My heart wrenches when Lorenzo is dragged to his feet and pushed stumbling towards the lodge. The woman and the shorter man go with him. I am left with the remaining assailant, who waits for them to disappear before approaching me. He takes no chances and keeps the gun levelled at my head. I breathe evenly and keep my wits sharp, ready to take advantage of any opportunity. He stops three yards in front as though he wants a better look at my face. Without saying a word, he moves behind me while slowly screwing a suppressor onto his gun. I feel him prod a boot at my tied hands.
“We are on holiday. You have the wrong people,” I say.
Still unspeaking, he walks back and stands a few feet in front. He looks over my head to the lodge for a few seconds before removing his hat. When he peers down at me, I scramble to find more things to say to stall him, but he speaks first.
“I cannot believe it’s you.”
The accent is Scottish. He’s a few years younger than me, but something about him seems familiar.
“I’m sorry?”
“I know you. And I’m not gonna shoot you. I’m here to help.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We need to act fast. I’m gonna fire off a couple of shots. They’ll hear from the hut and think you’ve been neutralised. Then I’m gonna cut your ties ’cause we need to get your pal out of there. Now, are you gonna let me help you and not try to take my gun? Cause it’s gonna take both of us to free him.”
I nod my head. What choice do I have? “Why are you helping?”
“You may not remember me, but I remember you, Five,” he says as he turns the gun away and fires three successive shots into the ground. “We trained together.”
Chapter Twenty
Ivan
Once the man has cut my bindings, he helps me to my feet before checking his gun. Despite the urgency, questions crowd my brain.
“Who are you? How do you—?”
“Later,” he says as he steps past me towards the lodge. “We’ve not much time. Right now, we need to get you a gun. Do you have one inside?”
“In the bedroom.”
“How easy is it to get to?”
“It’s not. We’d need to break a window or pass through the living room. But hang on.”
I hurry to the lock-up with him following behind. I hesitate for a few breaths before keying in the code, but I reason that he could have efficiently executed me by now. I reach in and pluckout a gun. After checking to ensure the firearm is loaded, I nod to the guy.
“Good. When we go in, stay behind me. They’ll be expecting my return. When you get a clear shot, push me out of the way and take down Vlad—the man. Butdo notshoot the woman.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I took them both out?”
“Five, I’m helping you here, and I need you to do as I say. I’ll explain later, but I need Mila alive.”
As we creep up the wooden steps, a distant crack pierces the air, accompanied by the sound of a windowpane shattering somewhere inside the lodge. The man does not falter a second but barges headlong through the door.
Inside is a mess of confusion.
From behind him, I quickly scan the room. Lorenzo is tied up and kneeling on a rug by the fireplace. His complexion is ashen, but on a cursory inspection, I see no injury. The bigger man’s body is on the floor by the broken window, the remains of his head pumping blood around a mess of bone, brain and glass fragments. Standing over Lorenzo, with the cold fireplace behind her, the woman is stricken but alert. Instinctively, she jerks her gun up at the tall guy, her eyes wild. I push him out of the way and shoot her in the shoulder. As she recoils, she trips on the hearth, hitting her head on the mantlepiece as she falls.
While I run to Lorenzo, the tall guy rushes over to check on her.
“Stay below the window ledge,” I shout to him as I kneel on the floor. “Are you hurt, Enzo?”
Lorenzo’s eyes widen in disbelief. He leans his bound body into mine and releases a stifled gasp. The powerful emotion startles me, and I hug him, feeling his body tremble.
“I heard shots,” he whispers, and I catch the anguish in his voice. Of course. The realisation hits me hard that he thought I had been executed.