Chapter 36
CASSIAN
Declan’s face tells me everything before he says a word. He walks into my office at three in the afternoon, phone still pressed to his ear, and his expression is the kind you only see when someone’s died.
“What?” I’m already standing.
He ends the call. “Aurelia’s been taken.”
The floor drops out from under me.
“When?”
“Forty minutes ago. Coffee shop three blocks from the Vance estate. Professional extraction. Four hostiles. Black van. Gone before security could respond.”
“Where is she now?”
“Unknown. The van went dark after six blocks. No tracking, no witnesses past that point.”
I’m moving before he finishes talking, grabbing my jacket from the chair, checking my gun. “Get the car.”
“Cass—”
“Now.”
We’re on the road in under two minutes. Declan drives while I call Julian.
He answers on the first ring. “I know.”
“Where are you?”
“Estate. Coordinating search efforts with my people.”
“I’m coming there.”
“Don’t. Stay away from my family.”
“She’s the mother of my children. I’m coming.” I hang up before he can argue.
The drive to the Vance estate takes fifteen minutes that feel like hours. Every second she’s gone is another second they could be hurting her. Another second closer to losing her forever. My hands won’t stop shaking. I grip the door handle hard enough that my knuckles go white.
“We’ll find her,” Declan says.
“They’ve had her for almost an hour. Do you know what can happen in an hour?”
“I know. But panicking won’t help.”
He’s right. I force myself to breathe. To think clearly. To plan instead of just reacting.
The Petrovs took her for a reason. They want leverage or information or both. They won’t kill her immediately. They’ll use her first.
That thought should be comforting. Instead it makes the rage burn hotter.
We pull up to the estate and security lets us through without question. Inside, the house is organized chaos. People on phones. Maps spread across tables. Julian’s study has become a command center.
Nadia sees me first. She’s standing near the window, arms crossed, face pale. “You,” she says, and her voice is pure venom. “This is your fault.”
“Nadia—”
“She was safe for six years. Hidden away where no one could find her. Then you showed up and dragged her back into this world and now she’s been taken by people who want to torture her because she’s connected to you!”
Julian appears in the doorway. “Nadia. Outside.”
“No. He needs to hear this. She wouldn’t be in danger if it wasn’t for him.”
“I know that.” My voice comes out hoarse. “You think I don’t know that?”
“Then why are you here? Why aren’t you out there finding her?”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
Julian crosses the room and puts himself between us. “Nadia. Go check on the boys. Make sure they don’t hear any of this.”
She glares at me for another three seconds, then leaves.
The moment she’s gone, Julian turns on me. “Get out.”
“No.”
“This is my sister. My family. You’ve done enough damage.”
“She’s also the mother of my sons. And I’m not leaving until we find her.”
“You want to help? Then stay the hell away from us. You’re the reason the Petrovs took her in the first place.”
He’s right. Every word is right. But hearing it doesn’t change what needs to happen.
“Blame me later,” I say. “Right now we need to focus on finding her.”
“We are finding her. Without you.”
“You need my resources. My people. My contacts in the Russian community. You can hate me all you want but you need me to get her back.”
Julian’s hands clench into fists at his sides. “If she dies because of you—”
“She won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I won’t let it happen.”
He moves so fast I barely see it coming. His fist connects with my jaw and I go down hard. Hit the floor and taste blood. My instinct is to get up swinging. To fight back. But I force myself to stay down. Let him have this.
Julian’s standing over me, breathing hard. “Bring her back alive.”
I spit blood onto his expensive carpet. “I will.”
“I mean it, Rourke. You bring my sister home in one piece or you never see those boys again.”
“Julian—”
“I will take them somewhere you’ll never find them. Somewhere not even your best people can reach. And this time there won’t be any trail. No records. No witnesses. They’ll disappear and you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering if they’re even alive.”
The threat lands like another punch.
He means it. Every word. If I fail, if Aurelia dies, Julian will take my sons and I’ll never see them again.
I push myself up slowly. Wipe blood from my mouth. “I’ll bring her back.”
“You better.”
Declan steps between us before this can escalate further. “We have a lead.”
Both Julian and I turn to him.
“What kind of lead?” Julian asks.
“Our surveillance picked up the van heading toward the warehouse district. We lost visual after that but there are only three Petrov-controlled properties in that area.” He pulls out his phone and shows us a map. “Here, here, and here. All industrial buildings. Minimal security on record.”
“Minimal doesn’t mean none,” I say.
“No. But it means they weren’t planning on holding her long-term. This is an interrogation site, not a prison.”
Julian’s jaw tightens. “They’re torturing her for information.”
“Probably.”
“What information?”
I know the answer before Declan says it. “They want to know who killed Dmitri. There were multiple Rourke men on that street that night. They need confirmation before they execute the right person.”
Julian looks at me. “It was you.”
“Yes.”
“Will she tell them?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she’s protecting me. Protecting the boys’ father.” I turn to Declan. “How fast can you get teams to all three locations?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Do it. I want eyes on every building. Find out which one she’s in and report back.”
Declan leaves to make the calls.
Julian and I stand in his study, surrounded by maps and phones and the weight of what’s happening. “If she’s being tortured—” he starts.
“She is.”
“Then we’re running out of time. They’ll break her eventually. Everyone breaks.”
“Not her. She’s stronger than you think.”
“She’s my sister. I know exactly how strong she is. But no one can hold out forever.”
He’s right. The Petrovs have her and they want information she won’t give willingly. They’ll hurt her until she has no choice.
Unless we get there first.
“When we find the location,” I say, “I’m going in.”
“Like hell you are. This is a Vance operation—”
“She’s there because of me. I’m the one who goes in.”
“You’ll get yourself killed.”
“Then I get killed. But I’m not sitting here while she’s tortured for protecting me.”
Julian stares at me for a long moment. Then he nods once. “We go together. My people and yours. Coordinated assault. We hit them hard and we get her out.”
“Agreed.”
He’s already moving toward the door. “I’ll get my team ready.”
“Julian.”
He stops.
“I will bring her back alive. Whatever it takes.”
“You better. Because if you don’t, I wasn’t lying about the boys. You’ll never see them again.”
He leaves and I’m alone in his study with rage burning through every nerve.
The Petrovs have her. They’re hurting her right now, trying to break her so she’ll give them my name. And she won’t. Because she’s protecting me even though it costs her everything.
We’re going to war.
The boys are in the playroom. I can hear their voices as I pass. Finn is asking Nadia when Mam is coming back. Liam is being quieter, probably sensing that adults are worried even if he doesn’t know why.
I want to go in there. Want to tell them their mother will be home soon. That everything’s going to be okay.
But I can’t make promises I might not keep.
So I leave without saying goodbye and pray I’ll see them again.