“As of ten minutes ago, yes. But Mikhail…” Marco pauses. “They’re not being gentle with her. Whatever you’re planning, it needs to happen soon.”
“Understood. Get back here. We need to strategize.”
I end the call and find Sophia already moving toward me. “What did he say? Is she okay?”
“She’s alive.” I don’t tell her the rest, that Adrian’s men are probably beating Melinda right now, using her pain to draw us in. “Marco’s on his way back. We’ll plan the extraction.”
“I’m going with you.”
The words hang in the air between us. I knew they were coming. I’ve been dreading them since we first saw that video. “No.”
“Mikhail—”
“I said no.” I turn away from her, needing distance before I do something stupid like agree. “It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s dangerous for everyone.” She follows me, her voice rising. “But I’m the one Adrian really wants. You said it yourself. This whole thing is about getting to you through me.”
“Which is exactly why you’re staying here.”
“And let Melinda die because I was too scared to help her?” She moves in front of me, blocking my path. “I won’t do that. I can’t.”
I look down at her, at the determination blazing in her blue eyes, and something cracks in my chest.
This woman.
This fierce, stubborn, beautiful woman who’s somehow become everything to me. How did I ever think I could keep her locked away, safe from my world?
“If something happens to you…” I cup her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing across her cheekbones. “If I lose you, Sophia, the world will pay.”
“Then don’t lose me.” She covers my hands with hers. “Come with me. Protect me. But let me do this. Let me save my friend.”
The sound of vehicles approaching pulls us apart.
Marco arrives first, followed by three SUVs carrying the men I trust most. They file into the safe house, their faces grim.
They know what we’re up against.
I spread a map of the textile factory across the dining table. “Adrian’s holding Melinda here.” I point to the northwest corner. “He’s got at least fifteen men, probably more. Multiple entry points, all covered.”
“It’s a trap,” Marco says.
“Of course it’s a trap.” I meet his dark eyes. “Adrian wants me to come for her. He’s counting on it.”
“So we don’t go.” One of my other men crosses his arms. “We find another way.”
“There is no other way.” Sophia’s voice cuts through the room. Everyone turns to look at her. “Adrian wants me. So we give him what he wants.”
“Absolutely not.” Marco shakes his head. “Boss, you can’t seriously be considering this.”
“I’m not considering it. I’m doing it.” Sophia moves to stand beside me at the table. “I walk in the front door. Adrian gets what he wants. And while he’s focused on me, you get Melinda out.”
“And then what?” Marco leans forward, his expression troubled. “He just lets you go? Sophia, this is suicide.”
“Not if Mikhail comes for me.” She looks up at me, and I see the trust in her eyes. The absolute faith that I’ll save her. It terrifies me. “I buy you time to get Melinda to safety. Then you come back for me.”
The room erupts in protests. My men talk over each other, arguing about the insanity of using their boss’s wife as bait. But I’m not listening to them. I’m looking at Sophia, at the set of her jaw, the steel in her spine. She’s not asking for permission. She’s telling me what she’s going to do.
“If we’re doing this, we do it my way,” I say. “You wear a wire. You carry a weapon. And the second things go wrong, you run. You don’t wait for me, you don’t try to be a hero. You run.”
