Page 21 of Happily Ever After

Raphael’s arm rose, bringing his gun to bear on his father.

“Stop now!” Valerian roared. His face twisted in a rictus of anger, a sneer and a scream combined. His knuckles whitenedas he engaged the trigger of the gun he held.

Raphael felt like a grip seized his hand and pressed his finger on the trigger. It felt like a reflex or an instinct, or maybe the demon that had lived in his heart all along.

Raphael was a much better marksman than his father.

His bullet found Valerian’s heart, while Valerian’s bullet sang over Raphael’s shoulder.

With another few pumps of hislegs, Raphael was through the doors and into the darkness. Men’s footsteps stomped behind him as they ran for a truck parked to the right of the doors.

Raphael swung up into the back. Others did, too.

When he pulled the trigger on his gun, it clicked instead of firing. He yelled over the scream in his ears, “I’m out!”

Someone pressed a magazine loaded with bullets into his hand, and he swappedthe loaded magazine for the empty one in the Beretta. The light rectangle clattered on the metal floor of the truck. He racked a round into the chamber and leveled the gun’s sights at the men streaming out of the warehouse, chasing them.

More shooting erupted around him, aimed back at the warehouse.

Their pursuers dove to the ground but continued to shoot at the truck from their prone positions.

The truck lurched, jumping for the road. Gravel flew from its tires and joined the bullets flying through the night. Raphael grabbed the cold tailgate and held on while he shot back with one hand.

Thebratvamen flattened themselves on the ground.

Raphael watched, but no more shots rang out. He eased himself farther back into the bed of the pickup truck. Three other men sat in the truckbed andhung onto the sides as they sped through the freezing night.

He shouted,“Elands,I’m glad to see you guys.”

Magnus Jensen thumbed the safety on his gun and leaned back against the side of the truck. He tugged an earplug from one of his ears. “Likewise. You bleeding?”

Raphael half-heard him over the ringing in his ears and half-read his lips. He shouted back, “I don’t think so. Do we have everybody?Any casualties?”

Magnus touched his other ear and glanced around the truck. Snowflakes whipped by their heads as they drove. “Seems like everyone’s reported in as safe.”

Two other Rogue Security operators, Aaron Savoie andEirik Vang, also pinched hearing protection out of their ears and grinned at him.

Raphael was kind of surprised that Magnus had brought Aaron to the gunfight. There was alwaysa chance Aaron wouldn’t retreat when the objective was met, not when there were people left standing who could take a bullet. Aaron had probably been shooting the fifty-caliber sniper rifle Raphael had heard booming over his head, farther back from the chaos and fray of the firefight.

Raphael poked at his ears, trying to somehow restore his blasted hearing, and asked Magnus, “Where did you takethe girls?”

“Police station,” Magnus said. A streetlight flashed over his pale skin and ice-blue eyes.

Raphael shook his head. “The Geneva captain is dirty.”

“That’s why we took them to Zurich. I know the captain there, and she’s clean.”

He sighed. “Good. Did you hand off that thumb drive I passed to you at the Port of Rotterdam?”

“Yes, also to Zurich. They’re beginning an investigation.I’ll need an explanation for this,Raphael.”

His bitter emphasis shamed Raphael. “You deserve one, but it’ll have to be over drinks, later. My principal was taken. Time to get her back.”

Magnus stroked his gun. “Was that really a Russian syndicate?”

“The Ilyin Bratva. With any luck, they’ll be too weak to keep their power, and they’ll kill each other trying to take control or other bratvaswill wipe them out while they’re weak.”

Magnus nodded, and Raphael thought the man even smiled a little. He had kept his word. Rogue Security had, indeed, been fighting bad guys.