Chapter 1

Alex shivered in the cold, crisp Russian air, his breath creating misty clouds as he stealthily made his way through the ancient trees toward the estate where his intended target resided. His boots made soft but distinct crunches in the icy snow, and the snap of fallen twigs underfoot made him wince each time. He cursed Vitaly for needing the job done while there was still snow on the ground; tracking in the snow made it nearly impossible to maintain invisibility, especially with eight other men accompanying him.

If Vitaly hadn’t called him, he’d be home with Anna right now. He’d be comforting her as she readied herself for Devin’s Spring Gathering. He’d be able to watch and make sure the San Francisco Elder behaved himself with her. No, he wouldn’t be able to hold her at night or wake with her in the morning, but they’d be in the same place, instead of thousands of miles apart, like they were right now.

And he wouldn’t be freezing his ass off. Northern California was cold, but not this damn cold.

They were only about a half-mile away from the target. Nearly to the place he’d chosen to take the shot.

A strange whistle pierced the air, making Alex freeze in his tracks. He raised his arm, signaling everyone to halt. Slowly, he lowered himself into a crouch, but as he did, a faint thump sounded behind him.

He turned to see his cousin, Erich, sprawled on the ground a few yards away. Sebastian hurried to his side to check on him as another piercing whistle shattered the eerie silence. A second later, Sebastian grabbed his neck and stared at Alex with wide, surprised eyes before disappearing in a flash of golden light. Michael, Sebastian’s backup medic, had been making his way to Erich’s side and slumped to the forest floor the next moment.

Jesse raised his rifle, and a deafening clap echoed through the woods as he fired his weapon. Roughly fifty yards away, a figure fell from a tree, landing with a resounding thud on the unforgiving frozen ground.

Adrenaline surged through Alex’s body. “Down! Everybody down!” He dropped to the ground and army-crawled over to his cousin and Michael. A small red dart protruded from each of their necks. Why?—

“Shit!” Tony ran to him, but dropped only a few steps in. Alex rolled onto his back and searched the trees through the scope of his rifle. Seth, Jason, and Greg did the same. Greg went down next.

With jerky, adrenaline-fueled movements, he swung his rifle around, scanning the trees for any signs of the hidden attackers. Another surge of adrenaline coursed through him, clarifying his vision and amplifying every sound as he desperately searched for their assailants. Suddenly, he spotted a slight movement within the branches of a tree. Without hesitation, Alex squeezed the trigger of his custom-made rifle and the shot rang out. Another body plummeted from the tree, hitting the ground with a resounding crash.

Gunshots echoed through the air, creating a deafening cacophony. But in a matter of minutes, a grim and eerie silence descended as, one by one, his friends fell to the ground, unmoving.

Something pricked his neck, but before he could reach for it, his body went numb and he slumped to his side. The last thing he saw was black boots approaching.

Alex became aware of his entire body shaking, but not from internal tremors. He was hogtied—his arms and legs bound tightly behind his back—and he lay on his side. The distant sound of tires crunching on gravel—or was it snow?—reached his ears. An engine roared and he was rolled onto his face as the vehicle ascended a hill.

He cautiously opened his eyes just a fraction, but the darkness surrounding him revealed nothing. A warm body rolled onto his hands and he winced. He wanted to speak, to find out if he was with his men, but he knew better than to give away that he was awake.

After many twists and turns, the vehicle finally stopped, and a sliding door opened at his feet. He squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden influx of sunlight, but before he did, he saw he was in the back of a large cargo van.

Someone shouted in Russian. “Time to wake up!”

Alex gasped as freezing water landed on him. The other men yelled and there was much shuffling and cursing. Only he and Erich spoke Russian. The others wouldn’t understand what their captors were shouting.

A man in black appeared above him and put a knife to Alex’s throat, a deadly serious expression on his face, and spoke in Russian. “I am going to untie your feet. You tell your men if they fight, I will kill them.”

Alex nodded and repeated the instructions to his men in English. Within a few minutes, the wet men were standing outside the van shivering, their feet untied, but arms still bound behind their back. He counted ten unknown men nearby in black, brandishing automatic rifles, fingers near the triggers, looking as serious as the first man had been.

The big man, nearly as tall as Alex, stood in front of him, studying his face with narrowed eyes. “Okay, let’s go,” he snapped in Russian.

Alex glared at the man and clenched his fists, but he was at too much of a disadvantage with his hands tied, and needed to wait until he was in a position to win.

“Tell your men to come with us,” the man said, still speaking in Russian.

“Tell them yourself.”

The man narrowed his eyes. “If you do not tell them, anyone who does not come with us will be shot.”

The Russians standing nearby raised their rifles at Alex and his men, and Alex sucked in a breath. “Okay, okay.” He turned. His men shivered in the cold but otherwise looked unharmed. Where was Sebastian? “Follow them or we’ll be shot,” he said in English, then turned and raised his eyebrows at the man. “I told them.”

Alex looked up at the enormous gray-stone castle looming in front of him. Ominous. And familiar.

They were marched up the stone steps and into a massive, round entryway with a black marble floor. They were led up a broad, wooden curved staircase to the second floor and down a wide wood-paneled hallway with thick blue carpeting. The burly man opened a carved wooden door that opened up to a large room with a massive wooden desk at one end.

Alex and his men were lined up in two rows in front of the desk and commanded to kneel. Alex repeated the instruction in English and nodded as his men looked at him for orders. They needed to wait until they had the advantage to strike. It wasn’t time yet. They had yet to meet their true enemy.

They waited for a very long time. Alex was thankful for the thick rug, but his knees could only handle so much. He was about to request to be able to stand when the door opened. Alex glared at the two familiar men who entered.

They were both tall and thin, with the same hard brown eyes beneath heavy brows. The older man’s gray hair was cut very short and his beard was pointed, making him look like the evil villain he seemed to truly be. The younger man, near Vati’s age, had dark hair sprinkled with silver and a matching beard. He stood a few feet behind the older man and looked at Alex with disdain.

The older man smiled and Alex curled his lip. “Vitaly and Vlad Ivanov,” he growled under his breath.

Vitaly smiled and pointed to him. “Make him stand.”

Two men pulled Alex to his feet and pushed him forward. Alex sneered and stood his full height in front of him, glaring down at the elderly man.

“Welcome to my home, Alex,” Vitaly said in Russian. He leaned to look around Alex at his men. “And friends, of course. I am so glad to have you as my guests.” He paused. “Permanently.”

“ Zhopa ,” Alex spat in Russian, calling the Russian Elder an asshole. He didn’t know many Russian curse words, and it wasn’t incredibly insulting, but it felt good to say. Russian was always good to curse in.

Vlad chuckled. “You really need to improve your insults, Alex. I have a book I can lend you. You’ll have plenty of time to read it.”

Alex clenched his teeth. “You fucking bastard. How long have you been in Devin’s pocket?” He spat in the older man’s face and lunged at him.

Someone grabbed him from behind and tried to push him to his knees, but even with his hands tied behind his back, Alex was a good deal stronger. Only after several minutes of struggling and a hard kick behind the knees did Alex finally go down.

The guard pulled at his hair to make him look up at Vitaly and Alex sneered. “You better watch your back,” he spat in Russian. “Both of you. I will spend every moment I am awake deciding how I’m going to kill you.”

Vitaly laughed, and Alex jumped back to his feet and rammed himself into the old man. Vitaly fell back into Vlad’s arms and Alex smiled... just before someone cracked him on the head and he slumped to the floor.