I stared unblinkingly at that door, the tears falling down my face. Did he just…“What?” I asked, every ounce of my attention now focused on his words.
“I found her alive,” he told me. “It’s touch and go, but she was still fighting hard. You have to tell me what they’ve done to you.”
“Oh my God,” I breathed out, relief crashing through me in waves. “Are you sure?” I asked, my voice cracking. “You’re sureshe’s alive?”
“I rode with her to our vet’s place. They put her under to keep her from tearing off his arm while he stopped the bleeding. She tore that piece of shit, Wade, to shreds too. What have they done to you?”
I nodded, unable to stop the tears. She was alive. I still had my puppy. “She never really liked him,” I said, my voice thick with tears. “Um…” I cleared my throat, trying to focus on what he was asking. “Nothing, nothing—it’s just water. They woke me up. The woman, she cut my collar off. I’m tied to a chair. She said ‘daddy dearest’ will come visit me soon.”
“Liv,” I heard Evelyn say, her voice like honey under sunlight. “Baby girl, it’s going to start getting hard now.”
I flexed my hands, wincing at the prickles in the tips of my fingers. “It’s okay,” I tried to tell her.
“They’re going to do everything they can to get information from you—”
“I can take it,” I said, my eyes lifting back to the door. “I won’t give them anything, I promise.”
“Olivia, I need you to listen to me,” she said carefully. “These people, this family, they are from Russia. Everything you have written about, everything Steven has done to you, it is not the same. It’s not the same. The Delepski’s are pussies compared to normal Russians, but I promise you, it is not like anything you’ve delt with. On top of that, you are going to have to do some pretty hard things while you wait for us. We need information too. We need descriptions, we need slip ups, we need everything, but you, baby, you cannot let your mind crack. You have to stay strong.”
Russian torture methods. I had looked that up a few times for fresh ideas.
Suffocation.
Water boarding.
Electrocution.
Real terror filled me, my chest hollowing out as my stomach twisted. “You guys are coming for me, right?” I asked softly.
“Everett gave you his word,” I heard another male say. Malachi. “You are a part of The Family now, Olivia, we will find you, no amount of money, no amount of manpower, will be too much. We will find you.”
I inhaled sharply and nodded, settling further into my seat. I could do this. I would do it. I would last as long as I needed to for them to find me. I would give it everything I had. “Everett?”
“I gave you my word,” he said evenly, his voice reminding me of smoke over a graveyard.
I swallowed, wondering how far I could be pushed before I shattered completely. I prayed they would find me before I got to that point. “Please, lie to me. I need you to lie to me.”
He was quiet for several heartbeats before he spoke again. “You are spineless. You are weak. You will not survive this.” He paused, tears slipping down my face. “I hate you. More than life itself.”
I inhaled deeply, trying to stop the crying. I wouldn’t cry after this. Not one more tear, I couldn’t. “Don’t leave me here. Please.”
“I’m coming for you, Olivia, whatever the cost.”
14
Everett
July 5th, 2022
“How cute.”
I hit silent on my phone so she wouldn’t hear the conversations we were about to have. She didn’t need to hear what was happening here, she only needed to focus. She had to focus. I knew she was strong enough to fight through this, I also knew she wouldn’t come out of this the same way she went in, so the faster we found her, the better it would be.
Azrael’s glowing blue eyes reminded me of the Devil. Sometimes I wondered if he was a reincarnate, especially with his hatred of religion. “You knew about this.”
He shrugged. “I told you it would happen, yet nobody ever seems to listen.”
“Youknewthe Delepski’s would get to her?” I demanded, my anger only growing, which I didn’t think was physically possible at this point.
