Chapter 46
SILAS
Three emotions fight for control inside me.
Anger. Because the woman I’m in love with just tried to sneak out of my house in the middle of the night to walk into whatever trap is waiting for her.
Concern. Because whatever threat is after her is lurking on the other side of the gate she almost breached, and that was a fucking close call I didn’t need right now.
And relief. Because I got here in time to stop her from making the stupid mistake that would get her killed.
Much to Leonore’s disgust. She’s vibrating with fury that she’s been caught.
But I’d rather her be angry than dead. Which she would be if she went looking for Konstantin.
I reach for her, but she pulls away from my hand.
“Sit down,” I say.
“I don’t want to sit down.”
“For once, will you do what I ask?”
“Don’t start telling me what to do. Konstantin has Nessa,” she bites, my beautiful dark creature, vengeful to a fault.
“You don’t know that,” I say, despite it probably being true.
“I know it for a fact because he sent me proof.”
She pulls out her phone, her fingers trembling as she unlocks it and holds it out to me.
“Watch it,” she says.
On the screen is a video. I press play and narrow my eyes as I watch.
The video is thirty-seven seconds long. It’s Nessa bound to a chair. I hear Konstantin Lomonov. Hear her tell him to go fuck himself. See his vicious response.
When the video ends, everything inside me goes very still.
It’s not a calm stillness. It’s a loaded calm before a storm.
“You were going to walk straight into his hands,” I say with more control than I feel. “Without telling me.”
“He said if I told you, he’d kill her.”
“And you believed him.”
“I know what he’s capable of, Silas.” Her voice sharpens as the look in her eyes turns from fear to something much darker. “You don’t.”
“Then tell me,” I say with more edge to my voice than I intend.
She’s silent for a moment as she collects her thoughts.
“After I shot Viktor, I didn’t escape that night because Konstantin found me.”
The stillness inside me tightens.
“I didn’t get out in time. And when he realized what had happened to his brother, he restrained me and kept me prisoner in a basement.” She swallows, and her face drains of color as she recalls the memory. “What he did in that basement was worse than anything Viktor ever did.”
I don’t move. Or breathe. If I do, the rage building inside me will break free, and it is not something that should be loose in a room with another person.
“Somewhere in Viktor’s black heart, there was muscle memory of something that once might have been love. Or whatever twisted version of it he was capable of. But Konstantin doesn’t have that. He’s a psychopath.”
My hands curl into fists at my sides as the fury builds higher and higher inside me.
“His heart isn’t just black—it’s inhuman. Something dead and vile. He doesn’t know love or empathy or remorse.”
She takes a breath.
I stand very still because if I move, I will put my fist through the wall. The rage inside me is so concentrated it burns through my bloodstream like acid.
“He didn’t hurt me because he was angry about Viktor. He hurt me because he enjoyed it.”
“How long did he keep you prisoner?” My voice sounds alien. Like it didn’t even come from me.
“Three days.”
I see red.
Three fucking days.
“How did you escape?” I ask, barely keeping my rage at bay.
“I found broken glass. When Konstantin came back, I jammed it in his neck, and I ran.” She looks at her hands. “And I’ve been running ever since.”
I cross the room and take her face in my hands. She looks up at me, and in her eyes, I see the fear she still tries to shove down for the sake of her friend.
“I am going to get Nessa back, and then I am going to burn his fucking world to the ground,” I say too soon after losing my uncle.
I didn’t make it in time for him, but I sure as hell won’t let anything touch Leonore.
These hands will be bloody for her sake, even when I know she’s capable of doing the same. I need her to trust me.
Her chin trembles in my hands, and tears build in her eyes.
“This will all be over soon. He won’t touch you again,” I say. “Do you understand me?”
She nods, and tears spill down her cheek. I catch them with my thumbs and wipe them away.
I let her go to pull out my phone and make a call.
“I’m sending you a video,” I say. “I need the location.”
“Timeline?” he asks.
“Now.”
“Understood.”
I forward the video and hang up.
Leonore watches me with her arms folded around herself like armor.
“He’ll find something,” I tell her. “He’s the best there is.”
She gnaws her lips, trying to fight off her fear.
I pour her a whiskey and hand it to her. “This ends tonight, Leonore. You can trust me to take care of it.”
The sudden sound of my phone ringing makes her jump.
“I thought you were going to give me something hard,” he says. “A challenge at least. This was almost too easy.”
“You got a location?”
“I’m sending you the pin as we speak.”
My phone beeps with the location.
“Got it.” I hang up and call Valen’s name.
I’m not even going to start with how he already royally fucked up by letting Leonore sneak past him, and he’s none the wiser.
But it also goes to show how capable my woman is.
She’s just like me, like a wraith hiding in the shadows until she wants to be seen, often with a scalpel held at your throat.
When he walks out, he seems surprised to see Leonore but says nothing.
My sister, Gia, walks out with him, a concerned expression on her face.
I gave her the rundown of the situation when she first arrived.
To her credit, the fierce, protective blood of Vescari runs through her, and she immediately wanted to help in any way possible.
I tasked her with protecting Leonore in my stead and gave her a gun.
They’re both very capable women, and neither will have to do anything.
But me saying that to my sister is enough of an announcement that Leonore is now family.
A small knowing smile pressed her lips, but she didn’t ask any more questions.
“We’re moving. I want the best,” I say to Valen. “I’ve just sent you a location. Have more of our men meet us there immediately.”
“Yes,” he says quickly and begins to make some calls on my behalf.
When I face Leonore, she has that burning rage in her gaze and goes to step forward as if to leave again, but I block her path. So be it if she hates me for it.
Defiance flares in her eyes. “Silas—”
“I need you here with Larissa. That little girl needs you. And I need to know you’re behind these walls and safe.
You’re more risk to me if you come.” The hurt twists in her gaze, and I quickly add, “Not because you’re not capable, but because I won’t think clearly,” I confess quietly and somewhat defeated.
I can sense my sister watching everything carefully, but right now, I need to make sure the woman I love doesn’t act recklessly, because it affects me.
She wants to fight me. It’s written all over her face. But she also knows I’m right, and the mention of Larissa reminds her that there’s a child who needs her.
“Okay,” she says. “But Silas?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t underestimate him. Promise me.”
I walk over to her and tilt her chin up with two fingers. “I don’t underestimate anyone. It’s why I’m still alive. I’ll keep this family safe.”
I kiss her, hard but brief. And it’s a silent promise to come back to her with Nessa.
I give my sister a brief nod, and her gaze seems soft, that understanding that our family has extended, and I know no matter what happens, she’ll look after them here.
That offers me a sense of relief as I walk through the door.