𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑥 ✔︎ || 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑

50

~ ilya ~

Ten minutes later, there were only a dozen bodies littering the floor of Novgorod.

The buzz of bloodthirst and alarm in the grand hall was still static between the standing men, who were clutching their pistols tightly, as they anticipated another wave.

But it never came. It didn't make sense.

Frowning, I crouched over one of the dead assailants and lifted up the black ski mask to reveal tan skin.

"Fucking Italians," Aliena snarled beside me, as she surveyed the blood bath.

I was certainly shocked. It was impossible for them to access Russia, let alone the safehouse... without help. And with only fifteen men? Was it a test of our defences?

Aleksey returned into the hall, his rifle slung against his chest. Behind him, a dozen of our men.

"Больше нет," he informed me, rigidly. [There's no more]

The news didn't relieve the tension in the room. Mutters began to spread like the buzz of hornets.

With a frustrated exhale, I returned my focus to my second in command. His expression told me exactly what he could not say in front of all these eyes and ears — there was something else.

I suspected I already knew it.

"Stay here," I instructed the others in Russian. "Your wives are safe in the north wing. But until I can confirm that every fucking Italian has a bullet between his eyes, you need to be ready with your guns."

I hoped with every fibre of my being that my wife was too obediently seeking refuge with the duchess in her especially secure quarters. She had to be— she was carrying our son.

Before I turned away from the grumbling of my father's old allies, I let my gaze sweep over the room for anymore suspicious faces. Inconspicuously, I gestured to Aleksey to follow me upstairs.

We climbed every flight of stairs until we reached the roof of the safehouse. Already, my men had been stationed up here, their rifles strapped across their chests, one at each corner of the balcony. Large torches beamed down onto the dark grounds, revealing every creature that slunk in the shadows.

I wondered how they had not seen the fucking attackers.

With a grimace, I surveyed the bloodstained marble where four bodies lay, their throats slit.

The rage grew wilder, more feral with every clue that suggested one of my own was involved in the attack. I stormed across the roof to the alarm trigger, that these men should have fucking set off as soon as they sensed danger. My fist flew onto the red button and no sound was made.

My eyes shot to Aleksey.

"The alarm had just sounded, no?" I demanded, thrusting the level down repeatedly.

He shook his head, as if an understanding had dawned on him. "One of the ground men had to activate the siren manually. The alarm system had already been disabled from the control room."

He paused. I didn't know if it was to let my own thoughts settle or his.

"It has to be Sokolov," Aleksey started once more, glaring at the fallen man. "He has a motive. But he could not have had access to the basement—"

A roar of displeasure rumbled out of my throat. Who. Was. The. Fucking. Snake?

Swallowing another guttural snarl, I seethed, "Where are Vik and Rhev? Aren't they following that son of a bitch?"

Aleksey, whose thunderous expression mirrored mine, grabbed his transmitter from his waist and barked an order into it. After a moment of static, the voice on the other end answered my question.

"One of our old garages," he repeated. "In the city."

Our locations, whether we still used them or not, had always been confidential. So who the fuck—

Unable to make sense of anything bar the red hurricane in my head, I slammed my hands onto the balcony rail.

"Activate a lockdown," I seethed. "No one gets in and no one gets out."

There was another crackle from the transmitter and this time, the broken sound was undistinguishable.

"Да," my second in command eventually agreed. "I will send more men to the garage. Apparently, Sokolov has some guests."

In a split second, I decided, "I'm going with them. Tell Vik and Rhev to keep a low profile until we can pin them down."

Aleksey nodded, "I'll make sure no one leaves here."

With a rigid nod in return, I spun back to the stairs. Before my departure, I needed to make sure everyone alive was still in one piece and that included my—

"Феникс!"

Eyes wide, my head snapped backwards. Her name echoed. Ignoring Aleksey's startled expression, I snatched the transmitter. Vik's urgent voice was loud and clear ringing in the air around me and yet I pressed the device to my ear.

Just to make sure my ears weren't deceiving me. Just to make sure I was hearing right over the deafening thudding of my heart. Just to make sure—

"Феникс здесь. Она без сознания." [Phoenix is here. She's unconscious.]

NOTE:
Surprise!!!!
Kind of a short Ilya chapter, but you'll be reading a lot more from his POV cuz our silly Phoenix is stuck in dreamland for now. Smh.
xo, Rosavi