662

They reached a door which led to a ballroom according to an old sign on the wall. Ben heard voices inside. He grabbed the Sergeant’s shoulder.
“I think Liliya and Tatiana are inside. Don’t shoot them, please.”
Evelyn looked him in the eye. “What if they shoot at you?”
Ben shook his head. “They won’t.”
She didn’t look convinced, but she nodded. “I’m going to check to see if there are any more hired guns outside. Please stay here!” He nodded, and she was gone. He marveled at how stealthy she could be.
Angry shouts rang out behind the doors. Ben frowned and moved to the entrance. He took a deep breath.
“Liliya! Tatiana! It’s Ben Shepherd! I’m coming in so please don’t shoot me!”
“NO! Ben! Don’t come in! Tatiana will kill you!” Liliya yelled back.
He slowly pushed through the double doors. “She already had her chance to do that earlier when I was chained to a bed upstairs. She didn’t do it then, and I hope I read her intentions correctly. Listen, we need to leave the building. It’s on fire!”
“Why are you still naked?” Liliya asked.
“The assholes soaked my clothes in gas. That’s not important. We have to leave, now!”
“You don’t understand! Tatiana will kill us! For Rose to live, she must die!”
“I don’t want to kill Rose or you or Ben! All I want is to live!” the brunette called out.
“I read the file! You killed him! You’ll kill her father, but you won’t kill her? I don’t believe you!” Liliya cried.
“I didn’t know the target was your husband! The Colonel didn’t tell me, and afterward, he used it as another way to control me!” Tatiana shouted.
Ben understood now. Liliya wanted revenge for her husband’s death. He had to get her past that.
There were stacks of tables and chairs on both sides of the room. Ben assumed they were hiding behind those. He walked directly into the middle of the room. “Liliya, did you get to choose your targets?”
She was quiet for a moment. “No.”
“So what makes you think Tatiana did? I’m sorry your husband was targeted but didn’t the Colonel expect you to kill him once you got what you needed from him? I don’t know anything about what you went through in your life, and I wouldn’t tell you what to feel, but I can tell you that right now, you’re able to make your own decisions, but you’re making the wrong ones. Rose needs her mother. You need to be with her, not hunting a woman who was in the same situation you were back then.” He looked in the opposite direction. “Tatiana, please don’t prove you’re what she says you are. You both need to stop shooting and start living your lives how you want to live them! That starts with getting out of this burning building! Please!”
Tatiana slowly stepped out from behind some curtains by the windows. She cautiously approached Ben with a nervous smile on her face. Ben suddenly realized how brave she was being. Seconds later a closet door opened and Liliya stepped out. Her eyes were a little red, but she stiffly walked to join them in the middle of the room.
“I thought you two were behind the tables,” Ben admitted.
Liliya snorted, and a smile began to appear on her lips. “You are no assassin.” Ben nodded with a slight smile.
Tatiana looked into Liliya’s eyes. “I am deeply sorry for killing your husband. I am eternally grateful that you killed the Colonel and got our files away from them.”
Liliya nodded. “The files are destroyed. Only we remain of our team.”
Tatiana grinned and glanced at Ben then back to Liliya. “I truly approve of your choice in associates!”
Liliya chuckled then both women froze.
“Drop the guns, ladies.”
Ben looked to the entrance and saw a man flanked by two men with drawn guns. Tatiana and Liliya dropped their weapons and kicked them forward.
“And you would be Don Solerno?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, but why are you naked?” the man asked.
“Your men stripped me, chained me to a bed, and poured gas all over the mattress,” Ben explained.
Don smiled. “That sounds like my boys. Where-”
“Dead. All of them,” Ben said bluntly and Don’s expression twisted. Still, he knew the man wasn’t going to do anything until he got his money. “You’re not having a good day but then, neither am I. Your bad time probably started when you first did business with Rainor Hahn. The man was a psychopath but a brilliant con man. You aren’t the only one who fell victim to his plotting.”
“Where’s my money?” Solerno demanded.
“As I said to Julian before he went out the window, Rainor purchased big parcels of real estate in seven cities in seven countries around the world, but the deeds were in his name. Then he died, eaten by sharks I might add. The deeds are in my name as I inherited his estate.”
Don was breathing hard as Ben was seriously pissing him off. The two women standing on either side of him were stunningly beautiful, and Ben’s fit and strong naked body made the mob boss feel awkward and self-conscious about his own poor physical condition. Still, no one talked to him like this! “You gotta lotta balls-”
Liliya and Tatiana burst into giggles, and even Ben cracked a smile. Don glanced at his men and saw them quickly controlling their expressions.
“If I had clothes, I’d wear them, but your boys took care of that. Speaking of which, have you noticed the building is on fire? That mess they made with the gas upstairs caught on fire and the top floors are gone by now. We really should get out before it collapses on us.”
“You’re going to sign those deeds over to me,” Solerno growled as he moved closer.
“Not tonight, I’m not,” Ben insisted. “Listen, if you shoot me, you lose any chance of getting them back. So I’m going to leave now.” He took a step towards the door.
Don gave him a crooked smile. “I don’t have to shoot you, Mr. Shepherd. Your story is all over the media. You have lots of pretty women all around you, children too. They’ll make excellent targe- URK!”
He was unable to complete his threat as Ben lunged forward to wrap his fingers around the man’s throat to lift him in the air. Liliya and Tatiana moved a split second later and sank knives into the throats of the two bodyguards who reacted to Ben’s move and missed theirs. The women disarmed the guards and used their guns to put a slug in their skulls to hurry their deaths along. Then they took Don Solerno’s weapons as he dangled in Ben’s grip.
Ben looked deeply into the man’s eyes. “You didn’t get the point of those stories. No one threatens my family!” Don’s eyes were beginning to bulge out from a lack of air. Ben threw him down, and he gasped in a breath and began choking and coughing.
Don looked at the dead bodies of his guards. He struggled to speak through his hoarse throat. “You- you have no idea… who you’re fucking with. Five families pooled their money to make this happen. They won’t just let you take it from them.”
Ben glared at the man. It was true. Ben hadn’t thought this far ahead. He’d gotten caught up with the potential good he could do with the money from the sale. He’d been telling people it was all a blue sky dream, but he should have been listening to his own words.
Lying on the floor before him, was one of the catalysts for the rot in society. The drugs and violence they introduced were the very traps his Foundation would be helping those kids escape. He sighed. “Don’t you think our negotiations are going well?”
Tatiana burst into giggles once more. She looked to Liliya whose grin showed she was enjoying herself as well. “I like Ben!” the lovely brunette stage whispered to the blond.
Don snarled again and looked like he was going to stand when the ladies pointed their guns at him. Instead, he glared up at Ben. “I explained the purchase to the leaders of each family. That’s four more people who are aware of the real estate you’ve stolen from us. You can’t-”
A sudden burst of gunfire from close by increased in volume until it sounded like World War III was right outside the building. Stray bullets ripped through the windows and Ben grabbed the ladies and pulled them down to the floor.
Don took the opportunity to lunge to his feet and dash for the door. He almost made it but his head snapped back, and he crashed to the floor in a boneless heap.
“BEN!”
He stopped the two assassins from shooting the Sergeant as she crab walked into the room. “We have to go, now!” Evelyn called out.
Ben moved closer to the window and ripped off a section of the drapes. He wrapped the ragged strip of fabric around his waist like a rough kilt then followed the others out into the hallway. He smelled smoke.
“We need to get outside and away from the building. The top half is on fire, and it’s going to come crashing down soon!” the Sergeant explained. They ran through the lobby, peeked out the doors, then slipped outside. Evelyn guided them to the side, away from the shooting, then they sprinted across the lane and out into a darkened lot next to the burning building. They ducked down behind the rusty hulk of an old abandoned car.
The gunfire quickly diminished, and Ben saw army trucks surrounding black SUV’s, two of which were on fire.
“I called for support before I climbed up to your window,” Evelyn explained as they watched the soldiers moving between the cars. “When I went back outside these four SUV’s pulled up. The people inside got out and started arguing with each other. My backup arrived and surrounded them. They opened fire on the army. Bad move.”
Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars were arriving, and the two assassins looked at each other. They nodded then Tatiana faced Ben and leaned in quickly to kiss him on the lips. “I will see you again, soon.” Then she rushed off into the darkness as Ben watched her go in surprise. A short time later a motorcycle could be heard racing away.
The Sergeant looked uncomfortable about Tatiana’s departure but looked to Ben. “We should go check in with my backup, now that they have things under control.”
Ben nodded and followed the Sergeant back into the chaos of lights from the emergency vehicles. He saw not all of the mob had been killed in the hail of bullets. Paramedics had at least two people on gurneys.
They were suddenly surrounded by army personnel. Liliya let them take her weapons then lead her away. She smiled to ease Ben’s upset expression. He looked at Evelyn, but she wouldn’t look at him.