Chapter 51
As our helicoptertouches down on the secluded southern tip of Santorini, the island unfolds before us, awash in blue and white.
Viktor, Pavel, and Nikolai immediately set to work transforming our safe house into a command center equipped with laptops, satellite feeds, and monitors for our drone footage. The kitchen table is cluttered with various firearms and tactical gear that I should be sorting through, but I”m too worked up to focus on much of anything.
Thinking of Liza and what she must be enduring gnaws at my soul. I wish I had a better plan, a way to signal to her that I”m still alive, but I”ve got nothing. My only strategy is to obliterate Anatoly and anyone associated with him.
Fuck it. I need to at least make myself useful. I start organizing the arsenal we”ll take with us, but when I miscount the rounds of ammo for the third time, Pavel casts a worried glance from across the room.
“We”ve got this,” he assures me. “Go outside for a smoke. We”re moving out soon, and you need your head in the game.”
Nikolai, who”s been busy setting up a monitor, straightens up and fishes a flask from his jacket pocket then offers it to me.
“Thanks, man.” I accept the flask.
Trust isn”t something I give easily, especially to someone I”ve just met, but given the circumstances, I have little choice. We share a common enemy, and in this world, that”s often enough to make someone an ally, at least for now.
Stepping into the brilliant Mediterranean sunshine, a deep ache fills me.Liza is somewhere on this island—so close yet she might as well be a world away.
Anatoly will suffer for every depraved act he”s committed, but if he’s harmed Liza or Sofiya in any way, I swear I’ll rip his throat out myself. I”ll draw out the torture for days, savoring his torment like a cat playing with a mouse, until he’s pleading for a mercy that’ll never arrive.
Shit. My thoughts have turned dark again. I shake my head and take a deep swig from the flask, the liquor barely smoothing the jagged edges of my nerves.
Viktor steps out, holding a satellite phone. “Maxim.” He hands me the phone. “He just landed in Moscow.”
“Bratan,” I answer, my voice tight with worry. “Are you and Kira alright?”
He grunts—a sound heavy with weariness. “We’re fine, thanks to all of you. Our men took out every one of Anatoly”s guards before our plane even touched down. It was a fucking bloodbath on the tarmac,” he reports with grim satisfaction. ”I doubt we’ll be welcome at the Moscow airport again.”
I scratch my head and gaze out over the azure sea. “Is it possible that someone will alert Anatoly?”
Maxim scoffs. “There’s no one left alive to report back to him, but either way, we’re handling it on our end. Don’t worry about what’s happening here. Focus on what you need to.”
Fuck, easier said than done. Maxim doesn’t know everything that’s gone down with Liza and me, and now is not the time to tell him.
“How’s Kira?” I ask.
“She’s out of her mind with worry about Liza. I don’t like it. It’s not good for the baby.”
“Tell her I’m not leaving this island without Liza. I’d die before I let anything happen to her.”
“She knows that. We both do.” There”s a heavy silence on the other end of the line. “There’s more to this story, I presume.”
I close my eyes and pace the little stone path in front of the cottage. I don’t know how or what he knows, but when the time is right, I’ll need to fill him in.
“There is,” I admit. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
Maxim clears his throat. “Before I go, what’s the deal with Nikolai Zhukov? Do you trust him?”
I pause, my gaze shifting inside to catch a glimpse of Nikolai setting up some computer monitors with Viktor. “I trust him enough to see this mission through. When this is all said and done, he’ll take his rightful place as the head of the Zhukov Bratva, and he’ll have to decide if he remains our ally or becomes an enemy.”
“If he has half a brain, and it seems he does, he”ll stay on our good side,” Maxim points out.
Nikolai is definitely smart, but as far as I can tell, the man is devoid of emotion. Whatever his family history, Nikolai hasn’t shown an ounce of remorse about blowing his brother’s brains out, even though it was deserved.
“I”ll let you go. Be smart. Don”t let emotion cloud your judgment. You have a job to do.”
My chest tightens with a deep, uneasy pain. This is no routine mission. Today, everything is on the line. If I pull this off, I walk away with the woman I love. But if I fail... Fuck, I can’t even let myself think about that. So I won’t.
I say goodbye to Maxim and stare at the flask in my hand. Vodka is not going to help. At this point, nothing will, except finding Liza and Sofiya safe and sound. I toss the flask aside and head into the cottage.
Nikolai looks up at me, his icy, blue gaze intense. “You came back just in time,” he tells me. “I just messaged Anatoly to let him know I”m on the island.”
“And?” I prompt, just as Sergey’s phone rings in Nikolai”s hand.
He smirks. “I guess we’ll find out.” Nikolai puts the phone on speaker and answers.
”Where are you?” Anatoly snaps from the other end.
“Just arrived. Charming little island, isn’t it?” Nikolai alters his voice to be less gravelly, like Sergey’s was.
“We don’t have all day. Hurry the fuck up. We need to get back to Moscow and take out any members of the Belov Syndicate still alive.”
Nikolai sneers. “What, I won’t get the wedding night I was promised with my young bride?”
Anatoly exhales sharply. “You’ll have time to break her in after the ceremony. Just make it quick.”
Disgust rolls through me. He”s talking about raping a teenager. He”ll definitely be experiencing my drill through his dick for that one.
“Where should I meet you?” Nikolai rasps.
“There”s a little chapel on the coast. I”ll send you the coordinates. It”s surrounded by nothing but cliffs and goats. If your bride gets cold feet, the only escape is a steep drop.”
Nikolai forces a dark laugh. “Perfect.” A ding sounds from his phone, and he swipes a few times. “Got it. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Good. Everything’s set. Start without me. I need time alone with my soon-to-be wife first. She spread her legs for another man, and I think she needs a little lesson before she dares wear white in a church.”
That fucking mudak.
Tension locks my jaw, and my hands clench into fists. It’s all I can do not to erupt in a rage. Fuck that. It’s not just his dick that will experience my drill but every orifice in his body.
I turn to face the wall and press a palm above my head, struggling to steady my breathing. My teeth grind together so hard that I could crack a molar, but it helps to keep my anger in check for now. I’ll unleash it when the time comes.
“Where are you?” Nikolai”s voice cuts through the tension.
“Close to the chapel. Don”t worry. You”ll see me soon enough.”
The call ends, and silence blankets the room. They”re all waiting for me to get my shit together.
I take a final breath, turn around, and face them.
Nikolai crosses his heavily tattooed arms across his chest. All of us are inked up, but art covers almost every inch of his skin, adding to his menacing demeanor. “What”s the plan, boys?”
I rub my chin. “You need to buy time with Sofiya while we rescue Liza.”
His eyebrows shoot to his forehead. “How am I supposed to buy time?”
“His guards are mercenaries, guns for hire. They likely don”t know what Sergey looks like. Show up at the chapel and find a way to stall without raising suspicions.”
Nikolai swipes his palm over his buzzed head. “Got it.”
Viktor settles in front of a computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. “Anatoly said he”s near the chapel, so I assume Liza is close by too. I’ll fly a drone in a circular pattern above the area. We might spot a clue that could be helpful in finding Liza—either his men or a vehicle.”
”Good call.” Pavel peers over Viktor’s shoulder at the screens.
Nikolai steps out of the room and returns a few minutes later, dressed in a tuxedo. I can”t help but raise my eyebrows. He”s the last guy I”d expect to see in formal wear.
“A tux? Really?”
He holds his arms out wide. “I’m a man who likes to come prepared.”
“Check it out. That”s it!” Viktor points at the screen to a small white-washed structure with a cross on its roof. “That’s the chapel.” He flies the drone along the coast. “And check out this house with black SUVs parked out front.”
I lean closer. From here, it looks like a run-down farmhouse, isolated among rocky terrain.
”You think that”s where he”s holding them?” I ask.
“I’d put money on it.”
As we watch the screen, two burly men appear, flanking a slim, dark-haired woman. She could be mistaken for Liza if not for the shorter hairstyle. It’s definitely Sofiya, her shoulders slumped and a bouquet hanging loosely from her hand.
Nikolai fixes his gaze on the screen, his eyes darkening with a fierce glint. “She”s so fucking young,” he murmurs, straightening abruptly and smoothing his lapels. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me. It’s showtime.” He reaches into his back pocket and flicks two sets of keys in my direction.
I catch them, eyebrows raised in question.
“Keys to the ATVs—the best way to get around this island.” Nikolai strides towards the kitchen, where he arms himself, tucking a handgun into the back of his pants and a knife in an ankle holster.
I step up to Nikolai, extending my hand. “Thank you.” It might be premature, but he”s already taken risks for us and I respect that.
We lock eyes as he grips my hand firmly, then he turns and vanishes through the door. The growl of an ATV engine fades into the distance as I turn back to Viktor.
“How many guards are surrounding the house?”
Viktor frowns. ”Looks like five or six guns for hire. No sign of Anatoly yet.”
“We don”t have time to wait for him to show up. We need to head out.”
Viktor presses a few buttons on his keyboard. “I can control the drone from my phone.”
“Good. Let”s pull our shit together.”
We hit up the table littered with guns, clips, and a few compact explosives—just in case. There”s also tactical gear, like kevlar jackets, binoculars, and night vision goggles.
Pavel gives me a grim nod. “You call the shots.”
“Just bring Liza and Sofiya home alive. Nothing else matters.”