Page 98 of Exacting Vengeance

“Hang on!” He slammed his foot down on the gas, driving straight up the embankment onto the runway, then cranked the wheel hard right and punched it.

The runway was in far better shape than the uneven, rocky road they’d driven in on, but it had to be close to three thousand feet long. With the accelerator jammed to the floorboard, they quickly gained on the plane.

“Get on the radio. Tell Jack to have everyone block the runway behind us, and keep an eye out for Asimov.” There was no telling where Lebedev’s man was hiding, and he didn’t want to find out the hard way they’d been set up.

“You got it.” Deke grabbed the mic from the console and relayed the order.

Between his and Jack’s SUVs plus three state police vehicles, they could easily prevent the pilot from taking off again.

Pine trees blurred as they raced down the runway. The old house intel had identified in aerial imagery came into view. A car was parked off to the side of the house. This part of the runway was covered with puddles from the recent rain. A large, unavoidable one loomed five hundred feet ahead. Not easing off the accelerator, he flew through it. Water and mud splashed onto the hood and windshield, momentarily obscuring his vision. Kyle flipped on the wipers. When the glass had cleared enough to see again, the sight before them had his heart climbing right out of his throat.

Victoria!

She raced from the bottom of the stairs. When Yuri spun and took off after her, Kyle choked down a moment of sheer panic.

Five hundred feet to go. The pilot had already reached the end of the runway and was turning the plane in a slow one-eighty, readying to take off again.

Yuri tackled Victoria to the ground. She hit the dirt hard. He straddled her back, gripping her wrists as he rolled her over and yanked her to her feet.

Sonofabitch.

Kyle slammed on the brakes close enough to the plane to see the pilot’s eyes widen as he caught sight of the police cavalry now blocking his takeoff route.

The second he had the SUV in park, he flung open the door and pulled his Glock.

Yuri’s mouth worked as he shouted at Victoria, but Kyle couldn’t make out the words. The plane’s propeller still spun, the sound loud enough that he could barely hear anything else.

“Kyle,” Deke shouted loud enough to hear. “Get behind cover!”

Ignoring Deke, he kept going but couldn’t get a clean shot while on the move.

He understood his brother’s warning. With no cover, he was a sitting duck if Yuri decided to shoot it out like the Wild West. That, and he was between his brothers, the state troopers, and Yuri. They’d have a hard time taking Yuri out without accidentally drilling him in the back.

The moment the pilot cut the engine, Yuri pulled a gun from his belt, holding it to the side of Victoria’s head. She clawed at his arm wrapped around her chest. Bruises bloomed on her cheek bone, and blood streamed from a fresh cut on her lip and one of her wrists.

Kyle ground his jaw, enraged that Yuri had done this to her. If he’d done anything else to her…

His stomach churned at the thought Yuri had touched her.

Yuri’s mouth curved into a snarl as he caught sight of Kyle. “Come closer, and she dies.” He yanked her to his chest, jamming the gun’s muzzle against her temple and using her body as a shield.

A horrific image flashed before his eyes, hurling him back in time to the bank robbery. The little girl in the pink ballerina dress.

The only thing separating Victoria from sudden death was the trigger finger of a madman. Any wrong move and Yuri would kill her. By accident or intentionally.

“All of you, stay the fuck back!” He tightened his hold around Victoria’s waist.

Kyle didn’t have to look behind him to know his brothers and the state troopers were backing him up, guns drawn and ready to fire, if given the opportunity.

The door of the plane swung open. A middle-age man with a shock of spiky gray hair poked his head out, extending his arms in question. “What’s going on here?”

“FBI!” He refocused on the gun at Victoria’s temple. Preventing Yuri from taking off with her was paramount. “Get out of the plane, lie down on the ground, and interlock your hands behind your head. Do it now!”

“Shit. Okay, okay.” The pilot stepped from the plane and lowered to his knees.

“Get back in the plane!” Yuri started edging toward where the pilot was busy planting himself fully on the ground. “I paid you good money, now get back in the fucking plane!”

The pilot shook his head. “Hey, man, I did not sign up for this.”