Page 52 of Victor's Lethal Desire
I look around the corner quickly to see Victor jumping behind the couch.
As more gunfire erupts, I reach for where my gun should be but find nothing.
Dammit.
All I have is the knife.
Victor pops up and fires a few more times toward them.
I hear one of the men yell in Russian and then a loud clang as a man tumbles to the ground, breaking something made of glass.
The other man starts yelling in Russian, and I catch part of it over the gunfire.
He's calling for backup.
Fuck. If we don't leave, we're never making it out of here.
Victor grunts and I whip my head around the corner, my heart stopping as bullets tear into the leather of the couch he's hiding behind.
Suddenly, I hear a loud scrape of furniture. Then the heavy sofa lifts up and tumbles forward onto its side.
I look around. I need to do something to take the gunfire off him.
Looking around, I find a piece of wood and reach for it. I take a deep breath and pop my head up, seeing the side profile of the one surviving guard. I throw the piece of wood at him, and it hits him in the ear.
I duck back down as he turns with his gun and starts firing in my direction.
Victor doesn't hesitate. He pivots hard to his right, his body moving like smoke, and shoots in rapid succession.
The guard grunts, and I hear his weapon clatter to the floor. I pop my head back up to see him staggering backward, clutching his face as blood pours through his hands. Then he collapses.
The room goes quiet except for the crackle of a walkie-talkie clipped to one of the dead guards. Loud Russian voices bark through the static, demanding updates, ordering men to secure Dimitri.
"We need to leave," Victor says, his voice tight. "Now."
I shake my head, scrambling out from behind the cabinet. My eyes lock on the tablet, still sitting on the floor near the overturned sofa.
I run over to the tablet and tap the screen.
97%... 98%...
Then I look at him.
"Twenty more seconds."
"Fuck it. We don't have it. Leave it."
"No," I say.
I can't fail Ivan, not when I'm this close.
"They're coming..."
"It's almost done!" I say as my hands shake, watching the progress bar tick upward.
99%...
Victor curses under his breath, pivoting to cover the doorway with his pistol.
