Chapter 151 Chapter 151
Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-One
Irina
I watched Dimitri drive away with Alexei. My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest. What if he did not come back?
I held Nikolai tighter. He was awake now. Looking up at me with those big green eyes. He had no idea his father might be walking into a trap.
"Your daddy is brave," I whispered to him. "He is going to come back. He has to."
Mikhail came into the nursery. "How are you holding up?"
"I am terrified," I admitted.
"Dimitri is smart," Mikhail said. "And Alexei is with him. They will be okay."
"You do not know that," I replied.
"No," Mikhail agreed. "But I choose to believe it."
He sat down in the other chair. His legs still hurt. I could see it in the way he moved.
"Do your legs hurt?" I asked.
"Always," Mikhail admitted. "But the pain reminds me I am alive. After what Alexei did, I should not be able to walk at all."
"He regrets it," I said. "He has changed."
"I know," Mikhail replied. "I can see it. The way he is with you."
"Do you forgive him?" I asked.
Mikhail thought about it. "I am working on it. Forgiveness is not easy. But I see that he is truly sorry. And that makes it easier."
We sat in comfortable silence for a while. Nikolai fell back asleep in my arms. I did not want to put him down. I needed to feel his warmth.
Then Viktor came in. "We have a problem."
My heart stopped. "What kind of problem?"
"The backup team lost contact with Dimitri and Alexei," Viktor said. "About ten minutes ago. Their radios went dead and they are not answering their phones."
I stood up quickly. "We need to go there."
"Mrs. Volkov, we do not know what is happening," Viktor said. "It could be a trap for us too."
"I do not care," I said. "Dimitri is in trouble. I can feel it."
I handed Nikolai to Mikhail. "Watch him. Please."
"Irina, wait," Mikhail called. But I was already gone.
I grabbed my coat and gun. Headed for the door. Viktor followed. "You should stay here," he said.
"I am going," I replied. "With or without you."
Viktor sighed. "Fine. But you do exactly what I say. Understand?"
"Understood," I agreed.
We got into a car and drove fast. My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. Something was wrong. I knew it.
"What if they are already dead?" I whispered.
"Do not think like that," Viktor said. "Dimitri and Alexei are survivors. They have been through worse."
But his words did not comfort me. Because I had seen what their enemies could do.
We reached the warehouse. Viktor parked a block away. We approached on foot. Quietly. The backup team was waiting outside.
"What happened?" Viktor whispered to one of them.
"We do not know," the man replied. "They went in twenty minutes ago. Then their radios cut out. We were waiting for the signal to move in but it never came."
A lot could happen in twenty minutes.
"I am going in," I said.
"Mrs. Volkov, no," Viktor protested.
"I am going," I repeated. "You come with me or I go alone."
Viktor looked at me. Then nodded. "Fine. But stay behind me."
We entered the warehouse. It was dark inside. Viktor had a flashlight. He turned it on. The beam cut through the blackness.
We moved slowly. Then I heard voices whispering. We moved toward them.
That is when we saw Dimitri and Alexei. On their knees. Hands behind their heads. And standing in front of them was someone I did not expect. Someone who should not be there.
My hand flew to my mouth to stop the gasp. Viktor grabbed my arm, pulled me back into the shadows and put his finger to his lips. I nodded. But my mind was racing. This could not be happening.
The figure was talking. I caught pieces. "...all these years..." "...your father..." "...revenge..."
Then Dimitri spoke. "You are supposed to be dead."
"I know," the figure replied. "That was the plan. Die. Disappear. And watch you suffer from the shadows."
"Why?" Alexei demanded. "What did we do to you?"
"You existed," the figure said. "You are his sons. His legacy. And I promised I would destroy everything he built."
"Our father is dead," Dimitri said. "He cannot suffer anymore."
"But you can," the figure replied. "And that is enough."
They raised a gun. Pointed it at Dimitri's head. I could not breathe.
Viktor started to move forward. But I grabbed his arm. Because I saw something behind the figure in the shadows. Someone else was there. Someone the figure did not see.
We waited, watching. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure everyone could hear it.
Then the shadow moved fast and grabbed the figure from behind. The gun flew from their hand and hit the ground with a clatter.
Dimitri and Alexei moved instantly. They were on their feet, fighting back.
Viktor and I ran forward. The backup team rushed in. Within seconds, the figure was subdued.
Dimitri looked at me. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving you," I replied.
"I told you to stay home," he said.
The shadow who had helped us stepped into the light. And I gasped again. Because I recognized them too.
"You?" I breathed.
They smiled. "Surprised?"
"But you were..." Dimitri started.
"I know," they interrupted. "I let you think I was on their side. But I have been working against them this whole time."
"Why?" Alexei demanded.
"Because I owed your father a debt," they said. "And I always pay my debts."
Dimitri looked at the figure on the ground. Then at our mysterious helper. Then at me. "This is not over. There are more."
"I know," the helper said. "But we got this one. And they will tell us who the others are."
Viktor called for transport. We secured the prisoner. Secured the lawyer who was shaken but alive.
As we left the warehouse, I stayed close to Dimitri. He put his arm around me. "You should not have come," he said.
"I had to," I replied. "I could not lose you."
"You will never lose me," he promised.
But even as he said it, I knew the truth. We were not safe yet. The person we had captured was just one piece of the puzzle. There were more out there.
We drove back to the safehouse.
Mikhail was waiting with Nikolai. The baby was crying. I took him from Mikhail. "It is okay," I whispered. "Daddy is home."
The prisoner was locked in the basement. Dimitri and Alexei questioned them. Hours passed. Finally, Dimitri emerged. He looked exhausted.
"They are not talking," he said. "No matter what we do, they will not tell us who else is involved."
"Then we find out another way," I said.
"How?" Dimitri asked.
"Viktor is checking their phone and computer," Dimitri said. "But I am not hopeful."
He sat down beside me and put his head in his hands. "I am so tired."
I put my hand on his back. "Then we find out who is behind this and we end it."
He looked at me. "How?"
"We use bait," I said. "Me."
"No," Dimitri said immediately.
"Yes," I replied. "Think about it. They want to hurt you. What better way than to take me?"
"Absolutely not," Dimitri said.
"Dimitri, listen," I pressed. "If I put myself out there, they will come for me. And when they do, we will be ready."
"It is too dangerous," Dimitri argued.
"Everything we do is dangerous," I countered. "But this could work."
Alexei came upstairs. "Viktor found something. A text message sent yesterday. It says 'Phase two begins tomorrow night.'"
"Phase two?" I asked. "What is phase one?"
"This," Dimitri s
aid. "This was all phase one."
"Then what is phase two?" I asked.
No one answered. Because we all knew.
Phase two was the endgame.
And we had less than twenty-four hours to stop them.