Page 72 of Her Courage

Andrei approached, his presence commanding immediate attention. "Mikhail will have eyes on the house within the hour. We'll know every entrance, every exit, every person inside."

Sierra pulled back, her eyes red but blazing with determination. "I'm coming with you."

"No." The word came from both Andrei and me simultaneously.

"She's my daughter!"

"Which is exactly why you need to stay here," I said firmly. "If something goes wrong⁠—"

"Nothing will go wrong." Andrei's voice carried absolute certainty. "But Kaleb's right. You need to be somewhere safe. Somewhere Patrice can't use you as additional leverage."

Monica stepped forward, her hand finding Sierra's. "We'll wait together," she said quietly. "And when they bring Keeley home, we'll be here."

The certainty in her voice—the trust she placed in us despite barely knowing Andrei, despite the chaos of the situation—made something in my chest tighten.

My sisters believed in us.

Believed I could fix this.

I wouldn't let them down.

"Oscar will stay with you," Andrei said. "Plus two of Sergei's men. No one gets near this house."

Sierra looked like she wanted to argue, but Monica squeezed her hand. "Let them work," she said. "This is what they do."

Was it? I'd built a business empire. Andrei had escaped his violent past.

But standing here, watching Andrei coordinate with deadly efficiency, I realized he'd never truly left that world behind.

He'd just buried it.

Until now.

My phone buzzed. Mikhail.

Mikhail: Eyes on the house. Thermal imaging shows three heat signatures. One small—likely the child. Moving to position.

Beside me, Andrei's phone lit up with the same message.

Our eyes met.

"It's time," he said simply.

Time to get my niece back.

Time to end Patrice's reign of terror once and for all.

And God help anyone who tried to stop us.

Chapter Thirty-Four

LOTTIE

My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

I stared at my phone, reading Kaleb's last text for the hundredth time.

Kaleb: Patrice took Keeley. We're handling it. Stay with Colby. We'll update soon.