Brutal vows

Chapter 10: The Breached Wall

The kiss was a desperate reclamation of life in the shadow of death. Alekov’s hands were no longer gentle or professional; they were greedy, burying themselves deep into my damp hair, tilting my head back as he drank from me as if he were a dying man in a desert. I clung to his broad shoulders, my fingers digging into the thick muscles of his back, completely forgetting the cold, the mud, and the army hunting us in the dark. We were rewriting the rules of our universe on the surface of a safehouse table.

Suddenly, a sharp, high-pitched beep shattered the heavy atmosphere of the room.

Alekov broke the kiss instantly, his body going rigid as steel. The romantic haze evaporated from his eyes in a microsecond, replaced by the cold, calculating focus of a terminal soldier. He didn't move his body from mine, keeping himself positioned as a physical shield, but his head snapped toward the wall of green security monitors

On the third screen, the camera overlooking the front porch was flickering violently. A red warning banner flashed across the top of the display: PERIMETER FENCE BREACHED - ZONE 2.

"They found the outer wire," Alekov whispered, his voice deadpan, completely devoid of the passion that had filled it seconds ago. He slipped off the table with fluid, lethal grace, reaching down to grab his heavy tactical pistol from his holster.

Through the thick, lead-lined walls of the cabin, the distant, muffled sound of a chainsaw cutting through the metal perimeter posts echoed over the thunder. They weren't trying to sneak in anymore. They knew the signal jammer had isolated us, and they were moving in for a loud, coordinated breach.

"Elena, listen to me," Alekov said, turning to face me. He reached into his tactical vest, pulling out a small, compact silver pistol and pressing it into my hands. The metal was cold against my palms. "This is a standard nine-millimeter. The safety is already off. If anyone who is not me opens a door or breaks a window, you point this at the center of their chest and you pull the trigger until it stops making noise. Do you understand me?”

"Alekov, there are too many of them," I choked out, my heart hammering violently against my ribs as I gripped the heavy weapon. "The monitor showed at least six men on the north side alone."

"The numbers don't matter," he said, a dark, chilling smile touching his lips as he checked the chamber of his weapon. "They are fighting for a paycheck. I am fighting for you. That means they have already lost."

A sudden, violent explosion rocked the front of the cabin. The blast was loud enough to make the floorboards vibrate, throwing a cloud of dust and splintered wood from the foyer into the living room. The hit squad had used a kinetic breaching charge to blow the front door completely off its reinforced hinges.

"Get behind the stone hearth, now!" Alekov roared over the sudden influx of wind and rain pouring through the ruined entryway.

I scrambled across the floor, sliding behind the thick, ancient structure of the stone fireplace just as the first wave of shadows poured into the smoky cabin.

Automatic gunfire instantly tore through the dark room, a deafening, continuous roar that shredded the leather sofa and sent chunks of cedar flying through the air like deadly shrapnel. The bright, blinding flashes from the muzzles illuminated the room in a terrifying strobe-light effect.

Alekov didn't take cover. He stepped directly into the path of the gunfire, a whirlwind of calculated violence. Puff. Puff. His suppressed weapon barked twice in rapid succession. The lead shooter in the doorway dropped instantly, a neat crimson hole opening between his eyes as his body collapsed into the puddle on the porch. Alekov dropped to one knee, rolling behind a heavy wooden armchair as a hail of return fire chewed the fabric to pieces above his head."

Clear the corners!" a voice shouted from the smoke, the accent distinctly Bratva. "Find the girl! Kill the guard!”