Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“You got that boy killed,” I snarl. “Daniel Mercer…” The kid who reminded Lia of her baby brother. “That was you. Do you fucking understand that? And now my woman—my woman…”
He coughs up blood when I kick him in the gut. I kneel, grabbing the back of his neck, hating myself, unable to fully hate him, knowing I’ll never be the same again.
“You gave him the clearance. You told him where to go and what to do. Do you want to know something, brother? The reason I could never give you the location of the second key?” I tap the side of my head. “Because it’s up here, hundreds of lines of code, memorized.”
“Just let me die,” Nikolai moans.
“That’s the concussion talking,” I snap. “No Volkov man would say that and mean it. Now—how certain are you?”
“What?” he moans.
“How fucking certain that it’s the data center?”
“He’s there,” Nikolai says.
I gesture to Sergei, who’s walked over, probably wondering what the hell’s going on.
“Put my brother on lockdown,” I growl. “And get ready to kill.”
“Where you going, boss?” Anton says.
To tell my woman’s mother she might never see her again.
CHAPTER 27
LIA
At least a few hours have passed since they brought me here.
I’m tied to what must be a server bank, towers of black rectangles making quiet humming noises. The handcuffs are tight around my wrists. I wriggle in an attempt not to pee myself. A guard stands at the door, holding a semi- automatic rifle. He stares straight ahead even when I try to talk to him.
My side is aching, and my head feels light. I need to pee, but I know better than to ask. He’s not going to let me go.
I’m annoyed at myself. But I trusted Maksim, and he trusted his brother implicitly. Now, I’m not going to be around to take care of Mom, to help her move on. I’m not going to be there to see what happens with me and Maksim, where we go, what we become. There’s so much I’m not going to be able to do.
Don’t think like that. It’s not helpful.
A few minutes later, the door opens, and a short, wide man in a crisp suit walks in. He’s got an American flag pinned to his lapel.
“Mr. Vale?” I say, as he approaches.
He smiles thinly. “And you’re the miracle worker who gave Maksim Volkov a heart.” He chuckles, shaking his head like he can’t believe it, as he takes a phone from his inside pocket. He presses call and puts it on speaker. “Maksim, I’ve got your girl here.”
“Prove it,” Maksim snarls. He sounds wild, ready, unhinged. I’m hearing the Bratva king, not the Maksim I know.
Conrad Vale presses a button on the phone, presumably muting the microphone based on what he says next. “Say anything about this location, you die. And I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to get my hands on that doe-eyed mommy of yours too. Got it?”
I swallow, nodding. “I understand.”
He presses the button again, holding the phone out to me.
“Maksim?”
He breathes an audible sigh of relief.
“Lia,” he says. “Have they hurt you?”
“No,” I reply. “The crash did. I… I pushed us off the road. Is Nikolai okay?”
He makes another noise, confusion and heartache coming through. “He survived. I can’t believe you’d ask about him now.”
“It’s not his fault.”
“It is, but let’s not worry about that now. I’m going to get you out of there.”
“What about my mother?” I ask.
“Safe,” he assures me. “But very, very worried.”
“Enough?” Conrad grunts. “Do you have sufficient proof?”
“I love you, Lia,” Maksim says fiercely. “I know it shouldn’t make sense. I know you can’t say it back. I know Conrad’s got that shit-eating sneer on his face, but I love you.”
“Tick, tock,” Conrad says, then hangs up the phone. He aims a mocking pout at me. “How cute.”
He turns and strides toward the exit.
More hours pass, and I’m dangerously close to peeing myself. I focus on Maksim’s words, his beautiful words. He said I love you as though it makes any sense. As though, through those stolen minutes watching me and the short time we’ve spent together, we grew something impossible.
He understood I couldn’t say it back. He knew it was too fast for me. He knew I’m wired differently to him, more cautious, worried about leaping in with both feet when this could all end in ruin.
But deep down, I feel a flicker, an ember that could easily become a raging inferno. Maybe it already has, and I just don’t want to let myself feel it.
Yet.
I breathe slowly, trying to remain calm, but my body is in pain, and my mind is a battlefield. I can’t see a way out of this. Does Maksim even know where I am? Has he tracked Conrad, or is he searching in the dark, blind, hands raised uselessly in front of him?