HUNTER
The van is silent as we drive through the quiet London streets. There are few people around, given that it’s the night of Christmas, so most people are tucked up with their families watching Christmas films, playing games, or doing all the shit normal people do for Christmas. I guess I’m tucked up with my family, we’re just on our way to destroy the man, the monster, who has taken so much from us.
The Petrov Estate is something that shouldn’t exist but somehow does. It’s in London, and yet it’s vast, with land that must be worth millions. One of those old estates before London grew so big, and somehow, it’s maintained its old-world charm. If only it didn’t house such evil.
Nearing the west side, we pull up to a service entrance. We know from extensive research that there are a few more people here than we’d expected on account of the holiday and also Alexei’s dad, the head of the Volkov branch of the Bratva, being here with his men. We just have to trust that Alexei has that covered.
Nik’s phone pings with a message from the Fallen man.
“He says he’s in position in the east wing, but that there’s new security personnel that seem to have been trained by the military,” Nik tells us as we park.
“So not the usual mafia enforcer types,” Roman states, his face set in determined lines.
“At least they’ll provide more of a challenge then,” Rowan adds darkly, and I remember his killing spree from the time Iris was taken. He’s got a point. It wasn’t exactly a challenge, but we weren’t walking into a bloody nest of vipers then.
“We stick to our plan, clear the perimeter, and then Iris can join us.” We all look at her, and I notice the slight sheen of sweat on her forehead, the way her nostrils flare, and her skin is a little pale. “Okay, baby?”
“Fine,” she almost snaps, then takes a breath. “I’m fine. Just want to get this over with.”
“You heard the woman. Roman, you’re with me. Nik, Rowan, and Dima, you know what to do. Andrei and Bubby stay with Iris.”
The plan is beautiful in its simplicity. Rowan will provide a distraction with his grenades, which should draw out most of the security. We were never going to be able to infiltrate quietly given the level of security Sergi has, so brute force it is. We will pick them off until we’ve cleared the perimeter, hopefully Alexei working from the inside to clear that. Then we use Iris to gain access to the inner sanctum, because of fucking course Sergi has more security levels to go through. After that, we capture Sergi, then torture him a bit before Nik delivers the killing blow all before dawn. Simple.
“Let’s go,” Nik states, leaning forward and kissing Iris before he opens the back door. Rowan does the same, leaving Iris a little dazed looking before Dima leaves the van and they all head towards the front gates.
“You know the rules,” I state, leaning in for a kiss myself. Her lips are soft, so fucking warm, and a part of me wants to do nothing more than lose myself in them. But I need to rid this parasite from our lives first, and only extermination will do the job. So reluctantly, I pull away, leaving the van and waiting for Roman in the cold December night.
Roman joins me, and I shut the door silently before loping off towards the manor with him on my heels. We don’t talk, just add the silencers to our guns as we approach, punching in the security code to get through the first gate. We don’t need to worry about the camera, Bubby having looped the footage, so it looks all quiet on the western front.
I huff a laugh as we enter, adrenaline making my body sing and my blood light up as the thrill of the hunt enters my veins. Spotting the first guard, I take aim, shooting him with silent efficiency. Roman takes out another before they even know what’s happening. We dispatch a few more before a mighty boom from the front of the estate makes the ground shake.
“He always was so dramatic,” Roman jokes under his breath, which fogs in the chill of the winter night.
“Fuck off,” Rowan’s reply comes over the comms just as Russian shouts reach our ears and we see dark shapes running towards the front of the estate.
Roman and I take care of anyone who passes us. After all, why should the others get all the fun?
“West service entrance clear,” I say as our side goes quiet.
This is why we wanted to cause the diversion. We need as many of them away from the mansion as we can, and I know Rowan, Nik, and Dima will have great fun dispatching everyone who comes their way. I instructed members of my Shadows to join them too, just to help keep things clear as Nik will need to come with us for the final stage of the plan, aka ridding the planet of his scum of a sperm donor.
A shot rings out, and the plaster near my head fractures.
“Shit!” I duck behind a planter, Roman going to another as more shots are fired our way. Looks like I spoke too soon.
I lower my infrared goggles over my eyes, able to make out heat signatures in the dark and spot the sniper on the roof, his rifle pointed at us. Sneaky fucking bastard. Taking a slow breath, I use the planter to hide most of my body while I take aim. Pulling the trigger, my mind is calm, and I watch with a sense of victory as he tumbles from the roof, his body crunching on the hard ground.
Another shot rings out, another body falling to the ground as Roman takes out one of the other snipers. We wait, but no other shots come towards us, and a quick scan with my goggles tells me we’ve eliminated the last of them. For now anyway.
I give Roman the hand signal we always use for moving forward, and we both make our way to the door that leads into the kitchen of the mansion. We stick to the shadows and take cover where we can, but no one else tries to shoot at us, confirming that we’ve eliminated the threat for now.
We reach the door, and I move my goggles off my eyes to look at what should be a keypad, which I have the code for. However, it’s not there. In its place is a fingerprint scanner, and I curse.
We’re going to need Iris now, because none of us has the access, and looking at the door and knowing the plans, it’s fucking bombproof. It would take too long for us to get in, plus give away our position and ruin our element of surprise. We want them thinking we’re all at the front, not attacking them from all sides.
“The door is biometric,” I mumble into the comms, knowing they will understand which door.
Nick curses in Russian, the sounds of guns firing in the background as he answers. “So you need Iris.”
“Yes.”
IRIS
A contraction hits just as I hear Hunter’s words, and I can’t stop the hiss from leaving my lips, the way my hand tightens on the seat next to me as I breathe through the pain. Shit, they’re getting worse, and I’m not sure how long I can keep convincing myself that they’re Braxton Hicks.
“Iris?” Andrei asks as the pain subsides. “Are you having contractions?”
I bite my lower lip, and then nod. “I think they started before we left, but I thought they were just Braxton Hicks.”
“You should have told me, Iris,” Andrei scolds, though he’s still gentle, as is his way. “We should tell the others and abort the mission.” He reaches to tap his ear to speak into our comms.
“No!” I rush out, holding my hand out to stop him. “We can’t, not now. We’ve come so far, and we may not get this opportunity again, Andrei.”
He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Can’t you just give her something to, you know, slow it down?” Bubby interjects, and I turn to look at him.
“Yes! Can’t we do that? It’s just for a couple of hours,” I rush out, pleading with Andrei to help me.
He blows out a breath, looking upwards as he thinks. “Fine, but this will only work for an hour, maybe two.”
A breath rushes out of me in relief as Andrei rummages through his medical kit, muttering in Russian while he does.
“Thank you, Andrei,” I say as he pulls out a small bottle and a syringe.
“Nik will most likely kill me for this,” he states, sticking the needle in the bottle top and drawing some of the liquid out. “This is Terbutaline, a beta-antagonist that will relax your uterine muscles. Side effects include an increased heart rate, tremors, and anxiety.”
“Okay,” I agree as he brings the needle to the IV that is still in the back of my hand.
“For the record, I’m not happy about this, Iris.” He still injects the medication, and within moments, I feel the band of tightness around my lower stomach loosen.
My heart also speeds up a little, and my hands tremble as I bring them in front of me.
“Let’s go,” I state, pushing up, and Andrei clenches his jaw.
“You have at most two hours, then the baby will come whether or not you want him to,” Andrei tells me sternly as Bubby gets up too.
They help me out of the van, and both take out their guns, looking around us for any threats, keeping me between them. I have the knife Rowan gave me, but that’s it. Though I don’t think Sergi will allow his men to shoot me, not yet anyway.
We quickly make our way to the outer gate, Andrei peering through first before he ushers us through.
“It’s us, Hunt,” his voice comes over the earpiece we all have, and I hear Hunt cursing.
“What the fuck did I say, Iris, about not coming until I tell you to?” he hisses, but it’s a moot point now.
“Well, I’m here now,” I tell him in a sassy tone, my hands still trembling as Bubby covers us from behind and Andrei leads us to the back door.
“Fucking infuriating brat,” Hunt snarls just as we make it to the door, and he storms towards me, his face dark and thunderous. “If you wanted to get punished so badly, all you needed to do was ask, Peaches.”
I shiver, but there’s no time for this. We’re now on a serious deadline.
“Let’s get the door open, and you can punish me later, Daddy.” I skirt past him to find Roman shaking his head.
“I thought I was bad.” He chuckles, bending down to press his lips against my cheek. “Naughty Princess is gonna get spanked so hard.”
Taking a steadying breath and ignoring the heat in his eyes, I reach out my hand, which is shaking badly now. Someone grabs my wrist, and I glance to the side to find Hunt’s gaze burning into mine.
“Why is your hand shaking?”
I open my mouth to tell him I’m just nervous, but Andrei beats me to it.
“Her labour has started. I gave her some medication to slow it, not happily, mind you, so we only have an hour, maybe two before the contractions start and labour progresses.”
Hunt blinks slowly.
“You want to repeat that, Andrei? Because for a moment I thought you said that my wife is in labour.”
Oh shit.
His voice is crisp, more freezing than the air around us that fogs our breath.
“That’s right. I’d estimate we have maybe an hour after the effects wear off before the baby gets here. Though it’s a first birth, which can always be surprising. The baby should be fine, given he’s now almost thirty-eight weeks old, but we will still have to monitor him when he’s born before we get them both to a hospital.”
“So he will be born here?” Roman asks, and my heart rate picks up. I guess I didn’t think about that, so focused on following through with my revenge. Our revenge.
“Yes, especially as Iris refused to abort the mission or leave you all here.”
“Snitches get stitches, Andrei,” I say under my breath, turning to level a glare at him. It would have been a lot easier if he hadn’t told them.
Fingers grasp my chin, turning my face back towards Hunt, who looks like he’s about ready to blow.
“I am so fucking mad at you right now, Peaches,” he tells me through gritted teeth, though his grip on my face is gentle. Then he blows out a breath. “But as you have already made your decision, I guess all we can do is carry on and deal with it when it comes up.” He lowers his face, not so much that we’re touching, but enough so that we are looking into each other’s eyes. “But you will fucking tell me as soon as it starts again. That is non-negotiable, otherwise we leave right the fuck now and head to the hospital. Can I trust your word?”
“I will tell you, I swear on our unborn son, Hunt,” I say, meaning it. It hurts that he might not trust me, though I can’t really blame him. I didn’t follow his orders after I promised I would, and I kept this from him, from the others.
“Okay. Unlock the door, then step behind me,” he commands, letting me go but keeping close to my back.
Reaching out again, my hand still shakes, but I manage to press my thumb to unlock the door. Roman steps in the way and opens it as Hunt positions me behind him, Bubby behind me, and Andrei at the back.
My heart pounds as Ro steps into the darkness, and I get one second of silence before the shouting starts.
