The soldier returned and set to work securing weights to the bottom of my chair, making it too heavy for me to tilt it over.
“You won’t get away with this,” I shouted at him. “Gage is going to stop you, and if he doesn’t kill you, I will.”
“I’d like to see you try,” he said, laughing heartily. “In fact, I’ll even give you the chance to do it if you survive. Hell, I’ll give you back your knife just so you can say you had the chance.” He laughed even harder.
I scowled. He was so confident and so arrogant. He was so sure of himself. There was really nothing else I could say to him at this point. The only thing left for me to do was to wait for Gage to see me and come rescue me. I never should have doubted him, and if he could get me out of here, I would never doubt him again.
“There, we’re done,” the soldier said, standing up. “All secure.”
“Thank you, officer,” Dimitri said. “Now, return to your duties.”
“Yes, sir.” He went to salute Dimitri, but his body stopped suddenly, and he collapsed beside me, his head bleeding on the deck of the yacht.
It was the first time I’d seen anyone get shot in real life. I couldn’t even scream. I just stared at the lifeless body lying next to me, completely dumbfounded.
Chapter 32
Gage
“I’ve got eyes on Julia and Dimitri,” I announced through my headset.
“I’ve got Boris,” Chase replied. “Juarez, I need backup. This guy’s huge! What are they feeding these Russians?”
“It’s like they’re breeding them with bears over there,” Ricky agreed. “No sign of Ivan or Aleskei yet. Anyone else?”
The line was silent for a minute.
“Okay, has anyone seen Jorell?” I asked.
“Oh no, are we losing more men?” Juarez chimed in.
“I don’t know, but I think we’re the only ones on the boat now,” Ricky answered.
“Alright, guys, keep your eyes out for the others. You knuckleheads get Boris and incapacitate him somehow. I’m going after Dimitri and Julia.”
I started towards where Dimitri stood with Julia tied to a small wooden chair. At least she was still alive, I thought. At least things hadn’t gone too far south just yet. There was still a possibility that this wouldn’t turn out the way things had with Lisa. I just had to get a good shot.
I raised my gun and aimed at Dimitri.
“Gage, what are you doing?” a voice asked across the headsets. In all actuality, it was probably Ricky, but it sounded just like Angelo. He even asked it the way Angelo would have.
I didn’t say anything in response. I would just have to blame Dimitri’s death on a stray bullet from one of Ivan’s other men.
A soldier stood up right in the way. Apparently, he’d been securing the chair with weights. He was directly in my line of sight and getting ready to salute Dimitri.
I got him right in the head, and he crumbled to the ground right where he had just been standing. The look of shock on Julia’s face was almost amusing in how over-emphasized and cartoonish it was on her face.
Dimitri just looked right at me, as if to dare me to do it again, but someone else caught my eye, running out onto the deck.
“Guys, I’ve got a visual on Ivan,” I announced over the headset.
There he was. He wasn’t anything like the men who worked for him, which probably explained why they all looked like they were cloned between bodybuilders and actual bears. Ivan was slight by comparison, but his features were still stony and hard. He looked like bullets would have bounced off of him, but I wasn’t going to shoot him. I wanted to knock his punk ass out.
I charged after him. I was twice as wide as he was, and maybe a few inches taller. His silver hair was slicked straight back, with his dark roots peeking out here and there, giving his hair a very severe look. It was a dye-job. His hair was as black as the night itself. So were his eyes. His soul probably was, too.
I knew to be cautious when approaching him, though. The only way I’d be able to take him in hand-to-hand combat would be to get behind him and sucker punch him one good time. I’d seen him drop a man with one punch to his chest. It killed the guy right on the spot. Apparently, his fists were made of stone.
I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, shoving a fist underneath his chin. His feet left the deck for a brief moment before his unconscious body hit the ground. I knocked his ass right out.
“I got him, guys. I’ve got Ivan. Someone tell me we have Boris and Aleskei.”