Roman shot him a look. “Shut up and get us out of here.”
Lev strode to the controls and slammed the throttle forward, and the twin engines screamed an enthusiastic answer.
The speedboat shot across the dark waves, slicing through the water so fast that spray turned to glitter in the moonlight. The air tore at my hair and filled my lungs with salt and adrenaline. Behind us, the cargo ship loomed like a wounded giant, its hull burning in half a dozen places, orange fire licking up into the night.
Roman stood beside me, one hand gripping the railing, his other arm steady around my waist to keep me upright. “Hold on,” he shouted over the roar of the wind. “We’re not out of this yet!”
Overhead, the Revenant helicopter banked hard, its searchlights slicing through the smoke. For a heartbeat, the world went still—the fire, the wind, even my own racing pulse. Then a single object dropped from beneath the helicopter, spinning end over end until it disappeared into the belly of the ship.
Roman saw it, too. His warning yell was filled with urgency. “Brace!”
The explosion came a second later.
Light erupted behind us, so bright it turned the black ocean silver. The shockwave hit like a fist, all heat and sound, slamming into my chest, rattling my teeth, stealing my breath. The freighter’s deck split apart, a plume of flame punching through the smoke and rising into the sky. A thunderous boom rolled across the water, echoing until it seemed like the sea itself was roaring.
The blast hurled debris into the air. There was a shower of steel shards, shattered wood, and pieces of a world that had tried to own me. For one impossible moment, the ship looked almost beautiful, a dying star exploding in fire.
I stared, wide-eyed, clinging to Roman as the wake from the explosion lifted our boat. The spray turned to rain, hot and cold all at once. Lev wrestled the wheel, muscles tight, keeping us ahead of the fiery wreckage collapsing behind us.
Then it was over. The roar faded into the hiss of waves swallowing flaming debris. The ship was gone, only burning scraps left floating on the dark surface.
I watched the flames fade into the horizon until they were nothing but a faint, distant glow. The wind whipped across my face, wild and alive.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t feel trapped.
I felt free.
Lev caught my gaze in the reflection of the console lights. “Next stop: home,” he offered in a reassuring tone.
I smiled, breathless, salt on my lips and fire still painting the night behind us. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 31
Dmitri
I didn’t like being left behind.
I didn’t like being a babysitter for two grown adults either.
But apparently, that was my new normal right now and there wasn’t anything I could do to change it.
Viktor Dragunov leaned back in his chair across from me, boots propped on the edge of the table like we were old friends instead of uneasy allies. Smoke curled lazily from the cigarette between his fingers, the scent mixing with the tang of alcohol and gunmetal in the air. The penthouse we were holed up in was too quiet, the kind of quiet that made your instincts itch.
“Relax, Markov,” he said in that infuriatingly smooth voice. “They’ll bring your little spy back.”
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t in the mood for his sarcasm. I’d much rather be out there going after my girl, but someone had to make sure Katya and Viktor didn’t renege on their deal.
Across the room, Demyan paced like a caged predator. The glow from his tablet painted his face in harsh light. “The signal cut out all of a sudden,” he muttered, tension threading through every syllable.
“Signal?” I asked, voice even.
“The ring’s tracker,” he said, not looking up. “It’s gone dark.”
Viktor shrugged. “Could be interference. Could be the sea.”
“Or she’s dead,” Katya commented unhelpfully.
I stood slowly, ignoring the way Viktor’s gaze followed me. “She’s not dead.”
