Chapter 43 Jay
JAY
We reached the end of the passage to be confronted by a huge metal door blocking our way. Ryker curled his fingers around the handle. “Let’s hope this door isn’t locked. Be prepared for anything. We don’t know what’s on the other side.”
I nodded, palming my knife, and across from me, Volkov readied his gun. Ryker clasped his own knife and, in one swift movement, pushed the door open.
We burst into the space beyond, my gaze arrowing straight to the man we’d clearly startled. His eyes widened, his hands lifting as he realised he was outnumbered.
“Bill. You’ll fucking pay for this betrayal,” Ryker snarled. “Give me one good reason not to slit your throat right here.”
Bill. So what Des had said was true, at least. Whether he was involved too…who knew? Who could we trust? There was no way of knowing, and my heart pounded even harder.
Stay calm. One problem at a time.
“F-forgive me, Mr. Thorpe. It was an honest mistake. ’E offered me a deal I-I couldn’t turn down, and ya know the missus wants us to retire to—”
“The only place you’ll be retiring to is a coffin unless you speak up right now.
Where the fuck is my sister?” He held the knife to Bill’s throat while I grabbed his shaking arms, manoeuvring them behind his back so I could hold him in place.
Volkov kept his gun trained on Bill the whole time, although I noticed he didn’t try to intimidate him by shoving it into the underside of his jaw.
“Yer a reasonable man, Mr. Thorpe. King, sir. Please. Let me go, an’ I’ll tell ya everything you need to know.”
Ryker dragged the flat of the blade over Bill’s Adam’s apple, slowly and deliberately. “Tell me what I need to know first, and I’ll consider a deal.”
“Well, it’s like this, ya see—”
“Stop stalling,” I growled in his ear. “If I find out you’ve harmed one hair on Nova’s head—”
“All I did was drive her here. I never did nothing else. Just fed ’im some information about ’er whereabouts.” He squeaked when Ryker pressed the tip of his knife into his skin. “Alright! An’ the whereabouts of some of the shipments. Nothing much. She’s in there.”
Ryker and I were on the same page, exchanging glances with a nod. I used my body weight to push Bill to the door and released one of his hands.
“Open the door,” Ryker commanded, wrenching his hand up and pressing it to the keypad. “Now.”
His fingers trembled as he punched in the numbers, Volkov’s gun finally at his temple, letting him know that Volkov was on our side—for now, at least.
“Suka.”
The strangled-out word came from beyond the door. Bill visibly recoiled, his hand slipping on the keypad. It flashed red, emitting a buzz, and he swore under his breath. We held still as he attempted it again, and this time, the keypad beeped and flashed green.
We tore into the room, dragging Bill with us so he had no chance to escape. The first thing I noticed was the huge man sprawled face down over a chair that had been upended on the floor, and then I saw the blonde hair spilling everywhere, strands coated in crimson.
“Nova!” I threw myself across the room, tearing the man away from her.
I didn’t care where he landed or what happened to him.
The only thing that mattered to me was the woman lying there, one arm chained to a chair with her legs taped together.
The woman who was far too still. Her skin was paler than I’d ever seen it, her eyelids were blue, and dark contusions were blooming on her face and throat.
No. No, no, no.
Ryker cried out, a sound I’d never heard him make before, dropping down next to me. His knife clattered to the floor as he took his sister’s face in his hands.
“Nova,” he whispered brokenly, and something inside me cracked wide open. I gently placed my fingers on the bruised skin of her neck, holding my breath until I felt the faint pulse beneath my fingertips.
“She’s alive. She’s alive. She’s alive,” I repeated until I believed it, until Ryker looked up at me, his eyes wide and hopeless.
“What?”
“She’s alive.”
His lip trembled, and he bit down so hard on it that he pierced the skin, a bead of blood appearing instantly.
“She is alive?”
I tilted my head to meet Volkov’s icy gaze.
It was only then that the room came back into focus, and I took in the two men that he’d single-handedly managed to incapacitate.
They were handcuffed together, their arms, legs, and mouths wrapped in electrical tape, and as they stared at us, I noticed with a detached satisfaction that their eyes were bulging with fear.
Wrenching my gaze away from the two people I wanted to hurt until they regretted every single fucking finger they’d dared to lay on Nova, I returned my attention to Volkov. “She’s alive, but she needs medical treatment.”
“We will get it.” He strode for the door and then paused, turning back to me. “Attwood. Thank you. You saved my life today.”
I nodded, unable to speak. Fucking hell. I blinked rapidly. My vision was going blurry.
A loud pounding came from overhead, followed by shouts. Volkov lifted his gun, peering around the corner, but then he relaxed. He called out something in Russian, and a moment later, a crowd of people burst into the room, Thorpes and Volkovs, and—my dad.
“Dad.” My voice was nothing more than a croak, but he heard me. His eyes met mine, and he immediately crossed the room to us. I could barely see him through the tears that were now obscuring my vision, but I felt the warm grip of his hand on my shoulder, and I clearly heard his words.
“It’s okay, Jay. It’s over now.”