Page 108 of Ghost

A hundred yards later, Rami pulled to the side of the road.Ghost flung open the door and stepped into the bitter cold.He opened the rear passenger door as Zain slid out the other side.

He seized his AR-15 and accepted the earbud Zain tossed him.Suited up and ready, all three of them moved expertly.

“Test,” Rami said.

“Copy,” Ghost and Zain said in unison.

They shut the doors and moved across the edge of the property.Ghost’s senses were on high alert as he searched the grass for any signs of Mila.He thought of how she’d escaped his workshop—not once, but twice.

She could’ve gotten away.The odds were in her favor.

“Look for evidence of her escape,” he told the guys.

Zain gave a brisk nod and Rami’s gaze dropped to the ground.They moved quietly across the land.Dawn lifted the edges of darkness around the sky.

The sight of the vehicles in the driveway sent Ghost’s pulse racing.The flashy sedan with tinted windows seemed out of place.

He held his finger on the trigger as they grew close to the barn.The door hung slightly open.Light shone from inside.On a gravel pad outside the barn sat a bulldozer.Ghost took cover behind it.

“We’ll split up,” Rami said, as he and Zain flanked him.“Ghost, I’ll take the front entrance after you confirm position.Chances are they’re keeping her in the back.”

He grunted in acknowledgment.

“I’ve got your six,” Zain said to Ghost.

Ghost scanned the property.The sound of a door slamming split the air.He flinched.“The fuck was that?”

Rami peered around the bulldozer.“Looks like that might be Irinia,” he whispered.

Ghost followed his friend’s line of vision.A woman wearing a long black peacoat and a green scarf left the side door of the house.

His finger twitched on the trigger.He lifted the end of his rifle, fixing Irinia in his scope.One pull and—

Rami’s hand landed on the barrel of his gun, lowering it.“Don’t, man.If you shoot her now, there’s no telling what they’ll do to Mila.”

Ghost rocked his jaw but heeded Rami’s warning.

“I agree with the boss.”Zain’s gruff voice held a pound of regret.“At least for now.”

“If Irinia’s heading to the barn, there’s a good chance Mila’s still alive.Keep that in the forefront of your mind,” Rami said, tapping his temple with his index finger.

Ghost didn’t respond.Instead, he watched Irinia as she crossed the driveway and continued toward the barn.He’d never wanted to shoot someone so badly in his life.“Let’s move.”

***

One of Boris’shenchman dropped Mila on the ground in front of the lights and speakers.The sharp landing jolted her ankle and sent lightning bolts of pain through her calf and foot.At least the music was off.That small reprieve gave her more stability.

In her peripheral vision, she saw Wes’s dead form.Paul stood several feet back, the blood wiped from his face but his shirt still covered in the evidence of his defeat.

Fresh self-disgust washed over her.

She’d escaped.Overpowered them.If she hadn’t fallen, they wouldn’t have caught her.Her sinuses welled with despair as a man stalked across the room.She didn’t need to see his face to know it was him.Just being in the same room as him made every warning receptor in her brain blare.

Boris was as evil as he was sick.She’d witnessed his cruelty but had never been on the receiving end.

That’s why he was here.

Because Boris could stomach what most people, Irinia included, couldn’t.