Chapter 61 Who's winning please
Kai raised his weapon but Viktor's men were faster, guns trained on him before he could fire.
"Don't," Viktor said calmly. "I'm not here to kill anyone if I don't have to."
"You just attacked my home with twenty armed men," Kai said.
"I came to negotiate," Viktor said. "The attacks were insurance in case you refused."
"Negotiate what?" Elara demanded, holding Adrian tighter.
"Access to your grandfather's trust," Viktor said. "Specifically the offshore accounts and property deeds."
"Those aren't for sale," Elara said.
"Everything is for sale at the right price," Viktor said. "I'm offering two hundred million dollars for complete transfer of trust assets."
"No," Elara said immediately.
"You haven't heard my alternative offer," Viktor said. "If you refuse, I take the boy and hold him until you cooperate."
"Touch him and you die," Kai said.
"Possibly," Viktor agreed. "But the boy dies first, so we all lose."
"Why do you want those assets so badly?" Elara asked, stalling for time while hoping federal authorities arrived soon.
"The coastal property contains deposits worth five billion dollars," Viktor explained. "Your grandfather bought it seventy years ago before anyone knew what was underneath."
"So this is about money," Elara said.
"This is always about money," Viktor said. "I'm a businessman, sentiment doesn't interest me."
"Murdering people interests you," Kai said.
"Eliminating obstacles interests me," Viktor corrected. "There's a difference."
Adrian whimpered and Elara felt rage building because this man was threatening her child over money.
"What if I sign over the coastal property but keep everything else?" she offered.
"Not acceptable," Viktor said. "I want all trust assets or nothing."
"Then you get nothing," Elara said.
"Then the boy comes with me," Viktor said and gestured to his men.
They moved toward Elara but Kai fired, hitting one man in the shoulder.
Return fire filled the panic room and Elara threw herself over Adrian, shielding him with her body.
Pain exploded in her side and she realized she'd been hit.
"Cease fire!" Viktor shouted. "I said no killing unless necessary."
"You shot her," Kai said, his voice dangerous.
"My man shot her," Viktor corrected. "Unfortunate mistake."
"FBI is here," someone shouted from above. "Multiple vehicles, tactical teams deploying."
Viktor cursed in Russian. "We're leaving, bring the woman and boy."
"Over my dead body," Kai said.
"That can be arranged," Viktor said and his remaining guard aimed at Kai.
But federal agents poured into the panic room before anyone could fire, weapons drawn and shouting commands.
"Drop your weapons! Federal agents! Drop them now!"
Viktor's men hesitated then complied, placing guns on the floor carefully.
"Viktor Konstantin, you're under arrest for attempted murder, kidnapping, and multiple federal violations," the lead agent said.
"I want my lawyer," Viktor said calmly.
"You'll get one," the agent said. "After we process you for the attack on this estate that left four people dead."
"Four?" Kai repeated.
"Four of his men," the agent clarified. "Your security team held them off until we arrived."
Medics rushed in and immediately worked on Elara's gunshot wound.
"Bullet went through," one medic said. "Missed vital organs but she's lost blood."
"Adrian," Elara gasped. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Kai assured her, holding their son who was crying but uninjured. "You protected him."
"Of course I did," Elara said and passed out.
She woke in a hospital room with Kai sitting beside her bed and Adrian asleep in a chair.
"How long was I out?" she asked.
"Six hours," Kai said. "Surgery went well, bullet didn't hit anything critical."
"Viktor?" Elara asked.
"In federal custody facing life in prison," Kai said. "His entire organization is being investigated."
"Is it finally over?" Elara asked.
"This threat is," Kai said. "Others will probably emerge eventually."
"Optimistic," Elara said weakly.
"Realistic," Kai corrected and took her hand. "When I saw you get shot, when I thought you might die, I realized something."
"What?" Elara asked.
"That I love you," Kai said. "Not just as Adrian's mother or as my mate, but as the person you are now, the person you've become through everything you've survived."
"Kai—" Elara started.
"You don't have to say anything back," Kai interrupted. "I just needed you to know."
"I need time," Elara said. "To figure out what I feel."
"Take all the time you need," Kai said. "I'll be here."
Recovery took two weeks, during which Sophia and her daughters helped care for Adrian and manage estate operations.
Reese appeared on day three with her arm in a sling. "Heard you got shot."
"Heard you did too," Elara said.
"Barely grazed," Reese said. "But it pissed me off that they got past our defenses."
"They had inside information," Elara said. "Someone gave them the panic room code."
"Already identified," Reese said. "One of the newer guards was on Viktor's payroll, he's in custody now."
"How many more are there?" Elara asked. "How many people inside my own security are working against me?"
"We'll find out," Reese said. "I'm implementing new screening protocols."
When Elara finally returned home, the estate had been repaired but bullet holes in walls reminded everyone what had happened.
"We need to talk about security long-term," Kai said during a family meeting with Maya, Liam, Sophia, and Reese present.
"What kind of security?" Elara asked.
"The kind that prevents this from happening again," Kai said. "Permanent protective detail, enhanced surveillance, maybe even relocating to a more defensible property."
"I'm not leaving," Elara said. "This is Adrian's home."
"This is a target," Kai corrected. "Everyone knows where you live."
"Then we make it harder to attack," Elara said. "Better defenses, more training, whatever it takes."
"Or you could sell the trust assets," Sophia suggested quietly. "Remove the target entirely."
"No," Elara said immediately. "That's Adrian's inheritance from his great-grandfather."
"It's also what nearly got you killed," Sophia said.
"Everything about me nearly gets me killed," Elara said. "The territories, the trust, being Adrian's mother, I can't sell off pieces of my life every time someone threatens me."
"Then you need to be prepared for more threats," Reese said. "Because word is spreading about your assets, you're going to attract attention from people like Viktor."
"Let them come," Elara said. "I'll deal with them."
"That's brave but stupid," Maya said. "You can't fight everyone."
"Then I'll learn," Elara said.
The next month passed in intensive security training with Reese teaching Elara advanced defense tactics, weapon handling, and threat assessment.
"You're getting better," Reese said after a particularly brutal sparring session. "Still too emotional but better."
"How do I stop being emotional when people keep trying to kill my son?" Elara asked.
"You channel it," Reese said. "Use the emotion as fuel but don't let it control your decisions."
"That sounds impossible," Elara said.
"It's necessary," Reese said. "Or you'll make mistakes that get you killed."
By week six, Elara could handle weapons competently and had memorized escape routes from every room in the estate.
"I feel like I'm preparing for war," she told Kai.
"You are preparing for war," Kai said. "Whether you want one or not."
"I want peace," Elara said. "For Adrian, for us, for everyone."
"Then we need to make ourselves too strong to attack," Kai said.
They spent the next two months building alliances with neighboring packs, establishing mutual defense agreements, and creating networks that would respond if Silvercrest was threatened.
"You're building an army," Elder Michael observed during a council meeting.
"I'm building protection," Elara corrected. "There's a difference."
"Is there?" Michael asked. "Or are you preparing to expand your influence?"
"I'm preparing to survive," Elara said. "Which you'd understand if you'd ever been hunted."
"Careful omega," Michael said. "Pride comes before a fall."
"Good thing I don't have much pride left," Elara said. "Just determination."
As autumn arrived, life finally stabilized enough that Elara could consider the future beyond immediate threats.
"Adrian starts kindergarten next week," she told Kai over dinner.
"Already?" Kai said. "He's growing up fast."
"Too fast," Elara agreed.
"What about us?" Kai asked. "Have you thought about what I said in the hospital?"
"I've thought about it," Elara admitted. "And I think—I think maybe I could love you too, eventually."
"Eventually," Kai repeated with a slight smile.
"Don't push," Elara warned. "I'm trying."
"I know," Kai said. "And that's enough.”