Left For Dead (The Guarded Secrets Series Book 3)

by Sara Schoen

  Both men rushed at me, one intending to grab me and the other wanting to beat me to a pulp. I leapt out of their reach, but while they stumbled I ripped one of the weapons off their shoulder. I found a stable stance and took aim. When I first joined the agency, I hadn’t been able to hit the broad side of a barn, but now each shot is a kill shot. Two simple shots, that was all it took to end two lives. I forced the waves of emotion to subside before I turned back to Nikolai and Natasha. She nodded, seeming to understand that I did what I needed to even though the sound would surely attract attention. Though there was a clear distance in her eyes, she seemed out of it. Her eyes seemed clouded over and she seemed more confused as the seconds passed. The drug, whatever it had been, started to take effect on her. We had to move now or I’d be carrying dead weight.

  I lifted the gun and killed Nikolai before he could come back to cause more trouble. For some reason that one hurt the worst; I had clearly become attached to a mark for some reason. Maybe it was just the idea that I could actually manage to gain his attention and keep it. Men should be wary; women had hidden agendas, especially women like me.

  “Come on,” I said as I grabbed Natasha’s arm to hold her securely before cutting her bonds. “We need to move. I have a safe location for you to wait for a friend of mine.”

  She absentmindedly nodded. I hoped that it meant she heard me, but judging from how limp she was once I lifted her from the chair, I couldn’t be sure she understood anything I said. I could relate it to seeing someone who had too much to drink at a bar. I saw it all the time on missions in the United States, the way they swayed, slurred, appeared glassy-eyed. Natasha wouldn’t make it on her own.

  “Demon better be there waiting for us. I still have a few hours,” I growled, taking a quick glance at the watch on my wrist.

  Chapter 24

  I lifted Natasha’s arm over my shoulders and held most of her weight to me, making sure I had a firm hold on her before I left. She seemed sturdy, but the effects of the drug were definitely kicking in. Besides gradually becoming dead weight, her speech faltered, and when she managed to clumsily move, she usually wound up hurting me in some way. She slapped me lightly as I rose from my knees and brought her with me, unintelligibly speaking to me and probably asking what happened, though I didn’t have much time to fully explain to her. It’s only a matter of time before someone came to check on us, especially if they heard the gunshots. Soon we would be surrounded again if we didn’t move. The door leading out of the room could be surrounded at this very moment and we wouldn’t know until it was too late again. I took a deep breath to refocus before I started dragging her through the room. She weighed more than I anticipated.

  It’s going to be a long walk to the drop off point, I thought bitterly as I leaned her against me to listen outside the door.

  I couldn’t hear anything. No hushed orders while they waited for me to show myself, no racing footsteps to get into position, not even the uneasy breathing of a new recruit about to have his first run in with an enemy. I couldn’t believe it, but I didn’t have time to question it much further either. I had to get Natasha to the drop off before anyone came looking for us or before Demon was found and caught.

  I opened the door slowly, keeping Natasha out of the line of fire in case there were guards outside, but I didn’t have to. The hallway was empty, no sign of life, in either direction. The gunshots should have alerted someone. I knew we had been isolated from the rest of the compound in the far back portion of the building on the first floor. There had been dust on the boxes, even a fine layer on the floor. I had expected Volodya to leave at least one guard behind. He must never have expected me to escape or for three of their men to end up dead. Otherwise he would have taken extra precautions.

  I silently thanked him for his over confidence as I pulled Natasha a little tighter and began to walk with her through the halls. I kept a watchful eye for shadows as we traveled, the gun level in case I needed to take action, and listened close to be prepared if someone approached us. We made it about halfway to our destination when I heard Russian coming from behind me.

  A chill raced up my spine as I realized they were close, too close. I glanced around for a good place to hide, my gaze falling onto a lone stack of crates. It wouldn’t provide much cover, but it was better than nothing. Quickly, I set Natasha down on the floor beside the crates, praying they wouldn’t look as they went by, but as I crouched in front of her I leveled the gun in case I needed to take action. Their footsteps got closer, slowly inching their way toward our hiding place. Their voices were light, airy, as if talking among old friends, though it didn’t ease my racing thoughts.

  What if they saw us? What if someone heard the gunshots? Would it be better to use a knife and end them quietly? Maybe quickly was better. What did it matter if the gunshots were heard? I’d have to fight my way out anyway. I couldn’t simply follow Demon out the same way.

  As the voices got closer I tensed, prepared to fight if needed. Suddenly I was glad Volodya had knocked out Natasha, otherwise she would be terrified and likely to give away our position. If we remained silent and low to the ground, we had the advantage. Having Natasha awake, however, would enable her to tell me what the guards were talking about, and then further question me on Katya and what happened to their mother. The more I thought about it the more the pros of having her incapacitated made my job easier for me, or at least less of a headache.

  The guard’s feet came into view, two of them walking side by side lost in their conversation. I barely moved as I looked up to notice two young looking men, weapons slung over their shoulders carelessly. I could steal the weapons off their backs and shoot them before they’d know what was going on. Luckily for me I didn’t have to prove that to them. They walked by, failing to notice us, and eventually turned down another hallway and escaped from view.

  “That was lucky,” I said as I kneeled down once again to pick up Natasha. She came a little easier this time and let her weight fully rest on me as we walked through the hall. I followed as closely to the two guards as I could, knowing that another set wouldn’t be too close to them. We stayed in their blind spot, allowing the rest of the trip to go relatively easy. I veered off into the drop off room once the guards were out of earshot and shut the door behind me.

  Cold air rushed over me, chilling me to the bone the moment I stepped into the room. I turned to see that the window was busted in, glass scattered over the floor, causing the light to refract around the room. The small bursts of illumination allowed me to see a dark figure standing in the corner, hiding in the shadows.

  “Glad to see you made it in here without a problem,” I said, letting him know I saw him as I tried to find a place to set Natasha down. With very few furniture items around the room, even less that wasn’t currently covered in shards of glass, I didn’t have many options. I could choose between a desk and the floor, it would be impossible to clean all the shards off the seats that had been carelessly arranged in the room.

  “Of course I’m here. It’s about time you showed up,” Demon stated, emerging from the shadows, slowly revealing the deep scowl on his features. “I thought you had been caught.”

  “I was,” I replied as I set Natasha down. I didn’t miss the worried expression that had etched its way onto Demon’s features. “I don’t have time to explain other than to say you need to get her out of here now.”

  “What happened to her?” he asked, crouching down to look over Natasha’s features. He took special notice of her eyes as I had done. I had no way of knowing what they put in her, but since she hadn’t responded much to stimuli, including me throwing her over my shoulder and pushing her behind a few boxes, I’d say it was a very heavy sedative.

  “They drugged her. Volodya plans to take her with him in case more agents show up. I think he’s still planning to use her as a bargaining chip to get Katya to come out of hiding,” I explained as Demon examined Natasha before nodding, coming to the same conclusion I had. �
�Honestly, it’s working too. I want you to take her and get out of here as fast as you can.”

  “What about you?” he asked as a loud voice boomed outside the room. Whatever the order was, I knew they had found out we were missing. Footsteps pounded outside, voices passed by, and from previous knowledge I knew weapons were locked and loaded.

  “I’m going to stick around and cause some much needed noise to provide a distraction. We don’t have time to figure out how long the drug will be in her system or what it is. You’re going to have to carry her out of here, and that’s going to slow you down. If I don’t stay behind then we get caught and this whole thing goes up in flames. Get her to the car, and I’ll be out in ten minutes.”

  “What if you aren’t?” he asked, his voice filled with dread.

  I didn’t have time to let the feeling of dread fully work its way through my system. A voice stopped right outside the room and ordered a few men to go door to door looking for us. I heard a few more words, none of them were clear or translatable for me, but judging from the sudden movement, the guards were expecting the orders they had received. We were running out of time.

  “I’ll be there. Don’t worry about that.” My voice didn’t give away the fear that coursed through me as I stepped back toward the door to make my grand entrance into the swarm of armed guards looking for me. I noticed my hand trembled as it fell over the trigger of the gun as I prepared myself to risk everything. I knew I could cause a lot of damage in ten minutes, and it should be enough to get Demon out of here safely. Then if all went well, I’d see him again before Maverick could land his plane. “For now I need you to worry about her, not if I’m going to show up or not. If I don’t, then keep your promise. Leave and go to Maverick’s plane. Until then, let’s just try to end this and go home.”

  Doubt etched onto his features, but I didn’t have anything else to say. I had offered him the only solace I could give him, an easy escape. He should take it and be grateful that he didn’t have to battle it out with the Russian mafia. He needed to safely get Natasha out of here. I didn’t see another way. He would just have to leave me and hope for the best like I was.

  “Be careful,” he said as he kneeled down and picked up Natasha with ease.

  I tried not to look annoyed that he hadn’t struggled as I did the first time, and nodded before I left the room. I waited a few more seconds until I was sure Demon had left before stepping into the center of the compound. The open area was perfect, and if I could distract the guards from noticing him then we still had a chance to get out of here.

  Chapter 25

  I let the guards search for me a little longer as I waited to give Demon enough time to leave. Once I was sure he left, I prepared for my grand entrance. I held the gun tightly in my hands, the nerves and fear practically taking over my body as they fought to keep me hidden in the shadows. I rarely made a scene unless I had to, or did so by accident, and each time I needed to my rational mind fought with my natural preservation, the fight or flight response. If I stayed hidden then I would be safe, but once I stepped into the open I became a target.

  My body tensed while my heart rate sped up. I worried I’d have a heart attack due to the beating causing a tightening in my chest. My heart felt constricted as my chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe. I wanted to run, run back to Seeker and Demon so we could all head home, but I had a job to do. I had to stay behind so they had a chance to escape. While everyone’s attention was on me, they’d be free to escape. I could make it, but first I had to bite the bullet. I could focus on staying alive and escaping once I could be sure they were safe, but walking into danger would never be easy. My body fought me every step of the way, begging me to pull back, to run and escape. I pushed through, stepping into the center of the compound.

  My heart hammered in my chest as I lifted the gun and fired a round into the air above me. Everything stilled momentarily. The shot had taken them by surprise, and a few men close by caught sight of me, staring at me in shock. It didn’t take long before orders rang out for my capture. From the lack of gunshots, I knew the order ‘keep her alive’ remained in effect.

  A smile slowly crept over my lips before I pulled the trigger and let the rest of the clip out, firing the weapon in random directions. I didn’t aim for anything in particular, but as more men approached me, I managed to hit a few. It didn’t bother me, it just meant there were fewer to deal with later. The rounds exited the weapons as fast as I could fire the semi-automatic weapon, which emptied the gun quickly and left me vulnerable. Silence took over once again, but it didn’t last long. Cartel members rushed at me in all directions once they realized the weapon was empty. They came from the stairs, out of hiding, and some stationed themselves on the higher levels to put me in the crosshairs of their weapons while others came to fight me head on. While I could still use the gun for close combat, it was useless to me for what I needed to do. My speed and training would get me through this better than fighting.

  I smiled at the thought of fighting them head on. It seemed so unlikely that I found humor in it. I had the full compound’s attention except for whoever was protecting Volodya; they would be the only ones I needed to fight when it came time. First I had to distract them long enough to give Demon a chance to get Natasha somewhere safe, then I could go after my exit strategy, with Volodya as a hostage.

  A call came from somewhere in the factory, breaking me out of my thoughts. I recognized Volodya’s voice and it sounded furious. I guess he regretted underestimating me and allowing me to escape. I wonder what he would think when he realized I killed Nikolai as well as the other men he left with me.

  The crowd around me stilled slightly, waiting for Volodya to give an order. When he did, I recognized one of the few phrases in Russian I understood; kill her. I jumped out of the line of fire just in time as shots rang out. I managed to knock out a few of the men around me in my haste to escape. It was their fault, really. They had surrounded me, keeping me in the center so that I couldn’t escape. Who was I to deny them the fight they so desperately wanted?

  As they reached for their guns, I watched their movements closely before striking. One man was faster than the others so I quickly swept his feet out from under him, letting the bullets fly as his finger found the trigger. He fell to the ground and took a few of his men with him as he did so. It created a hole in the group of men surrounding me, but wouldn’t last for long. More mafia members moved in for a chance to kill me, and take me back to their boss. Someone’s gun hit the back of my head before I could move to escape the growing crowd. Without thinking, I pushed from the ground and used the palm of my hand to break his nose. Whoever it was cupped his hands over his nose in shock, giving me the chance to shove him into his fellow guards and provide a needed break in the mass of bodies.

  I took the opening, and darted in and out of the growing number of members around me. They started to call back most of the crowd to provide the gunman on the third floor a better view of me, but I still had enough bodies around me to dodge bullets. The human shields were a necessary risk; either I was momentarily captured or a gunman took out his fellow members. It provided a better chance that more mafia members would die before I had to deal with them.

  I raced around the equipment easily as bullets ripped through the material, letting splinters and scraps of metal fly through the air. Stray bullets flew sporadically as they ricocheted off the metal and concrete. I knew I had to keep going. If I could just keep out of their range, they’d eventually run out of bullets, but I couldn’t stay this open forever. I had remained on the first floor for the most part to draw attention to the open part of the compound, but as more men flooded onto the floor to kill me I could see this turning disastrous quickly. The guns above me stopped firing momentarily, most likely reloading, and I took the opportunity to get lost in the crowd. I leapt up to the second floor by jumping from the equipment and boxes from the first floor and grabbing the railing of the walkway above me. I slipped thro
ugh the opening between the horizontal bars, landing in a mostly deserted area of the second floor catwalk. I became quickly surrounded once the members were redirected to my location. There weren’t as many guards up here, which allowed me to weave in and out of them easily before the crowd raced up to box me into a corner. I fought through the small crowd this time, biding my time until the second floor was practically filled with people. Once there were enough people, the bullets stopped. They didn’t have a clear shot to me. I knocked out one last guy before sprinting off into the back hallways of the compound. Some followed, others unsure of where I had gone. I heard orders being frantically given, members spreading out to find me, and a few stray gunshots. In their chaos, I drifted into the shadows and worked my way around the compound to avoid as many mafia members as I could.

  I smiled as the voices drifted further from me, and I was once again on my own. This is when I worked best, when I had time to think instead of just react. I could make it out easily now. That distraction should have given Demon enough time to escape and get Natasha somewhere safe. He shouldn’t have had anyone following him, and if he did it would be a manageable number since I held most of the attention in the compound. Now if I could just get out of this building, then I would’ve managed to not only salvage this mission, but save Natasha and make it out alive.

  I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride as I looked over the chaos around me. I could slip out easily, and they wouldn’t realize it until we were safely on Maverick’s plane. They would never find us, and both girls would be alive, free to give us information on how to bring down their father, and eventually free their people. For now I just had to focus on one step at a time. I had to get out of here first, and then find out where Seeker had moved the car so I could meet up with them. If I didn’t, it would be a long walk to the airstrip.