses was being dragged through his shit-storm but he hoped they could find a way to spin it positively. Lena would know just how…
"We're alone." He shut the door and leaned against it. The stress of the last few days left his shoulders slumping and his stomach churning.
"How is Lena?" Concern colored Ivan's voice.
"Shaken," Yuri answered.
"And you?"
"Now that the fear and panic has finally subsided, I'm starting to feel an immense amount of rage," he admitted. It was all he could do to keep his shaking hands clenched at his sides.
"Was it the cartel?" Dimitri finally dared to ask the question they were all thinking.
Nikolai shook his head. "I received assurances that this was absolutely not the cartel. Guzman made the point that he gains nothing from trying to kill Lena and everything from keeping her alive and Yuri happy. This is all about the money and saving face for him."
Ivan started to pace. "What about this pipeline, Yuri? Erin said there some major protests in Europe. Those protestors outside your downtown headquarters were all over the news tonight. Would they be crazy enough to go after you? To go after Lena?"
He shrugged. "At this point, anything is possible." Reluctantly, he admitted, "There have been problems with the pipeline. Someone is leaking negative stories to the press. They're trying to tank the deal. I thought it might be one of the investors trying to back out in an underhanded way but that's looking less likely. It might be someone on the inside."