Gregor stared at the screen, amazed at the sight before him.
He was in the basement of his property, with Kris, Yuri, Dmitri, and the rest of his security team, where they’d been for the last ten minutes, all of them wincing with every explosion above them.
They’d done what they could with the remote-firing guns sited in the attic and had taken out a number of the cartel’s men. But once Lucky’s men had started to use the rockets, one by one his guns had fallen silent.
Amazingly, thanks to the live feed from the cameras hidden in the trees in his garden, he could actually see what was going on above them, and more importantly, could see the damage being done by the constant rocket bombardment.
“Excuse me for pointing out the obvious…” Kris pointed at the screen. “But you’re going to need to hire a damn good cleaning service to tidy that little mess up!”
Gregor turned to Kris with a smirk.
“I was planning on redecorating anyway.” He shrugged. “I just hope they haven’t hurt any of the rabbits! Sophia will never forgive them!”
“If those big ears they have are good for anything, once they heard the noise from the guns, those critters will have gotten themselves down in their burrows and stayed well out of sight.” Dmitri observed.
“Let’s hope.” Gregor flinched as another rocket seemed to detonate right overhead.
“Look!” Kris pointed out the vehicles making their way onto the property at speed. “It looks like the Alpha-Stalwart cavalry have arrived. And bizarrely, we get to have a bird’s eye view of the action.”
They sat and watched as Tuck and his men took on the cartel, wincing as Danny firstly took out the two men by the feet and ass respectively, and then with JT, took out the rest of the men at the front of the house.
Gregor had only ever seen Danny as the relaxed, funny giant married to the tiny genius wife. This was a whole different man, and it gave him an insight into what it might have been like to face Alpha Company in places like Afghanistan or Iraq. Places where they had no need to ever turn back into the loving family men they were today.
As the cartel started to be distracted by the Stalwart men at the rear, Gregor actually started to believe they were going to get out of this situation alive.
He couldn’t wait to get to Tulli and tell her it was all over.
Just as he was about to breathe easy, the ground shook beneath his feet with the most violent tremor yet.
Every man in the basement hit the floor, hands covering heads as the whole foundations shook.
“Shit!” Kris scrambled to his knees to look at the screen, which was still miraculously broadcasting what was going on outside. “They’ve hit the gas pipe!”
He pointed to the flame shooting high in the air.
“Are we at risk of another explosion?” Gregor asked.
“Nah, that’s it.” Yuri shook his head. “Once we isolate the gas intake, the flame will go out. It doesn’t look like there’s anything left close to it to catch fire, so we just need them to check if there’s anything on top of us. There shouldn’t be much.”
When they saw the Feds and the police show up, Gregor finally believed it was all over. His heart was pumping wildly, but this wasn’t fear, it was relief, and it was almost overwhelming.
“See if we can get the door open. If not, use the smoke bombs and the siren.” He instructed. The smoke bombs would release a cloud of yellow smoke through any cracks in the door, and combined with the siren, it would alert potential rescuers to where they were situated.
Less than ten minutes later, Gregor was stepping through the debris of his once beautiful home, and out onto the lawn. He didn’t even notice the damage caused by all the vehicles, so relieved was he to be breathing fresh air again.
Paramedics tried to ask him if he was Ok, but he waved them off.
“Mr Diminov?” He recognised the voice.
Gregor turned to see Cole Arthurs the FBI chief walking towards him.
“Are all your men safe?” Arthurs asked.
Gregor nodded.
“We’re all unharmed, thank you.” He looked back at the house. “The only damage was material.”
“Relieved to hear it, sir.” Cole nodded.
“Where’s Tuck, and the rest of the men?” Gregor stared around at the organised chaos of police, Feds, and assorted emergency personnel. “I haven’t seen any of them yet.”
“No, well… it looks like Mrs Vega had this as a sideshow, and the real point of attack was Tuck’s house. They’ve pretty much hijacked the Marine helicopter to get them over there. I’ve sent more men in support, but we haven’t heard anything yet.”
Gregor’s breathing slowed as the blood seemed to drain from his head.
Tuck’s house was under attack by Luciana Vega?
Tulli!
“Get me to Tuck’s house!” He instructed Arthurs, who stared at him in surprise.
“Please? I need to be there.” Gregor pleaded.
Arthurs narrowed his eyes as if considering the request and then nodded.
He yelled at his second in command to take control, and they ran for his SUV.
As Gregor yanked on the door, he realised Yuri and Kris were right on his heels.
“You don’t really think you’re leaving us behind, do you?” Yuri grinned.
They climbed in, and before the door shut, Arthurs had the wheels spinning in the gravel, and then they were heading down the drive, through what was left of the gated entrance, and out onto the road.
Ten long minutes.
Ten excruciatingly long minutes, where even with the lights on and the sirens blaring, they still didn’t seem to be exceeding the speed limit.
Gregor had a feeling Dmitri could’ve driven there faster!
A couple of minutes out, Arthurs cut the sirens, unwilling to announce their arrival when they didn’t know what they’d be driving into.
Half a mile out, and Gregor could have sworn he could smell smoke, which at this time of the morning would have seemed strange anywhere.
As they closed in on Tuck’s place, the smell got worse, and by the time they were heading up to the driveway, the air was thick with it.
Arthurs barely made it through the gate when they had to come to a complete stop, the other law enforcement vehicles blocking the way.
Gregor threw the door open and leapt out, the scene in front of him reminiscent of the one he’d left behind.
The only difference between Tuck’s house and his, was that his wasn’t a blazing inferno.
He staggered forward, looking for Tuck and the guys, desperate to see the one face that had been filling his mind for the last week.
He couldn’t understand why nobody was doing anything. Nobody was running around trying to help put the fire out.
But then, what help could they have been? The house was entirely engulfed in flames.
As his feet carried him past the last police vehicle, he finally found the men he’d been looking for, but not looking anything like he’d ever seen them before.
The Alpha-Stalwart men were littered across the drive and grass, either alone or in two’s, almost without exception sitting with their heads in their hands.
The only one who wasn’t was Marcus, and he was clasped in Zach’s huge arms, howling like a tortured animal.
It didn’t take any explanation to confirm what had happened here.
He found Tuck in the distance, sitting alone on the grass, his shoulders hunched as he wrapped his arms around his knees.
“Ryan?” Gregor knelt on the grass next to the man he so admired and rested a hand on his shoulder.
Tuck looked up, and the pain on his face was something Gregor would never forget.
“Did… did anyone make it out?” He whispered.
Tuck didn’t speak, just shook his head.
Gregor’s heart shattered into a million pieces.
One thought kept repeating in his head.
If he felt this devastated over the loss of a woman he’d known a week, what must it be like for these men to have lost their wives? Their soulmates?
He glanced over at Marcus and could understand the man’s devastation. He’d not only lost his wife, but his unborn child!
How in God’s name were they ever going to get over this?