Epilogue 2 Jack
Okay.
So I'm on a private island in the middle of nowhere celebrating another fucking wedding.
Which, whatever.
I'm happy for Less.
I guess.
Not that I tell him that.
The giant bastard cried during his vows, and no one will shut up about it.
Noel threatened to drown him.
Adrik Volkov—yeah, the one and only—offered him a boat to make it easier.
It's been a weird day.
Anyway, I don't really do weddings.
Or parties.
Or feelings.
I mostly do weapons maintenance and glaring.
But apparently being part of Sigma means occasionally putting on a tux and pretending you're civilized.
So there I am.
Standing near a cliff with the beach spread out below me.
Enjoying five glorious minutes of peace.
When I spot a speedboat approaching the island.
Fast.
Too fast.
And then I see Jade Aziz.
Josef Aziz's daughter.
Twenty-nine years old.
Five feet nothing of attitude packed into a curvy little package designed to drive a man insane.
She’s standing on the dock, her arms held behind her by two masked goons.
“What the fuck?” I mutter.
“Wait!” she shouts. “Stop! Hold on!”
The boat doesn’t slow.
It speeds up.
Then some huge bastard reaches out and physically hauls her aboard.
“NO!” she yells.
What.
The.
Fuck.
A kidnapping here? Now?
Not on my watch.
I grab the nearest snorkel because apparently billionaire islands come equipped for aquatic adventures.
Kick off my shoes.
And I dive.
I slide into the water and swim fast, catching the speedboat’s ladder.
They start the engine and move, and I climb aboard.
There are three guards.
Amateurs.
One guy takes a swim.
Second guy learns about gravity.
Third guy suddenly remembers an urgent appointment in the ocean.
Then I storm into the cabin where she’s being detained.
“Sigma Security,” I growl.
“Bad day to be stu—”
And stop.
The cabin is empty.
No mastermind.
No evil kidnapper.
Just Jade.
Sitting in the captain's chair.
Arms folded.
Looking annoyed.
Actually annoyed.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demands.
I stare.
“I just rescued you.”
“No, you didn't!”
“Yes, I did!”
“You didn’t!”
“I did!”
She throws her hands in the air.
“Oh my God! I had it handled.”
I blink.
She blinks.
Then she points dramatically toward the now-empty deck.
“Those men worked for Viktor!”
“Who the hell is Viktor?”
Her eyes go dreamy.
“Viktor Sokolov.”
Oh.
That Viktor.
Well, fuck.
I know that name.
He’s Bratva.
Absolutely psychotic.
“He was kidnapping you.”
“Romantically!”
“There is no romantic kidnapping!”
She gasps.
“There absolutely is!”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“That's insane!”
“That's culture!”
I stare.
She stares.
Then she actually stamps her foot.
“This would have been perfect!”
“What would’ve been perfect?”
“His proposal!”
I blink.
“What?”
“THIS!”
She waves around the luxurious speedboat.
“The dramatic kidnapping! A glorious sunrise! A ring!”
I stare harder.
“Ring?”
She points toward the dashboard.
Sure enough, sitting beside the navigation equipment is a giant diamond ring box.
I open it.
Holy shit.
“See?” she cries.
“Now you've ruined everything!”
“I RUINED IT?”
“Yes!”
“You got kidnapped!”
“No, I got courted!”
“By the Russian mafia!”
“By Viktor!”
Like that somehow explains everything.
“You know your father is going to kill him, right?”
She pales.
“Maybe.”
“And everyone at Sigma will likely help.”
She pales even more.
“Which is why we have to leave now.”
I blink.
“We?”
“Yes, we.”
“Why.”
“Because.”
“No.”
She points toward the ocean.
“We have no choice. You threw my escorts overboard, stole Viktor's boat, and I kinda already left a note for my father that I’ve been kidnapped and would be married by the time he found me.”
She winces.
I look at the horizon.
The guards are indeed floating in life jackets, screaming in Russian.
Well.
Shit.
“And if your father or Viktor catches us before I explain?” she continues.
“We're probably both dead.”
“Wonderful.”
She brightens.
“Right? Consider this an adventure!”
An adventure?
Fan-fucking-tastic.
I'm trapped on a stolen Bratva speedboat with my boss's crazy daughter.
And somewhere out there is Viktor Sokolov.
A man who apparently stages romantic kidnappings and buys rings the size of small countries.
God help me.
I have a feeling my peaceful life just officially ended.
Behind us, the abandoned guards begin shouting again.
Jade winces.
“Maybe we should go?”
I glare.
“You are unbelievable.”
She smiles.
“People say that a lot.”
And then she starts the engines.
“Wait—you know how to drive this thing?”
“Of course.”
The engines roar to life.
I close my eyes.
And I seriously consider swimming back.