Page 149 of The Viper's Wife

Dom holds up a small black grenade, a grin spreading across his face. “Flash-bang.”

He passes the grenade to Camillo, and Salvatore has us split up.

Salvatore, Dom, and I head toward the staircases, and after another moment, Salvatore magically unlocks the electronic keypad.

“How’d you manage that?” I ask as the three of us funnel into the stairwell.

“My wife,” he says.

I guess having a hacker for a wife comes in handy once in a while.

Dom moves to the front of our line, another flash-bang in hand.

“When Camillo gives us the signal,” Dom says in Italian, “I’m going to throw this out. Do not shoot blindly if you see someone. This is a search and rescue. Spread out and look for cover first.”

I glance at Salvatore, expecting him to argue, but he simply nods, deferring to his second-in-command.

We stop at the bottom level, next to the door. Salvatore watches his phone for the signal.

“Remember doing this in Vegas?” Dom asks, a fond grin across his face.

“Try not to shoot me this time,” Salvatore says dryly. A text appears on his phone. “Now.”

Dom pulls the pin, opens the door a crack, and tosses the flash-bang out.

One.

Two.

BANG.

Dom swings the door open.

“Move!” he shouts in Italian, and we all sprint through the screen of smoke.

I dive behind a nearby couch, my rifle at a ready position.

“Nico!”

My stomach drops.

Valeria.

Her voice calls from the center of the room. “Nico, it’s a trap! The pakhan’s here too!”

I strain my ears, trying to pinpoint her location without sight. Is she inside the fighting cage? Every cell in my body screams for me to run to her—to save her—but I force myself to stay in place.

“I am here to talk,” the pakhan’s voice calls out from a further distance. “Your wife is safe. I only want to talk.”

“Val, how many men are here?” I shout.

“I don’t know.” She sounds calm, not a waver of fear in her voice, even though I know she must be terrified.That’s my girl. “I think it’s just him.”

“See?” Yevgeniy says. “Listen to her. This is just me. I am saying truth. We aresoyuznik, Nico.”

A hive of wasps are trapped under my ribs. My knee starts to shake.

I can’t fucking wait any longer. I peek around the couch, and when I see her, all logic bleeds from my body.