Page 125 of Bratva Butcher

I was stunned. One, because she’d somehow managed to get in and out without anyone noticing. And two, because she was climbing down the side of the house with what looked like zero climbing equipment. She was doing it completely freehand.

She plopped down onto the ground and stretched her body left to right. I thought she was done for when a soldier stepped around the corner and spotted her. I almost wanted to shout out and warn her, regardless of how pointless it would be to do so from so far away.

Turned out, she didn’t need my help, though. She whipped out a gun and shot him in the neck with what looked like a dart before he even knew what was going on. She then shot forward and caught his fall, lowering him to the ground softly before snatching up the dart and pocketing it.

Without any further delay, she took off, running in the north-east direction, behind the warehouse.

I was genuinely impressed with her, and couldn’t help wondering who she was and what she was doing in Dimitri’s house.

When I realised she was making her escape, heading straight for some sort of exit point, I cursed. With quick, precise movements, I packed away my gear into my backpack, strapped it across my shoulders and ran to my bike.

I owned several different motorbikes, but this one—the Aprilia RSV 1000R Mille—was my favourite. It wasn’t only fast but quiet, making it perfect for sleuthing. I much preferred bikesover cars because they made for quick, easy getaways. Given my profession, those two things were key to ensuring a successful escape.

I slapped on my black helmet and straddled my bike, turning on the engine. Pain shot through my body, and I winced, gripping my side.

Son of a bitch.

There was a seven-inch laceration just under my ribs, thanks to Johnathon. Fucker was more skilled than I thought.

After Sergei’s ultimatum, I’d run back to try to find Johnathon and complete my mission, but he’d left. Most likely, after the kiss Dimitri and I shared on the dance floor. Having his “date” kiss another man in front of everyone else would have been a bit of an ego blow for the dude.

So, he’d ditched my clutch on the table and just left. The vial of Thallium was still inside, so I was confident my cover hadn’t been blown. But still, it presented a conundrum.

How was I going to complete my contract and kill him?

The easiest solution I could come up with was to sneak into his house and put the Thallium in one of the bottles of water in his fridge. A plan I wished I’d thought of first, so I didn’t have to endure the tedious events of that stupid ball.

In saying that, though, if I’d done that first, I never would have gotten to finally fuck Dimitri.

Everything happens for a reason, I guess.

Unfortunately for me, Johnathon had woken up in the middle of the night and caught me. He’d managed to get a few good hits in, one of which being a cut from a knife before I was able to take him down.

I’d been left with no choice but to kill him and make it look like a home invasion gone wrong to cover my tracks.

Shaking off the pain, I kicked the stand up and took off quickly, pebbles and dust shooting in the air as I sped forward. Itook the winding roads at high speed, heading in the north-east direction. If I could get there in time to see where the woman was exiting from, I might be able to use that as my way in.

The wind whistled past me, the exhilaration that came with riding fast, with leaning into the swerves as I took corners quickly pounding into my veins. It was such an adrenaline rush, and I fucking loved every second of it—another reason why I preferred bikes to cars.

Since I knew what to look for, it made spotting her a little easier. She was running across the yard with one of the dogs on her tail, but it wasn’t attacking her—another thing I didn’t understand, but didn’t have the time to think about.

I pulled over to the side of the road and switched off my bike. My head tilted to the side as I watched her approach a small bush. She simply picked it up and moved it to the side, revealing a hole in the fence that looked like it had been blowtorched open.

Interesting.

She patted the dog on the head and then climbed through the hole, emerging on the other side next to another motorbike—hers, I assumed.

I took off my helmet and left it dangling from the handlebars. She spotted me. Froze. Cocked her head to the side. Then waved in a friendly greeting.

At least she wasn’t trying to outright kill me, which I took as a positive. I waved back. We both seemed to have similar agendas—getting into the Volkov house undetected—so I figured she might be open to helping me.

Swinging my leg, I dismounted from my bike and crossed the road quickly to get to her side. She was wearing a mask, so I couldn’t see her face properly. Just a set of light, brown eyes.

“Hello,” I greeted politely.

She smiled. “Hello!”Fuck me, you’re a chipper one.“Are you looking to get in?”

“Uh, yes.”

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