I’m four steps away from the one guard, seven from the second.

“How’s business?” Alexei asks.

Three.

“Good, but I lost a shipment,” Kaminski answers, his eyes narrowing. “You wouldn’t know anything about it?”

Yuri Ivanov was responsible for the shipment of weapons being ‘lost.’ That’s when he asked Alexei to take out Kaminski. Yuri wants to expand because he’ll take over from his father soon as the head of the Bratva, and I suppose he wants to show his worth.

Two.

Alexei lets out a chuckle, shaking his head.

One.

I move at the same time as Alexei. My elbow meets the first guard’s nose, slamming the bone into his brain while I turn, and using his body as a shield, I take out the other guard with the first one’s semi-automatic. I drop the dead guard, and pulling both my guns from behind my back, I turn toward the doorway as the first man comes running in.

Opening fire, I take them out one after the other while staying near Alexei, who has a gun to Kaminski’s head. It only takes seconds for me to dispose of the nearest guards.

“For you, I thought I’d make an up-close and personal appearance,” Alexei chuckles darkly. “For the Bratva.” He pulls the trigger before Kaminski can bite out a threat or plead for his life. After the body slips from his hold, Alexei buries two more bullets in Kaminski. I spare the head of the Polish Mafia one glance, watching as his eyes turn glassy as his soul leaves his body.

“Stay behind me,” I instruct Alexei. Not that I have to. After all the years of working together, we’re completely in sync with each other.

We begin to move, stalking out of the room and down the hallway. A guard comes running around the corner, and as his lips part to let out a shout, I pull the trigger of my Heckler & Koch. The bullet hits him between the eyes, making him drop on the spot.

When I started as Alexei’s protector, I used to keep count of how many people I killed, but I stopped when I reached two hundred. Now everything in me is quiet as chaos erupts around us. There’s no thundering heartbeat. No quickening breaths. No sweat beading on my forehead.

I hear commotion explode around the compound, boots on the ground, orders being shouted, weapons being readied. When we turn the corner leading to the front door, instinct takes over, and I start firing one bullet after the other.

Heads snap back, feet stumble, and knees hit the floor – death bleeds on the tiles, splattering against the white walls – revealing the true horror this compound holds.

When we step out into the sunlight, Alexei moves next to me, and while he takes over shooting, I quickly reload my Heckler & Koch.

Alexei begins to move, and with my steps matching his, I keep taking out the threats as we head toward our jeep.