Page 64 of Savage Truce

When we get off the jet, the airfield is dead quiet.

“The stupid fucker doesn’t think you would bring the fight to him,” Andrei says as he opens the passenger door of an SUV that Mikhail, one of my captains, brought.

He was invaluable to me during the coup as he watched over Rosie when I couldn’t, and I trust him to help Sergei guard Anastasia on the plane.

She was still asleep when I kissed her goodbye, and I instructed Sergei that the men were to stay out of the bedroom.

“Always do the last thing the enemy will expect,” I say, and just as I sit down on the seat, my phone rings, and I dig it out. Seeing Rosie’s name, I quickly answer. “Hi.”

“What are you doing in Siberia?” she asks.

The damn tracking device she gave me is already a pain in my ass.

“Taking care of business,” I reply as Andrei shuts the door and jogs around the front of the SUV to get into the driver’s side.

“The others are going to be pissed–”

“Seriously, Rodian,” Enzo interrupts her, his tone telling me he’s not happy. “We’re supposed to be in an alliance.”

“I get that, but this is my fight. I let you have Yegor and Danill because of what they did to Rosie, but Sokolov is mine.”

“Fuck!” he snaps. “I’m leaving it to you to tell the others.”

“Fine.”

“Be safe out there,” Rosie says. “And as soon as you’re back, I have to give Anastasia, your family, and Andrei their trackers.”

“Okay. I’ll be in touch.”

We end the call, then I glance at my friend. “When we’re back home, Rosie will come over to give everyone their trackers, so don’t take off immediately.”

Even though we’re fucking close, Andrei has always been a lone wolf. My mother has tried to corner him many times to invite him to stay for a meal, but he always declines.

I pull up the map of where Sokolov’s hunting lodge is located and check the route and surrounding area. “We’ll park down the road from his place and go in on foot.”

“Okay,” Andrei murmurs. “Let me handle the guards where possible.”

I nod, zooming in on the woods and river behind the lodge to familiarize myself with the layout of the land.

We drive for close to an hour before Andrei pulls over on the side of the road about a mile from Sokolov’s property.

“Let’s do this,” he says as he switches off the engine.

I climb out and check my gun’s magazine before putting on warm gloves. Andrei grabs the machine gun and K-Bar that Mikhail left on the backseat for him, and the moment we enter the woods, he takes the lead.

I stay close behind him as we make our way through the thick snow, and we avoid talking because sound carries out here.

It takes us almost twenty minutes before lights appear between the trees, and as we get closer, I catch sight of Sokolov’s hunting lodge.

Andrei lifts a hand, stopping between the trees, and as we surveil the premises, I count four guards.

He indicates four with his fingers, and when I nod in agreement, we keep low as we leave our cover and run closer to the lodge.

When he suddenly drops even lower, I do the same, and we wait again.

Andrei watches the nearest guard like a fucking hawk, and the instant he turns his back to us, my friend darts away and runs across the snow. Coming up behind the guard, he clamps a hand over his mouth while plunging the K-Bar twice into his chest. The fucker’s body jerks, then goes limp, and Andrei lets him drop to the snow before indicating for me to move.

We barely make it another twenty feet when the second guard comes around the corner of the lodge, freezing at the sight of us. His hands tighten on the machine gun, but before he can raise it, Andrei grips the K-Bar by the tip of the blade and throws it. The knife sails through the air before slamming into the man’s throat, his eyes flaring wide as he staggers and gurgles before falling backward.