Rage floods through me. I signal Viktor. He nods.
We move as one. I take the one on the left, Viktor the right. My first shot takes the man in the shoulder. He spins, weapon rising, but I'm faster. Second shot to the chest. He drops.
Viktor's target is down too.
But gunfire erupts from the tree line. They have backup positioned. Bullets tear through the garden, shredding plants and ricocheting off stone.
"Cover!" Viktor shouts.
We dive behind a fountain. Return fire. I see shapes moving in the darkness, count at least four more.
"This is a full tactical team," I shout over the gunfire. "Someone sent professionals."
"No shit!"
More of my men arrive, creating a crossfire. The battle intensifies. The air fills with the smell of gunpowder and blood.
I see one of the intruders moving toward the house. Toward the south entrance. Toward the stairs that lead to Aurora.
"Viktor, that one!"
But he's pinned down, can't get a clear shot.
I break cover, running low and fast. Bullets chase me, one so close I feel the air displacement. I don't stop. Can't stop.
The intruder reaches the door. I'm twenty feet away. Fifteen. Ten.
He turns, sees me. Raises his weapon.
I fire first. Three shots. Center mass. He stumbles backward, crashes through the door, doesn't get up.
But his death scream brings two more. They're on me before I can reload. One kicks my weapon away. The other swings a rifle at my head.
I duck, catch the rifle, use his momentum to throw him into his partner. They tangle, and I'm on them. Fists, elbows, knees. Fighting dirty because this isn't about honor. It's about survival.
I break one's arm. The crack is audible even over the continued gunfire. He screams. His partner gets a knife out, slashes at me. I feel it bite into my side, hot and sharp.
Adrenaline keeps me moving. I grab his wrist, twist until he drops the knife. Then I've got it, and I'm driving it up under his ribs. Once. Twice. He goes down gurgling.
The one with the broken arm is trying to crawl away. I put a bullet in his head.
"Boss!" Sergei's voice on the radio. "West side is clear. Four down."
"South entrance is clear," I respond, pressing a hand to my bleeding side. "What's the count?"
"Eight hostiles down. Two wounded, in custody. We lost three of ours. Five wounded."
Eight attackers. A coordinated assault team. This wasn't a probe. This was an assassination attempt.
I make my way back through the house, leaving bloody footprints. Viktor intercepts me, takes one look at my side.
"You're hit."
"Barely. Flesh wound." It's not, but I don't have time for medical attention. "The explosives?"
"Disarmed. They were going to take out the south wing and half the garden. If they'd succeeded..." He doesn't finish. Doesn't need to.
Aurora would have been in that wing until I moved her to my room. They would have killed her.