AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He punches in the number. Three rings later, a man with a deep voice on speaker sends a chill down my spine.
“What perfect timing,” he says.
Suddenly, Lysander’s whole demeanor changes. “He ran to DC just like you said he would.” Lysander smirks into the phone. “Say hello.”
“Hello, Bryce.” The sneering voice twists my insides into an ugly shape.
“What the fuck,” I burst. “Who are you?”
And then I hear it. Distant but sharper than a knife gutting me right down the center.
“Bryce! Bryce! They took me! Kina and Jake, they’re hurt.” Ana’s frantic screams taper into muffled sounds, like someone has covered her mouth.
“Ana!” I yell past the cement poured down my throat. It coats my lungs, making it impossible to breathe.
“Who am I, you ask?” the man asks in a gritty voice that I’m looking forward to ending when I slit his throat.
“I’m the man who has the pleasure of Anastasia Petrov’s company. Lucky me. I would have left her alone, if it wasn’t for you nosing around, you know that?” He cackles. “So, to be honest, this is all your fault.”
“Goddamn it! Ana! If you hurt her, I swear—”
“I don’t plan to hurt her, but I do have some demands.”
“What?” I bark.
“We meet tomorrow,” he declares. “Cornerstone Hotel on Virginia Beach. Go to the penthouse elevator and my people will let you up.”
“Ana better be there.”
“She will be, if you agree to two conditions.”
“Say it.” The words barely push out of my pressed mouth. My grinding molars activate a vicious migraine.
“No police involvement, for one thing.”
I huff, because why the hell would I bring cops to a murder scene? As soon as I get my hands on this piece of shit, I’m snapping his neck.
“And?” I growl.
“Nikolay Petrov comes too. Use this number when he arrives from Moscow. We’ll go from there.” He hangs up.
A nightmare, worse than even the one that stripped my Ana away from me thirteen years ago, begins.
But this time, I’m not some clueless college kid with a frustrated boner and a fiery temper.
Today, I have the unlimited means and far reach of a man with a small army and the ability to see through any fucking wall.
Before he dies, Ana’s kidnapper will realize the final truth of his sorry existence.
I’m his nightmare.
I’m looking at Jake’s back because he insists on walking in front of me as we approach the building. Pulling up at the main entrance of the dry dock feels pretentious to me, like I’m making a show of visiting the workforce. The back door that leads directly to the assembly areas and outfitting facilities suits me better. Kina follows from behind.
Suddenly, the ground shakes and my eardrums explode. I’m thrown to the ground by an invisible force, my arms automatically covering my head as my body folds into itself protectively.
Dust and smoke impair my vision. I can’t see anything. The ringing in my ears and pounding in my brain barely muffle the surrounding sounds of confusion. There is scuffling and grunting on my right. Is the whole shipyard under attack?
I try to call out to Jake and Kina, but someone’s hand presses down on my mouth. Forcibly, I’m hauled up to my feet. The arm over my breasts, painful like an iron seatbelt, drags me away from the source of the blast.
