Chapter 21

twenty-one

. . .

Cross

" Y ou good?" Ransom asked as the gunfire finally stopped. "I think they're dead."

One could hope.

"I'm not fucking good. But I'm alive."

For now. My fingers were icy, and I didn't think that boded well for me. Breaths labored, I leaned against the back of the sofa as I pulled myself up to my feet. Only sheer force of will kept me upright as the room spun. Blood dripped to the floor, soaking my jeans and making a puddle at my feet. Shit, I couldn't afford to lose any more. All I could hope for was that Walker'd gotten River out safely. That was all that mattered.

"I'm calling it in, Cross. Get your story straight. There's no way we can clean this up." Ransom pulled out his phone.

Fuck.

The last thing we needed was a bunch of police crawling around, but Ransom was right. There were too many bodies. We'd have to rely on the almighty dollar to keep our asses out of the interrogation room this time. Thank God the fucker was loaded. He put my fortune to shame.

I stumbled as I tried to stand without anything holding me up, but I managed to get myself under control. I would walk out of this fucking house on my own.

"Here," Ransom said, tossing me a blanket. "Put pressure on your shoulder."

"It's not gonna help. Too late for that."

"Don't be a fucking asshole."

"Volkov's still out there," I reminded him. "He's just waiting us out."

Ransom's mouth opened to respond, but the sound of slow clapping and the crunch of glass interrupted whatever he was about to say.

I twisted around, biting back a groan as pain lanced through my wound.

"So nice of you to wait for me," Dominik said in his thick accent, lips curling in a smug smile.

The bastard thought he'd already won.

"You're late, you fucking coward," I said through gritted teeth.

"You say late. I say right on time."

"Your men are dead."

He shrugged. "They knew what they were signing up for. By the way, I have to thank you for providing me such a lovely locale to claim my prize."

"You talk too fucking much," Ransom said, pulling his gun and taking aim. He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened besides an impotent click.

Volkov laughed, pulling out his own weapon. "Mine is fully loaded, I assure you. Should we try that again? Once more, with feeling?" He aimed the gun straight at me.

Ransom was a blur as he rushed the Mafia don. Dominik didn't even blink. He twisted, bringing the butt of his weapon down on Ransom's temple and sending him crashing to the floor, unconscious.

"Alone at last," he mused.

With each sluggish beat of my heart, more vital blood left my body. But I refused to die without taking this motherfucker with me.

"The way it should be," I said, raising my pistol and proud of myself when my arm remained steady as I chambered a round.

Volkov surprised me by laughing. "It's like the old cowboy movies, no? Pistols at high noon? Where's your hat, Cross?"

"Must've left it at home."

"Pity. But perhaps they'll find it in time to bury you with it."

"Do you practice your villain lines?" Fuck, my voice was a harsh rasp, but I couldn't let him have the parting shot.

His grin turned cutting. "No need."

Fucking prick.

"Ransom was right. You talk too fucking much."

He kept his gun on me but gave a little shrug. "Excuse me for enjoying my big moment. I must admit I've been looking forward to it."

"Dying?"

He made a soft tsking sound. "No, I'm not the one dying here today, Cross. I meant taking her right out from under you. Again."

"The fuck you are. You're never touching her again." I squeezed the trigger and fired.

Volkov laughed, a slightly shocked sound, like he couldn't believe I fucking missed.

Frankly, I couldn't either, but I was woozy as fuck and seeing double. So I probably hit the mirage version of him, at the very least.

"Pathetic, just like your father said you were when I killed him."

"He died of a heart attack."

"I know. Poison is a wonderful tool. Not just a woman's weapon. You should have seen his face when he realized what I put in his drink."

Before my mind could begin chasing the dozen questions that brought up, I sneered and chambered another round. "Good thing I'm nothing like my father."

"No? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say."

He could have killed me more than once by now. The asshole was toying with me. Letting me bleed out instead because he knew I was done for.

In the distance, I caught sight of Bishop as he dropped from the balcony with the lithe grace of a cat. He stood, drawing his service weapon, and held one finger to his lips as he approached Volkov.

The best thing I could do now was let Bishop sneak up and take the shot, meaning I needed to keep the asshole talking. Good thing he seemed to be a chatty fuck.

"Thanks for doing the job for me. No one much liked my dad, anyway."

"I'm going to enjoy dismantling your family's empire piece by piece and getting richer while I do it. But I think my favorite part will be filling your widow up every fucking night."

I saw red, but before I could do anything, Bishop pressed the muzzle of his gun against the back of Dominik's skull. "Don't move, motherfucker."

The Russian went still, the smile melting away as if it had never been there at all. He fired without warning, and I dove to the floor in a display of desperation rather than skill. The bullet missed by the grace of God, embedding itself into the wall behind me.

"What the fuck are you doing? Take your damn shot," I shouted at Bishop when the sound of a scuffle reached my ears. I pushed up on shaking limbs, finding Bishop wrenching the gun from Volkov's hand before twisting both arms behind his back.

"Dominik Volkov, you're under arrest."

"No!" I shouted. "What the hell are you doing? Kill him!"

Enraged, I got to my feet, struggling for every second as I staggered with purpose toward where Volkov was bound and on his knees. The gun trembled in my hold, but still, I pressed it to the fucker's forehead and readied myself to end him.

"I'm not gonna miss this time, asshole," I rasped, each word a fight.

"Cross," Bishop said with an urgency I hadn't heard from him before, "if we take him in, more people than just you will get justice. Think of all those girls. All those families. They deserve to know what he did. To know he's going to get the death penalty. If he dies here, his secrets die with him. None of those victims will get closure."

Indecision, the fucking bastard, wormed its way through me. My resolve faltered. I'd killed men with barely a second thought for doing less than Volkov had done.

"River . . ." I whispered, pleading with him.

"I know. Listen, I'll look the other way. If you want to kill him, I'll help you bury the body. But justice is sweet when it's served."

Tears blurred my eyes, and a sound of pure rage burst from my throat as I lowered my gun. "You better make damn sure he gets the chair, or I swear to God I will hunt him down and slit his throat, consequences be damned."

"You have my word, Cross. He'll never see the light of day again."

Locking eyes with Bishop, I nodded. "Make the fucking call."

Bishop gave me a sharp nod, pulling a few zip ties out of his pocket.

"Where the fuck did those come from?"

"I grabbed them when we got the guns. Better safe than sorry," he said, getting to work restraining Volkov.

The bastard chose the wrong damn moment to laugh. "You are such a pussy. No wonder your wife was so easy to take from you. You don't have the balls to do what needs to be done."

I brought my arm back and hit him with all the strength I had, the pistol connecting with his temple and sending him slumping over unconscious. "Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Every word was a chore.

I had minutes at best before I ended up right there beside him. Falling to my knees, I dropped the gun. My limbs were numb, eyes so heavy I could barely keep them open.

"Fuck, Cross. Hang on," Bishop said. I heard him make a call, but there wasn't anything left for me to stay awake for. "Can you call someone?"

Ransom's groggy voice reached my ears. "Shit. Yeah. Hang on." He continued talking, but it was clear he was on the phone. "Bring the chopper. He's hurt bad. And call Garrett, have him on standby at the hospital. No one treats one of my guys but him."

I had the fleeting thought that if Walker was still here, he would have made a ‘get to the chopper' joke. God, I hoped he got her out. I hoped I lived to see her again so I could make sure she knew she was safe and loved. That she didn't need to worry about Volkov touching her ever again.

"Cross, stay with me. Come on, man," Bishop said, real fear in his voice.

"Tell River I'm sorry." I slurred. "I always loved her. Always."

I heard the sirens just before I lost the battle with consciousness and faded into the darkness.