Chapter 144: Sacrifice
Derek POV
“Retreat? Did I hear you correctly? Why would we leave Lily with those monsters any longer than we have to?” I exclaim.
“They have leverage, Derek. And they have at least two, if not three times the amount of men we have. If we attack now, we are all dead, including Lily. We need something they want in order to negotiate. We need leverage of our own,” Logan explains and although I see the wisdom in his words, I hate walking away from her with every fiber of my being.
“What do you have in mind?” I ask him.
“It’s not going to be easy. But I’m good at my job. I know these men’s weaknesses,” Logan replies.
“I don’t care what we have to do, let’s just do it and as quickly as possible,” I say.
“Nothing is more sacred to Antonio than his family. His father and brothers won’t work because he sees them all as threats so he won’t care if we kill them, but he does have one sister he dotes on. She would normally be extremely difficult to get to, but I happen to know she has a wild streak in her and likes to escape from her guards every afternoon to meet with a boy from a warring family. Kind of like a Romeo and Juliet thing,” he tells me.
“And Ivanov?” I ask.
“He’s a little more tricky. The only person he cares about more than himself is his aunt. She is his only living relative at this point, but she’s back home in Russia. Luckily, I do have contacts there, men who would do anything for the right price,” Logan says.
“But all of this is going to take time,” I reply.
“Yes. I will need at least 24 hours to make this all happen, and that’s being generous,” he says. I sigh, but I understand why he wants to take this route. It’s the only way we have a chance at saving Lily.
“Once again, we don’t really have a choice. But heaven help these men if anything happens to Lily,” I say. He nods and walks off to make his calls.
We leave some men to keep watch on the house for any new activity and go to a hotel to complete our plans. Logan is a miracle worker and we have Antonio’s sister Francesca by the evening. The time difference from here to Russia works out perfectly and we are waiting on the call that we have men in Ivanov’s aunt’s place. It will be about four in the morning there so we can take her by surprise as well as her guards.
“Once they find out we have their family members hostage, they may become enraged and take it out on Lily. I just wanted to put that out there,” Felix remarks. We all look at each other. This is something both Logan and I have considered but the reward outweighs the risk.
Logan sets up a camera feed to both of our hostages so we can prove their vulnerability to Ivanov and Antonio. Although I have a feeling by the time we send someone with our message, they will have already known the hand we’ve played.
“Things are going to move quickly now. I have called more men to fight with us. There is no way this isn’t going to end in war,” Logan tells me.
“I made some calls of my own. Lily’s reputation proceeds her and the local packs are willing to help rescue her. We will still be outnumbered, but less than before,” I tell him. We all nod at each other and make our way back to enemy territory.
When we get to the perimeter of the property, men are lined up surrounding the house. Our messenger waves a white flag and the crowd parts, revealing Antonio and Ivanov. Logan, Felix and I step forward with men around us as well.
“Now we are at a stalemate, no?” Antonio shouts angrily. Both him and Ivanov can barely contain their rage at being beaten at their own game.
“What did you expect, Antonio?” Logan asks him sardonically, then adds, “Our messenger will show you a video feed of both your sister and Ivanov’s aunt, so you have proof of life.”
Both men look at the screen and curse under their breaths. I feel a sense of satisfaction at making them feel a fraction of how they made me feel.
“Even trade? Two hostages for two?” Ivanov says.
“Two?” Felix asks.
“I have the girl,” Ivanov tells him with an evil smile. The blood drains from Felix’s face and I have to hold him back from charging at Ivanov.
“I will call off my men as soon as you bring Lily and the girl out. The moment they are here and safe...and unharmed, I will tell them to release your family members,” Logan tells them with authority. We are all ready for the battle to begin. As soon as all of the women are no longer leverage, I know in my gut these thugs will attack.
Ivanov raises his hand to signal his men to bring out Lily and the girl. They go into the house but quickly return with concerned looks on their faces. The tension in the air is thick and my whole body is on alert. Then a beautiful wolf comes barreling out of the door with a little girl on her back. The look on Antonio and Ivanov’s faces is worth the price of admission.
Chaos erupts as the fighting begins. Everyone is shouting and starts towards each other but I wait to make sure Lily is safe behind us. Suddenly Ivanov grabs the girl off her back and holds a knife to her throat. Antonio yells and the men stop. Logan also tells his men to stand down as we all hold our breath in anticipation.
“Release my aunt or I will slit this little girl’s throat!” Ivanov shouts. Logan holds up his hands in surrender and gets on his phone. Lily is forgotten and she carefully makes her way to me around the crowd. I pet her soft fur and sigh in relief, even if it’s not over yet. She nudges my hand as if to tell me something. I look deep into her eyes but I can’t understand her message.
“Ok, she’s released! Now let the girl go,” Logan tells him. The messenger shows Ivanov the camera feed to prove Logan’s word and Ivanov lets the girl go. But Antonio was always the wild card in this and he shows his true colors as he raises his gun at her.
Time seems to suspend itself for what happens next. Felix bolts towards the girl as Antonio fires his gun. He jumps in front of her in the nick of time, saving her from the bullet and taking it for himself. I hear Lily howl as Logan suddenly shifts beside me to go after Antonio. I take my cue and shift as well.
The battle has begun.