I’m gasping for breath as the heroin liquifies, and when Kolya drops a cotton ball into the spoon and then sucks the drug into the needle, I start to wheeze and my entire body strains. “No, no, no,” I whimper, but it does me no good.
The needle breaches my skin with a little pop, and I scream, thrashing until the needle slips free, but that only makes Kolya angrier. “Hold her still,” he growls again, and the Groper tightens his grip on my forearms. The second time, Kolya holds my elbow himself as he pierces my vein. With a chuckle, he pulls the plunger out slightly, and blood mixes with the heroin, sending a burning pressure racing up my arm.
He pauses, raising a bushy blond brow. “Is this your first time, sweet Red?”
“Please…stop…” I whisper.
“Enjoy the ride,” he says, and my body freezes in a silent scream as he depresses the plunger.
25
Ryker
“Drink this.” West sets a cup of coffee on the table in front of me. “And then get your ass up and help us.”
The scent of his favorite brew is almost comforting, except…Wren’s gone, and Kolya’s either raped her, killed her, or tortured her by now. Will she tell him where we are? Can she? She fell asleep on the way here, and she might not remember the route from the safe house to town today. I don’t think she’ll break—for a while. But she’s not trained. She doesn’t know what an interrogation can do to a person.
Screams—mine, Dax’s, my other men’s—echo in my memories. I smell burning skin, my captors’ sweat, fear.
If he sells her…I’ll rip each one of his fingers from his hand and feed them to him before I cut his dick off. And then I’ll find her and kill every single man who’s touched her.
“Ry?” Inara kneels next to me. “We’re flying blind here. Wren’s laptop is password protected. Her tracker’s dead, but its last location was inside that big building by the square. But we can’t tell if she’s was wearing it at the time or if it was sitting in some drawer somewhere. It died an hour or so ago, but before that, it showed small movements inside the fortress. I’m heading out on reconnaissance. But youhaveto help West.”
Don’t leave. I don’t know how to fix this.
I can’t say the words, but as she meets my gaze, I think she understands. With a quick squeeze of my arm, she offers me the only comfort she can, and I nod my thanks. As she hefts her pack and heads for the door, I find my voice. “Be careful.”
“I’m sticking to the rooftops. They’ll never see me. You two stay on comms. Both of you.”
I don’t move for almost ten minutes, the mug of coffee cupped in my hands, Wren’s scent surrounding me. Will honeysuckle soon be nothing more than a memory?
Shoving my ear bud into my ear, I shake my head.
Focus. She’s out there. She needs you.
Looking up, I find West arranging his gear. “You shouldn’t have come, Sampson.”
“You’re right. Cam and I are supposed to get married in two days.Weresupposed to get married. We have tickets to Costa Rica in a week. A private resort. Non-refundable.” He glares at me, his intense blue eyes unforgiving. “Instead, I’m in an empty house in Russia, three miles from one of the most dangerous drug lords in the Eastern Block, staring at a man who looks like he’s lost everything.” West ambles over to me and holds out his hand. “You going to sit there wrapped in that sleeping bag all night? Or are you going to help me get your girl back?”
“My…girl?” I stare up at him, the coffee in my hand long forgotten.
A dry laugh—almost a snort—escapes his lips, and he shakes his head. “You’re so far gone it’d be funny if she weren’t in danger, Mr. I’m-Never-Falling-In-Love.”
“I don’t…“ The truth crashes down on me. I don’t want to be without her. Not now, not ever. She calms my demons. She understands me. Doesn’t let me get away with any bullshit. Is this…love?
“Stop fighting it, Ry. I swear, both you and Inara. Stubborn as fuck.” He stares down at his extended hand, brows raised. “On your feet.”
“What does it feel like?” I clap my hand against West’s and let him pull me up. “Finding…that person.”
“Like you’re home.” He sighs, the barest hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “Like…you don’thaveto tell her your deepest, darkest secrets, but you want to. And when you do…she understands. Doesn’t judge.”
“I had a brother.”
“What?” West frowns, running a hand through his dark hair. “You’ve never talked about him.”
“Not good memories. He…died. I told Wren.” I pull her bracelet over my fist, and the beads warm against my skin. “Didn’t mean to. Didn’t mean to tell her a lot of things.”
“Do you love her?” He studies me. Watches me for any sign I’m lying to him—and myself. SEALs are some of the most goddamned observant men in the world.
