Page 75 of The Stalking King

“Twelve hours,” I say.

“We’ll make the exchange at the hospital,” he replies. “In the meantime, I’m keeping your prize at an undisclosed location. Once you’ve handed it over and we’ve verified it, we’ll tell you where she is.”

“What about the others?” I snap. “My brother’s girl, her kid?”

He laughs snakishly, hiss hiss hiss. I imagine burying my fists in his face. “Whoever would’ve guessed, the big bad Volkovs, brought to heel by two women? You never should’ve cared, Maksim. That was your superpower.”

He’s wrong. Loving Lia is my superpower, and he’s going to regret ever laying a single finger on her.

“I’ll be in touch,” he says, then hangs up.

When we’re back at the estate, I walk to the trunk and open it. Nikolai stares up at me, wide-eyed, broken. I feel a pang in my chest as I think about ways to save him once this is done. It pisses me off that I’m even thinking this way when he’s the reason we are in this mess. I drag him out of the trunk and throw him to the ground.

“You got that boy killed,” I snarl. “Daniel Mercer…” The kid who reminded Lia of her baby brother. “That was you. Do you fucking understand that? And now my woman—my woman…”

He coughs up blood when I kick him in the gut. I kneel, grabbing the back of his neck, hating myself, unable to fully hate him, knowing I’ll never be the same again.

“You gave him the clearance. You told him where to go and what to do. Do you want to know something, brother? The reason I could never give you the location of the second key?” I tap the side of my head. “Because it’s up here, hundreds of lines of code, memorized.”

“Just let me die,” Nikolai moans.

“That’s the concussion talking,” I snap. “No Volkov man would say that and mean it. Now—how certain are you?”

“What?” he moans.

“How fucking certain that it’s the data center?”

“He’s there,” Nikolai says.

I gesture to Sergei, who’s walked over, probably wondering what the hell’s going on.

“Put my brother on lockdown,” I growl. “And get ready to kill.”

“Where you going, boss?” Anton says.

To tell my woman’s mother she might never see her again.

CHAPTER 27

LIA

At least a few hours have passed since they brought me here.

I’m tied to what must be a server bank, towers of black rectangles making quiet humming noises. The handcuffs are tight around my wrists. I wriggle in an attempt not to pee myself. A guard stands at the door, holding a semi- automatic rifle. He stares straight ahead even when I try to talk to him.

My side is aching, and my head feels light. I need to pee, but I know better than to ask. He’s not going to let me go.

I’m annoyed at myself. But I trusted Maksim, and he trusted his brother implicitly. Now, I’m not going to be around to take care of Mom, to help her move on. I’m not going to be there to see what happens with me and Maksim, where we go, what we become. There’s so much I’m not going to be able to do.

Don’t think like that. It’s not helpful.

A few minutes later, the door opens, and a short, wide man in a crisp suit walks in. He’s got an American flag pinned to his lapel.

“Mr. Vale?” I say, as he approaches.

He smiles thinly. “And you’re the miracle worker who gave Maksim Volkov a heart.” He chuckles, shaking his head like he can’t believe it, as he takes a phone from his inside pocket. He presses call and puts it on speaker. “Maksim, I’ve got your girl here.”

“Prove it,” Maksim snarls. He sounds wild, ready, unhinged. I’m hearing the Bratva king, not the Maksim I know.