Lying and Kissing(91)

“Here?!” Luka’s voice was disbelieving. “They’d attack us here?! This place is built like a fortress. The police will come.”

“Not if they’ve been ordered to stay out of it by the government,” said Vasiliy. He looked at me. “I bet they received a special request from a Mr. Kinlen at the CIA.”

I died inside. This was all my fault. By telling Adam all about Luka’s gun deal, I’d motivated him to destroy the family once and for all.

Yuri ran to join us, gun drawn. We backed up the stairs...but before we were halfway up, there was a massive crash as the front door was kicked down. Gunfire filled the air, horrifyingly loud. Ralavich’s men swarmed into the house, guns pointed right at us.

And behind them, swaggering into view, was Olaf, a flashy, chrome-covered handgun dangling from his meaty paw.

“Nice house,” he yelled in the silence that followed. “I’ll take it.”#p#分页标题#e#





There were far too many of them. Luka signaled to Yuri to drop his gun. He did so reluctantly.

Olaf walked slowly up the stairs, the wood creaking under his weight. “I see you didn’t kill her, Luka,” he said in Russian, “even though she betrayed you. All friends again?”

Luka stared at him, his eyes full of fury. I could see that he was seconds away from launching himself at the man...and that would mean death for all of us. Olaf had a gun and three of his men were walking up the stairs with him, their own guns drawn. I wrapped my arm around Luka’s waist, partially to hold him back and partially for comfort.

“Have you welcomed Arianna into your family?” Olaf asked Vasiliy, reached down and cupping my chin. My skin crawled. “Quite pretty, even if she is an American. I bet you were tempted to fuck her, too.”

Vasiliy gave a snarl and charged forward.

Olaf raised his gun quite nonchalantly and fired. Vasiliy staggered back and fell, a red stain spreading across his shirt.

I screamed and Luka yelled in rage. Olaf ignored both of us. “Take them through there,” he said, motioning with his gun towards the nearest bedroom. One of the armed thugs dragged a groaning Vasiliy while the other two herded us towards the bedroom door.

It was the same bedroom Luka and I had used earlier. They dumped Vasiliy against the foot of the bed. His face was already deathly pale, the blood spreading steadily across his snow-white shirt. Luka’s fists were bunching and unbunching—he was going to go for Olaf and, when he did, I knew he’d be killed. I was beginning to see that this was Olaf’s way, to taunt his victims into a rage and then finish them.

Olaf’s eyes lit up as he noticed the rumpled bed...and then something else. “Oh! I see what sort of games you’ve been playing, Luka!”

I looked behind us and my chest went cold. We’d left the handcuffs on the bed.

Olaf stepped close to me and stroked my cheek. “You must have enjoyed being tied up in the warehouse. Were you sorry when you were rescued?”

I glared at him. I wanted to scream at him, tell him how he couldn’t be more wrong. How Luka was the polar opposite of him and his men.

“Don’t worry,” said Olaf. “When we’re done with these two, I know just where I’m going to take you. You’ve been there before, when your boyfriend beat up my son. You’ll be a very popular attraction.”

I spat right in his face. He stepped back, staring at me in disbelief. Then there was a flash of chrome and my head snapped back. It felt as if I’d been hit by a truck. I staggered sideways into one of the gunmen, tasting blood. I groggily realized I’d just been smacked across the face with a gun. But it had been worth it, just to break the arrogant bastard’s cool.

And it had an unexpected bonus. With everyone looking at me, Luka had a second to launch himself at Olaf, knocking him to the floor. Yuri knocked the heads of two of the thugs together and they crumpled to the floor. That only left the one I’d stumbled into, and he was still off balance. Vasiliy kicked out his legs and sent him crashing down.

We were free—but in a few seconds, they’d all get to their feet and we’d be dead. And we were still trapped—God knows how many armed men were downstairs.

“My room,” snapped Vasiliy as Yuri hauled him to his feet. “Quick!”

Luka punched Olaf once in the face. He looked as if he’d gladly carry on all through the night, but he obeyed his dad and grabbed my hand, picking up one of the gunmen’s handguns at the same time. The four of us staggered out of the room and across the landing, then through another bedroom door. As soon as we were inside, Vasiliy threw himself against the door, slamming it shut and sliding thick bolts across. A half-second later, the first of the gunmen slammed his fist against the other side.#p#分页标题#e#