Page 171 of Stolen Empire
Then Savely Koval steps out.
I recognize him from the file Dimitri showed me.
He's tall, broad-shouldered, with a scarred face and cold eyes.
He's not one of the men who took me at that warehouse, but I see one of those three as well, along with several others I don't recognize.
His eyes find me, and I see the moment recognition hits him.
He smiles, and it's the smile of a predator who's found its prey.
I take a breath and call out his name.
"Savely Koval."
He says something to the men beside him, and they laugh.
He starts walking toward me, his hand resting on the gun at his hip.
With each step, I feel my heart rate accelerate.
The vest suddenly feels very thin.
The protection it offers seems theoretical, and not as grounding or reassuring as it felt moments ago in the car.
"Ekaterina Morozova," he calls out, his voice rough and amused.
"I've been looking for you."
"I know."
I keep moving toward the midpoint, closing the distance between us.
The soldiers on both tree lines remain still, watching.
Waiting.
"That's why I'm here."
"Vetrov finally let you off your leash?"
He laughs again.
"Or did you run to us for protection?"
"Neither," I tell him.
"I came here to end this."
My words anger him.
I watch his expression screw into dark hatred and he reaches for his weapon.
I suddenly don't remember what I'm supposed to do, if there's a code word or a hand gesture.
The world seems to crawl in slow motion and I watch as he draws his weapon and begins to raise it, and all I can think is that I'm supposed to fall.
I let my knees give out, and my hands rise to cover my head.
