Page 104 of Shephard
And no one.
The door was locked on purpose, but it didn’t take the person on the other side any time to pick and open.
Now they were in our lair.
The presence of four men wasn’t lost on the three of us. We’d known what to expect. I’d provided my brothers with every scrap of information I’d saved on the man. It hadn’t been protocol or allowed, but I hadn’t cared. In failing to finish the mission I’d been sent to do, no matter the circumstances, I’d known this day would occur. When, I hadn’t known. Here I hadn’t anticipated, but as with all things, I was prepared for every angle.
I relied on the training I’d been provided, waiting for the perfect moment. Boris was still outside, waiting for the all clear to enter the house and exact his torture. Either the man had lost his touch or he was too eager to continue his mission of revenge.
I was betting on a little of both, not only with my life, but those of my brothers. Although I knew both Jagger and Hunter could easily take care of themselves.
With the outside door wide open, a bolt of lightning flashing the four men’s location, we didn’t hesitate performing our duties to ask questions or pretend we gave a shit why they were here.
We simply fired our weapons.
The moment could have been considered out of an old western, their bodies jumping in the shadows from the number of bullets hitting them. I didn’t have the convenience of a typical cleanup crew that had often followed behind me on my missions, but we were perfectly capable of eliminating several bodies without questions being asked.
Part of the benefit of living in the mountains was the deep ravines where tourists weren’t allowed to venture to. The perfect killing ground in every way.
As the men slumped to the ground, I finally rose to my feet from the leather chair I’d positioned directly in center of the front door.
“Good shooting,” Hunter stated from behind me.
“Just the beginning,” I told him and slowly walked forward and over the dead men. “Hold back. You’ll know if I need assistance.”
They knew better than to challenge me.
I headed outside, allowing my eyes to get used to the different lighting. “Welcome.”
The single word I issued echoed in the night even with the continuous rumbling thunder.
“Pora zakonchit’ to, chto my nachali,” Boris said gruffly from a short distance.
We finish what we started.
“You’re correct, Boris. Overdue. Wouldn’t you say?”
“You know Russian.”
“I know several languages. It’s suited me well in tough times.”
He was right. It was past time. Even without the benefit of seeing exactly where he was standing, the chances of making a direct shot to the middle mass of his body was close to ninety-five percent.
However, an easy kill wasn’t what either one of us wanted. This was about finishing the fight that had nearly taken me down.
I moved off the porch, inching toward him slowly. “Then we fight like men.” I purposely crouched down, another lightning bolt highlighting the fact I was placing my weapon on the ground.
He laughed. “You’re so sure of yourself.”
“I’m not certain of anything with one exception. You deserve to die.”
“We shall see,” Boris hissed. I sensed he’d lowered to the ground, placing his weapon on the dense terrain as I’d done. But he wasn’t in the mood for hand-to-hand combat.
Of course unless it included the bullshit that was his signature weapon.
The single whoosh told me the strike was coming.
I was quicker to react than I’d been years before, shifting to the right and able to advance by a few feet. When I managed to catch the middle of the strap before he recoiled it, his slight grunt highlighted his surprise. I used that to my advantage, jerking him forward. Yet he managed to yank it free, issuing a brutal strike across my back before I was able to lunge away.