Chapter 15 - Blood on the Snow
The first heavy snow of the year blanketed the city in a deceptive, pristine white.
Clara was asleep in the massive master bedroom of Victor’s estate, tangled in silk sheets and heavy down comforters.
She woke up suddenly to the sound of Victor cursing violently in Russian.
She sat up, pulling the sheets around her chest.
Victor was fully dressed in black tactical gear, strapping a Kevlar vest over his chest.
"What is happening?" Clara asked, her heart rate spiking instantly.
"Alexei just hit our main weapons cache at the docks," Victor snarled, loading a heavy assault rifle.
"It was a trap."
"Silas went down to investigate a false alarm, and the Bratva ambushed him."
Clara jumped out of bed, her bare feet hitting the freezing hardwood floor.
"Did they kill him?" she asked, her voice trembling at the thought of losing the stoic, loyal man who had become a true friend.
"No," Victor said, his eyes burning with a murderous rage.
"Alexei sent me a video."
"They are holding Silas at the old abandoned meatpacking plant on the edge of the river."
"He wants me to come alone."
Clara grabbed Victor’s arm, her fingers digging desperately into his tactical vest.
"Victor, it’s a suicide mission."
"They will have snipers on every roof and heavily armed men guarding every entrance."
Victor gently cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheek with agonizing tenderness.
"Silas has saved my life more times than I can count, Clara."
"I will not abandon him to be tortured by that Russian psychopath."
Clara knew better than to argue with Victor when it came to loyalty.
Instead, she ran to her massive walk-in closet and pulled out her warmest dark clothing.
"What are you doing?" Victor demanded, following her.
"I am coming with you," Clara said firmly, pulling a thick black turtleneck over her head.
"Absolutely not," Victor roared, grabbing her by the shoulders.
"I am not taking the woman I love into a slaughterhouse!"
Clara looked up at him, her eyes fierce and entirely uncompromising.
"You need a medic, Victor."
"If Silas is injured, he will bleed out before you can get him back to the estate."
"I have combat trauma experience, and I know how to stay out of the line of fire."
Victor stared at her, seeing the absolute determination etched into her beautiful face.
He cursed loudly, punching the heavy wooden doorframe in frustration.
"If you get a single scratch on you, Clara, I will tear this entire city apart with my bare hands."
"I know," Clara whispered, grabbing her canvas medical bag from the shelf.
They rode in the back of a heavily armored SUV, the silence in the cabin thick and suffocating.
Victor's strike team consisted of twenty of his most elite, lethal operators.
They approached the meatpacking plant under the cover of a blinding snowstorm.
The massive brick building looked like a decaying fortress, surrounded by rusted chain-link fences and barbed wire.
Victor turned to Clara before stepping out of the vehicle.
"You stay in the car with two guards until I secure the interior."
"That is an absolute order, Clara."
Clara nodded, clutching the medical bag tightly against her chest.
Victor kicked open the door and disappeared into the blinding, freezing white storm.
For ten minutes, Clara sat in agonizing suspense, jumping at every muffled gunshot that echoed from the warehouse.
Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the foundation of the building, blowing out the front windows in a massive fireball.
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Clara didn't think about the danger or the orders she had been given.
She grabbed her medical bag, pushed past the protesting guards, and ran directly into the smoke and the flames.
