Page 97 of Hunt Me

“Twelve.” Nikolai merges onto Route 128. “Armed. Trained. Loyal.”

“Not enough,” Erik replies.

“I’ll call in more.”

Maya’s sobs have quieted to hiccups, but she stares at nothing, her face blank with shock. I catch her eye briefly, trying to communicate without words that she’s safe, that we’ve got this. She doesn’t look convinced.

Iris shifts against me, wincing. “The laptop.”

“Erik has it.”

“Erik, make sure that the decryption key to our systems didn’t get sent. He was hovering over me while I was working, making sure I wasn’t delaying,” Her voice cracks. “I’m worried something might have slipped through before you got there.”

My jaw clenches. “How much?”

“I honestly don’t know.” She meets my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.” I cup her face tenderly. “You are alive. That’s what matters.”

“I compromised your entire operation.”

“Then we rebuild.” I brush my thumb across her cheekbone. “We’ve done it before.”

Nikolai’s phone rings. He puts it on speaker, and Sofia’s voice fills the car. “We saw the news about a federal raid on a warehouse with multiple casualties. Are you all okay?”

“We’re coming to you.” Nikolai’s knuckles stay white. “ETA thirty minutes.”

“We’ll be ready.” There’s not a hint of panic in her tone. “Tash is securing the safe room, and Katarina’s coordinating with the guards.”

“Sofia—”

“We knew what we signed up for.” A pause. “All of us.”

The line goes dead.

Iris closes her eyes. “I destroyed everything.”

“No.” I tighten my hold. “You survived. That’s all that matters.”

“They’ll come for us.”

“Let them.” I press my lips to her temple. “They’ll find out what happens when they come up against the Ivanov brothers.”

The compound gates swing open—steel reinforced, twelve feet high, with guards flanking the entrance, weapons visible and ready. Nikolai pulls into the circular drive and cuts the engine.

Sofia’s already on the steps, looking completely unperturbed by the chaos. Tash stands beside her with her arms crossed over her chest. Katarina stands in the doorway, watching everything with the calculating eyes of someone bred to this world.

I help Iris out of the SUV, keeping my arm around her waist to support her weight.

“Easy,” I murmur. “I’ve got you.”

Maya stumbles out behind us, and I make a mental note to check on her properly once we’re inside. She’s had as much of a shock as Iris, just without the bullet wound.

Sofia descends the steps, taking in Iris’s bloodied shoulder without flinching. “You’d best take her to the medical room on the third floor.”

We move inside. The compound sprawls across twenty thousand square feet of reinforced concrete and bulletproof glass. Built for siege. Built for exactly this kind of emergency.

Erik peels off toward the security center without a word. Dmitri and Tash guide Maya toward the east wing, probably to get her checked out.