But they’re too far. The boat is faster.
I swear to whatever God is listening, I will find her. I’ll burn every city, crush every man, and bring every empire to its knees.
The lion inside me will not rest until it’s torn the wolves who took her to shreds.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
FIONA
The momentthe boat surges forward, fear—sharper than anything I have ever felt—pours through me.
The engine thunders, the distance widens, and Aleksei becomes smaller and smaller until the darkness consumes him completely. I keep searching for one last glimpse, but he’s gone, and something cold and heavy drops inside me like a stone.
“Sit down.” A rough hand clamps around my arm and yanks me backward with no effort at all.
I hit the bench with a thud while another man steps in front of me with a sack hanging from his fist.
My pulse kicks up. “What the hell are you doing with that?”
He doesn’t bother answering. The sack comes down over my head, thick fabric smothering the first bit of daybreak.
The boat slams against the waves, rocking hard enough to send my body to the side. I lock my fingers around the first solid thing I find until my knuckles burn. I don’t know where they’re taking me or what they want, but I know enough to realize nothing good waits on the other end.
Dread strengthens inside my chest, and even in the darkness, I can still see Aleksei sprinting down the pier the moment he realized I was being taken. The horror carved into his face as hedove into the water after me. How he cut through the waves like he would have rather drowned than let me slip away.
What if this is the end? What if I never see him again?
My mind races through all the things I didn’t say, all the moments I thought we had more time for. I think about the look in his eyes when he begged me to forgive him, how much love I felt even when it hurt. I think about how badly I wanted him, how desperately I still do, and how unbearable it is to imagine a life that doesn’t involve him.
I stay like that for what feels like forever, lost in my own thoughts and trying to convince myself this can’t be how everything ends. The boat keeps moving beneath me, the sound of the water against the hull turning into a slow, relentless rhythm that makes it impossible to tell how much time has passed.
When the boat finally jerks to a stop, the sudden shift hits me hard enough to flip my stomach. Hands close around my arm before I can catch my balance, dragging me upward and pulling me toward solid ground.
With the sack still over my head, I can only guess what is actually happening. All I feel is the rough grip and the cold air brushing past my skin.
“Where are you taking me?”
A hard shove between my shoulder blades answers before any words do.
“Shut up and move,” a man snaps, his Russian accent thick.
We walk for what might be a minute, maybe longer, and I sense the exact moment the ground beneath my feet shifts and the crunch of gravel is replaced by a hard, flat surface that echoes faintly under each step. A door creaks open somewhere ahead, like metal grinding against metal, and a faint generator hum vibrates through the air. The outdoor air disappears, and in its place is something musty.
Fingers stay locked around my arm, dragging me forward even as my knees threaten to buckle from fear and exhaustion. I consider trying to run, but I know it’s pointless. I can’t see. I can’t fight. I can’t even tell how many of them are surrounding me.
The only thing keeping me from losing all hope is knowing Aleksei can track me. Having a psycho husband does have its advantages.
Russian voices rise from somewhere to my right, and then I’m shoved again and forced to sit. Before I can brace myself, the hood is yanked off my head and the sudden light sears my eyes, blinding me with sharp, white pain. When my vision finally clears, I almost wish it hadn’t.
Three masked men stand around me, each one dressed in black. One of them holds a small, thin handheld device while a steady beep slices through the air, and the sound alone makes shivers crawl over my arms.
Oh, fuck. No. Nononono…
If that’s what I think it is, they’re going to find it.
The man steps closer and begins to move the device along my body. It sweeps over my chest, down my arms, across my legs. I sit frozen, barely able to draw air. When he lifts the device to the back of my neck, everything inside me twists.
A sharp, shrill sound pierces the room, and my gut caves in.
