Page 59 of Hades

“You ready?” Sniper eyed me cautiously.

“Beyond fucking ready,” I growled, checking my guns as Slate’s voice sounded in my ear.

“Viktor is a paranoid motherfucker,” he warned. “There are cameras everywhere. This is a fucking dream,” he murmured, almost to himself.

Sniper and I looked at each other with knowing smirks. Our brother was damn good at what he did, but man he could geek out over the weirdest shit.

“So,” he sighed. “Falcon and Raven are inside, both in the main lounge.”

Something inside my chest eased at those words, but it wasn’t calm or relaxing. It was a slow readiness to action. My heartbeat slowed and my vision sharpened as Diesel handed out orders.

“We go inside in teams of two. Get Falcon and Raven, do whatever you have to do to get it fucking done.”

That was the order I’d been waiting a fucking eternity for. “Let’s do this,” I told Sniper.

He nodded and fell in step beside me as we walked down the street in long, purposeful strides. We weren’t wearing our cuts, so to anyone paying attention, we looked like two dudes just passing through. At the end of the block, we slipped between two dark houses and crossed to dead end road where the mansion sat. “I’ll get Falcon. Focus on your girl.”

I nodded slowly and as soon as Slate gave the okay, we waited for the keyless entry light to flash green, and then we stepped inside.

The house was pitch black when we entered, which meant they probably saw our approach. Sniper kept his gun while I switched for a knife and followed him through the front hall. “Right,” he called out and stepped to the left.

I lunged forward, leading with the blade. With six quick, successive jabs to his gut and throat, I neutralized the first guard. “Clear.”

We made it another few feet before Sniper called out, “Left.”

The second guard put up more of a fight, landing a blow to my jaw before he found my blade buried deep under his arm. I couldn’t see him, but I felt the way his body stiffened. I heard the way he gurgled before falling to his knees. When the thud sounded, I sighed. “Clear.”

We passed something that looked like a library and Sniper ducked his head inside, sweeping left to right. “It’s clear. Switch out the blade,” he whispered and kept moving forward.

I paused at the living room entrance, not because I was afraid but because I knew Raven was close. I felt it in the room, which seemed darker than the rest of the rooms. Sniper’s hand landed on my shoulder and we moved forward together.

“Over here,” Falcon whispered.

Sniper switched on a flashlight, sweeping the beam across the room until it landed on Falcon, who was bound to a fucking chair. “Fuck,” he growled and stepped around me.

“Good to see you,” Falcon said, somehow finding his smile despite the situation.

“Where’s Raven,” I barked because though I was happy to see my brother, I was desperate to find my woman. “Falcon, where is she?”

“Here.” Her voice was quiet and soft, coming from somewhere behind me.

I spun quickly, finding her before Sniper’s beam landed on her. My footsteps froze at what I saw. It wasn’t just Raven. She was flanked by Viktor and his right-hand man, Alexei, who held a gun pressed to the side of her head.

My hands fisted and my jaw clenched tight as rage coursed through my veins. My vision blackened around the edges, and I let the anger bubble over, using it to do what needed to be done in the moment. “Raven.”

She gave one short, sharp nod. It said, I’m good, even though her eyes were filled with pure terror.

Alexei’s laugh boomed in the silence. “You didn’t think it would be so easy, did you?” His shit-eating grin pissed me off almost as much as the gun pressed to my woman’s head.

Easy? No.

“You can’t let them take her,” Falcon demanded, his voice angry and pleading.

I wouldn’t let them take her. I would die preventing her from enduring that hell again. I took stock of the room, eyes darting around to take in the exits—French doors near Falcon, the way I entered, and I’d bet there was a door that would allow them a quick exit—and then I let out a slow breath. I could take out either Alexei or Viktor cleanly, but that would give the one left standing a chance to kill Raven.

My grip tightened on my gun, itching to shoot up the whole fucking house.

“Don’t be stupid,” Alexei warned as if the Russian bastard could read my mind.