Phantom Rider - The Aftermath | Book 1

Armoured Knight

Moscow, Russia

Our plane landed in Moscow, and our cars were already lined up in the parking lot. Georg paid the attendant, and we took off immediately. Normally, it's a 24-hour drive to Yekaterinburg. For us, it will take less than that. Tom refused to take Mila's car, fearing someone would recognize it. He also said, "She'll need it when she comes home with you!" feeding my hopes.

By morning, we'd be there. We discussed our priorities: Gustav would go with Tom to raid the house and find the documents Tom needed. Georg and I would find Mila.

We didn't expect an easy fight - the house would be packed with security, and there were just four of us. So, saying that stress didn't consume us was a lie. The trunks of the cars were filled with weapons of all kinds, for all occasions. We knew we were driving straight into a beehive, and we reckoned one of us might not make it out alive.

What we didn't account for was how much attention our cars would attract, especially in small villages. Everyone stared, trying to take pictures. At gas stations, people swarmed us, asking about the cars and where we were from. It wasn't the kind of attention we wanted.

Yekaterinburg, Russia

"Victor, I apologize for bothering you so late, but I have news that needs immediate action." Sergei burst into Victor's room.

"What now?" Victor turned to Sergei, already wearing his night robe.

"They're here! All four of them!" Sergei spoke quickly. "They're heading from Moscow as we speak, our people got intel on them."

"Are they riding a taxi or a bus?" Victor laughed.

"Of course not, Victor. They're racers. They'll be here in no time. I've seen them race - we have 16 hours at most," Sergei urged.

"The thing with racing cars is - they tend to crash," Victor said with confidence, as if he already knew of their arrival. "Don't worry, Sergei, go to sleep."

"Should I hide Mila?" Sergei asked nervously.

"No, let her be and deal with the consequences!" Victor cut the conversation short.

"You told me to take care of her, but I haven't been able to talk to her all this time. I feel like you're treating me like one of your pawns, and I'm starting to dislike it," Sergei said seriously. "What is going on with her?"

"She needs time to adjust to this life, that's all." Victor was not interested in the conversation.

"Can I tell you something?" Sergei asked before leaving.

"What is it?" Victor inhaled, annoyed, and sat in his chair.

"The fact that you haven't felt love makes you careless. You should know by now how far people go when they are in love, and that boy has fallen for your daughter like I have never seen in my life. He can crash his car, but he will crawl out of it and keep going after her. In your place, I wouldn't be so confident." Sergei's face got red from talking too fast.

"I see. I never thought you would be the one to betray me." It was a threat.

"I'm not betraying you, I'm being logical here," Sergei replied, annoyed.

"Mila will choose family over him. All those years of training and programming her, trust me. One word, and she's put," Victor insisted.

"Didn't you try to do programming with the twins too? And it failed miserably?" Sergei shot back, even angrier.

"That was different. If Kathrin hadn't gotten in the way, all the experiments would have worked." Victor poured himself a glass of whiskey.

"Don't put it on your dead wife's name!" Sergei was furious.