Page 169 of Stolen Empire

Slavely Koval, one of the highest ranking members of the Radich crew has to be stopped.

Not only is he responsible for putting the hit on Dimitri, but he keeps pressing and pushing.

He wants the Morozov family and the Vetrov's divided, and he thinks I'm the only thing tying them together.

The Morozov convoy arrived thirty minutes ago.

I watched from a distance as Artemy positioned his men along the tree line to the north.

Fifty soldiers at least, all of them armed and ready.

And we were given one rule from Artemy: the Morozovs command their own.

Then the Vetrovs arrived from the opposite tree line and Dimitri's family took positions in the forest.

Now, the two sides maintain tight lines, their weapons ready but not yet raised.

We've laid the perfect trap for our enemies and it's up to me to bait them out.

Every one of them knows if I die, the war erupts between all families.

Vetrovs will blame the Radiches and Morozovs for allowing it, and my cousin will rain fire down on Dimitri and anyone loyal to him.

But none of that squelches the nerves twisting in my chest.

Dimitri pulls the SUV to a stop two hundred meters from the center of the spur.

He kills the engine, and we sit in silence for a moment.

The afternoon is quiet, almost supernaturally so.

No birds sing.

There’s no wind moving through the trees.

It's as though the world itself is holding its breath.

"Remember what we discussed," he says.

"You call him by name and let him see you. Make him believe you're alone. When he commits to the kill, I give the signal."

"I know," I grumble, totally unsure about this entire thing.

I'm risking my life for all of these men in their game of chess, and I still don’t know if my mother is safe.

I unbuckle my seatbelt, and my hand moves to check the vest one more time.

The ceramic plates are solid beneath my fingertips.

"He'll come for me."

"Yes, and when he does, you drop. The moment you hit the ground, you stay down. No matter what happens, you don’t stand up and try to run. You drop and you stay put with your hands over your head. Do you understand me?"

I look at him, and I see the conflict in his eyes.

He doesn't want to send me out there.

Every instinct he has is screaming at him to keep me close, to protect me, to do this some other way.