Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(102)

With the door to Ruslan’s suite just outside the landing, no one said a word.

Beckett’s voice cut through the line. “Two floors away.”

Axel stepped back and nodded.

Danny took his place in front of the door.

“Zeke, we good?” Knox said low enough not to let his voice carry.

“Guards are still in place, but look bored as shit.”

“They won’t be for long,” Axel muttered.

The elevator ding sounded through the line. “Moving out,” Beckett said.

As soon as Beckett spoke, Gia and Darya kicked into action. Even without a visual, the sound of their struggle reached through the steel stairway door. He might not understand a lick of whatever it was coming out of Darya’s mouth, but the sound of it was vile. Perfect for their approach.

Sergei’s voice cut in. A command in Russian.

“I’ve got the one farthest from the stairwell,” Beckett muttered through the chaos. “Danny, you’re on the one closest. Fifteen feet.”

More Russian sounded, but this time it came through the guards on the other side of the door.

“They’re gettin’ itchy,” Zeke said. “Think you’d better move.”

Beckett’s order came right behind it. “Danny, go.”

Danny yanked open the door, snatched the startled guard outside Ruslan’s suite and yanked him into the stairwell. Five seconds. It couldn’t have been more than that, but every bit of it happened in a blur, Darya’s and Gia’s protests more than covering the guard’s struggles and ending with the two of them in lifeless heaps on the concrete landing.

Darya’s voice died off, her gaze aimed through the open stairwell door at the dead men and her face a sickly white.

Knox stepped in close.

“Guns up,” Sergei said as he pulled the keycard they’d pilfered from Ruslan’s men from his pocket.

Knox gripped Darya’s chin tight. “Look at me. Focus.”

Her eyes shot to his and she jerked a terse nod. “I’m good.” She spun and said something loud in a string of Russian that made Sergei smirk.

He punched the keycard into the slot and Gia stumbled through the opening as though someone had shoved her. She pulled Darya along with her, fully clearing the door, dropping to the floor and rolling to cover Darya.

The unexpected entrance and the girls as a distraction gave them the jump they needed. The silencers on the guns might have muted the shots, but did nothing to muffle the instant mayhem. Terse commands in both Russian and English fired through the room mixed with the grunts, crashes and the thump of bodies hitting the floor.

Knox stepped in front of Darya and Gia, shielding the two of them while Gia hustled Darya deeper into the safety of the elevator landing. He was just about to head into the suite and engage when another door in the hallway behind him yanked open.

Connecting rooms.

The paranoid motherfucker had bought out the whole floor. Of course, he’d have an escape hatch if he needed one.

Two men surged out, braced shoulder to shoulder with Ruslan right behind them.

“Action in the hallway!” Zeke called out through the headpiece.

Gia drew her gun the same second Knox did and shouted, “Beckett!”

Shots fired all at once, Knox and Gia taking the two men in front. Knox aimed again, one heartbeat from taking the shot at Ruslan, but froze the second his brain registered Ruslan’s gun trained on Darya.

Sergei moved in from the opposite side, gun drawn and aimed at Ruslan’s head, but hesitated when he took in Ruslan’s target.

“Pull the trigger and she dies as well.” His accent was thick, barely intelligible, but Ruslan’s steady hand and the maniacal gaze he kept locked on Darya was clear enough.

No one moved.

Ever since Darya had told Knox about Ruslan he’d wanted this shot. A chance to make her life safe by his own hands. But now all he wanted was a distraction. Anything to get his woman out of the line of fire. She was one step away from him. One stroke of luck or a miracle was all he needed to cover her.

Zeke’s voice slid through the earpiece. “Got a distraction coming. Be ready.”

A low hum fired through the landing, the sound of an elevator approaching their floor filling the quiet.

“You’ve given me quite a chase, little dove. I look forward to all the ways I’ll make you repay me for the time and trouble.” Ruslan narrowed his eyes and motioned Darya toward the elevator with a jerk of his head. “Move.”

For all of a second, Knox locked stares with Sergei still locked in place in the suite’s entrance, but it was enough to make his intention clear. The elevator dinged and Knox growled, “She’s not going anywhere.”

The doors swooshed open and the housekeeping cart they’d stolen with the intent of getting a better look inside the suite shot forward.

Knox spun, shielded Darya with his body and took her to the floor.

Gunfire filled the landing, bullets splintering into wall, wood and metal all around them. Pain exploded in his right shoulder, a sharp stab that radiated down his arm and out along his upper torso, but he held himself in place, forcing both hands up and around Darya’s head.

The gunfire ceased and footsteps stomped around them, Russian words coated with disgust coursing from Sergei across the room.

Darya pressed her hands against his chest and tried to get up, but Knox didn’t move. Didn’t dare before he got the all clear from one of the men.