Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“We’ll have more information in minutes. Maybe less.”
“You haven’t answered his question,” Dimitri says coldly, staring at my dad in a way that confuses the hell out of me. It’s like Dimitri wants to hit him. I do, too, but I won’t stand for it if it comes to that. Fuck.
“Am I supposed to keep my wife a prisoner in her home?”
“In wartime, yes,” Dimitri says. “Trust me, I know how hard it can be.”
Dad’s phone rings. “I need to take this.”
I turn to the Sokolov brothers, ignoring the blood dripping off my knuckle. “How far are you two willing to go? I need to know that right fucking now before we get started. If this means starting a war—”
“War?” Dimitri snaps. “If they’ve touched a single hair on my sister’s head, this will be a fucking massacre.”
Mikhail nods. “There’s no question there, Aiden.”
“Good,” I snap. “Then it’s time we tooled up. I’m taking you to the armory.”
“It looks like they were going for a walk,” Dad says, sounding in complete disbelief. “They went to the nearby park where Roman and his goons got them. We’re tracking the van across the city now. They’ve purposefully taken the most confusing route possible to throw us off.”
I play five finger fillet on the table with my combat knife, stabbing it hard into the wood between my fingers, focusing on each precise movement so I don’t drive myself crazy thinking of all the fucked-up things that could happen to Ania.
“A walk,” Dad says, sighing. “What was Molly thinking?”
“She was probably thinking she’d do anything her daughter asked her to do,” Mikhail says. “All that guilt about all those lost years …”
“Still …”
“There’s no point trying to blame anyone,” Dimitri says, his voice still calm, though I’m sure I can hear a slight quiver there. “Let’s start moving toward the van.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I grunt, standing up. “Fair warning, Dad … If they’ve harmed Ania in any way, this won’t be quiet. It’s going to be a fucking bloodbath. The business will suffer.”
“The business?” Dad snaps. “They have my wife! I’m coming with you.”
I nod, glad to hear him say that, and then we all head for the elevator. I’ve got a rifle slung across my back, two pistols on me, and a lot of fury coursing through me like fire.
Mikhail and I get into one car, Dad and Dimitri in another, followed by dozens of Dad’s men. Mikhail looks across at me as I start the engine. “Sure you don’t want me to drive?”
I ignore him, pulling out of the underground parking lot, my head playing a slideshow of every evil thing I’ve ever seen: overseas, here, everywhere.
“We’ll make this right,” Mikhail says as I speed through the city, not giving a damn about the red lights. I’ll handle any tickets later. Luckily, the traffic is quiet.
“I should’ve been with her,” I growl. “Instead, I was in the gym, pitying myself, making it all about me. I should’ve been there to protect her.”
I’m disgusted with myself.
“We had no way of knowing she was going to do this,” Mikhail says. “Don’t beat yourself up. We need you focused.”
“You’ve got it wrong,” I tell him. “Beating myself up is exactly how I’m going to stay focused. It’s the best way for me to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Because if …”—no, dammit—“… when we get her back, I’m never letting her go. When we get her back, I’m telling her the truth. She belongs to me, Mikhail. Whatever future she wants, I’m going to make it happen. She deserves that, even if it means killing what I want.”
Mikhail says nothing, but I can feel him looking at me.
“I thought she was too naive and immature, but I was wrong. I was the naive one for ever thinking I could let her go. I just can’t believe it took some scumbag to kidnap her for me to realize that.”
If things weren’t so tense, I might laugh when I realize what I’ve just said. A scumbag kidnapped her. Yet, I’m her kidnapper.
“The past’s the past,” Mikhail says, “but dammit, I wish you’d just reached out to us.”
I sigh, nodding, and mutter, “Me too.”
CHAPTER 28
ANIA
“This is all my fault,” Mom says, pacing up and down in the cold, small cell. The walls are metal, and there’s a weird stench, maybe the damp creeping over the ceiling. The only light comes from a naked bulb covered in cobwebs.
Luckily, they haven’t hurt us yet, except for some aches and pains from where they dragged us into the van. I sit against the wall, my knees to my chest, trying not to puke.
“Don’t say that,” I whisper, hating how my whole body shudders. It’s like the cold is creeping into my bones. “I’m the one who begged you to let us leave. It’s my fault.”