Chapter 85.

Chapter 85.
Damian’s POV.
The Road To Odessa.

The Odessa highway was a ribbon of black cutting through a snow-laced field, the moonlight painting the world in shades of steel.
I crouched in the back of the armored SUV, my fingers wrapped around the cold metal of my rifle. The convoy was still thirty minutes out, but every nerve in my body was pulled taut, strung between anticipation and inevitability.
Matteo’s voice came through the comms. “Alpha team in position. Eyes on the north road.”
Elena followed. “Bravo team ready. Traps set.”
Claire sat opposite me, gaze fixed on me. She was dressed in tactical black, her hair tied back, her pistol resting on her thigh.
“You’re sure this will work?” She asked quietly.
“No,” I said. “But it has to.”
The plan was simple on paper. Hit the convoy during transfer, neutralize guards, grab Tatiana, and vanish before Lucian even knew what happened. 
But plans, I knew, always have a way of turning into blood.
Snow crunches under boots as Matteo slides into the SUV, handing me a small earpiece. “Final update from our inside contact. Lucian’s not expected. But they’ve doubled the guards.”
I smirked faintly. “Good. I’m starting to worry this might be easy.”
Claire leaned closer. “If Lucian does show up…?”
I chambered a round. “Then one of us doesn’t leave Odessa.”
We drove in silence after that, the rumble of the engine mixing with the distant howl of the wind. Somewhere in that cold darkness was Lucian’s stolen prize, and the key to ending him. 
The convoy appeared on the horizon like a slow-moving shadow, headlights cutting through the snow. Two black SUVs led, followed by a heavily armored transport, and two more SUVs in the rear. 
My team lay in wait in the tree line along the curve of the road, a perfect kill zone.
Matteo’s voice came through. “Front lead about to enter range.”
“Hold,” I ordered. “Wait for the signal.”
I watched the line of Vehicles approach, my breath slowing, my mind calculating distances, timing, angles. 
The second SUV passed the market we’d set earlier, a strip of terminal paint only visible through night optics. 
I lifted my hand. “Now.”
The night exploded. 
Elena’s team triggered the IEDs hidden beneath the snow. The front SUV lifted off the ground in a violent spray of metal and flame, slamming sideways across the road. 
Gunfire erupted from both tree lines, tearing into the convoy’s flank.
The rear SUV swerved, but Matteo’s men had already spiked the road, shredding their tires. Guards spilled out, firing blindly into the dark. 
I moved like a shadow, sprinting toward the armored transport. Bullets hissed past me, but I didn’t slow. I reached the rear doors, slammed an explosive charge onto the lock, and ducked as it blew inward. 
Inside, two armed escorts and a figure bound and hooded in the center seat. 
Tatiana Sokolov. 
I shot the escorts before they could raise their weapons. Claire was right behind me, grabbing Tatiana’s arm. 
“Move!” I barked. 
We dragged him out into the snow, heading for the extraction SUV, but the sound that came next froze my blood. 
Not the roar of engines. Not from the convoy. 
From behind us. 
Four more vehicles burst into view from the opposite end of the road. Sleek, black, and fast. The lead car swerved to a stop in the middle of the chaos, and the back door opened. 
Lucian stepped out. 
He wasn’t dressed for battle. Dark coat, gloves, eyes sharp as razors. But the men spilling out behind him were armed to the teeth.
My grip tightened on Tatiana. “Move!” I shouted, shoving Claire ahead toward the SUV.
Lucian’s voice carried over the gunfire. “You didn’t think I would see this coming, did you, fratello?”
I didn’t answer. I kept moving, firing over my shoulder as Matteo’s men engaged Lucian’s team.
Lucian walked forward through the chaos like it was a stage set for him alone. “You taught me to expect betrayal.” He raised his voice. “I learned it from you.”
One of Lucian’s men broke from cover, flanking toward Claire. I pivoted and dropped him with two clean shots, but the delay cost me two seconds. 
Lucian was closer now, his men forcing my crew back step by step.
“Give me the girl,” Lucian called, “and I’ll let you live.”
My laugh was cold and humorless. “We both know that’s a lie.”
Lucian’s smile was a slow, dangerous curve. “Of course it is.”
The extraction SUV screeched into position, Matteo leaning out from the driver’s seat. “Get in, now!”
I shoved Tatiana inside, followed by Claire. I turned to cover them, but Lucian’s men had cut off the rear escape. The only way out was through Lucian himself. 
Snow whipped between us as I advanced, rifle steady. Lucain didn’t raise his weapon he just studied me like he was memorizing every detail.
“You’ve lost,” I said. 
Lucian’s eyes glittered. “No, fratello, you have. You just don’t know yet.”
From the tree line behind me, new gunfire erupted not from his men. My comm crackled, Matteo shouting. “Damian they’ve hit Alpha Team. Someone betrayed us.”
Realization hit like a gut punch. Lucian hadn’t just anticipated the ambush. He bought someone inside my crew. 
My focus wavered for half a second.
It was enough. 
Lucian’s men surged forward, a wave of black-clad 
Enforcers slamming into my flank. I went down hard in the snow. My rifle wrenched away. 
Through the chaos, Lucian strode towards the SUV where Claire and Tatiana sat. I fought to my feet, but Lucian’s soldiers had me pinned, the boots grinding into the frozen ground.
Lucian leaned into the SUV his voice low, but carrying.
“Tell Damian goodbye.”
The SUV’s engine roared as Matteo tried to floor it, but Lucian’s men were already slashing the tires. Two more dragged Claire out, her pistol kicking in her hand until one of them wrenched away.
Damian‘s vision tunneled, rage burning through the cold.
“Lucian!” He roared, breaking free just enough to drive an elbow into one man’s throat and slam another to the ground. 
Lucian didn’t even glance at me, he was pulling Tatiana out of the SUV, his hand resting almost, his hand resting almost gently on the heir’s shoulder.
“This was never about killing you,” Lucian said finally, turning to meet my gaze. “It was about showing you that every move you make… I’m already three ahead.”
My men were falling back, some dead, others retreating into the tree line. The convoy was in ruins, but so was the ambush. 
Lucian backed toward his car, Tatiana in tow, but her eyes never leaving me. “Next time, fratello, bring a better plan.”
I surged forward, but the muzzle of a rifle pressed to my temple froze me in place. 
Lucian slid back into his car, the door closing between us. Seconds later, his fleet roared away into the snowy darkness, taking Tatiana, the victory, and the night with them. 
I stood in the wreckage, chest heaving, snow stinging my face. Claire limed to my side, blood on her sleeve. 
“We lost him,” she said, her voice barely above the wind.
My hands curled into fists. “No,” I said, voice low and lethal. “We just started.”
The road to Odessa hadn’t ended, it had only set the stage for the next war.