𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑥 ✔︎ || 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑

47

~ phoenix ~

As soon as Chevneshesky appeared in the front hall, I made my subtle leave.

For most of the night, I'd dutifully stayed by Ilya's side, smiling demurely when he introduced me to new 'business partners'. Then, when he began to approach a large huddle of men, I told him I'd rather stay with the girls. Lav and Rina had melted into the crowd, laughing and gossiping with the other women. There was one woman I remembered particularly well, Aliena Novika. She took my hand, made a remark about my overprotective husband and just like that, it seemed as though she'd never threatened to kill me and we'd never... kissed.

Throughout the painstakingly long hours, at the back of my mind, there was still the nagging truth that I had to save a life tonight.

I paused at the entrance of the basement to kick off the stilettos I'd suffered in all night long. The cool marble of the steps soothed my aching feet. Like I expected, the guard was at his usual post. Tonight, he had a friend. I schooled my features as I strode past them. They both continued to stare passively ahead.

Releasing a breath of relief, I found the lair was empty; everyone was at the ball.

I reached the back of the room, taking a seat at the biggest monitor. I remembered the access code and when I got into the systems, I located the alarms system. With a few clicks, they were disabled.

Beneath the red silk, my heart was pounding.

My hands were trembling over the mouse as I guided it to the all important folder. Just as I'd expected, it required another password — one I didn't know. I frowned, glaring at the screen. For God's sake!

I opened the drawer at the desk and found the screwdriver I spied in there last night. I stood, purposely standing at an angle so my back was towards the entrance, where the guards were. Then, with a grimace, I lodged the end of the tool into the hard drive slot and yanked.

Fuck! Nothing happened.

With an angry breath, I tried again, using every ounce of strength in my arms. A long minute of stabbing later, I sighed. The chip clattered to the the table. I picked it up, pressing it into the palms of my hands and swallowed.

Now, to leave—

"Мисс?" came a low, surprised voice behind me. [Miss?]

I froze, momentarily before I turned slowly. One of the guards — the new one — was watching me, sceptically. I shuffled a little to the right, concealing the mess I made.

"Da?" I asked, coolly.

"Должен ли я позвать Пахан?" he said, carefully. I didn't miss the how slightly his eyes narrowed as they regarded me. [Should I call for the Pakhan?]

I slowly approached the guard, with a feigned frown. "Could you repeat that in English?"

He opened his mouth once more but I was close enough to strike. The end of the screwdriver slammed into his temple and a moment later, he was crumpling forward. Grimacing under the guard's weight, I lay him carefully on the ground. Thankfully, there was no bleeding, just an angry red blotch.

Ilya had mentioned once that the temple was the best place to strike to knock someone out, without causing too much damage. I just had hoped I wouldn't have to use that knowledge.

To my relief, the other guard hadn't come running. I assumed he had no clue of what I'd just done. But that wouldn't be for very long. I crept up behind the bulky man and tapped his shoulder lightly.