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She’s gone.
“This text,” Maksim says. Still desperately trying to catch his breath, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “It was sent by an unknown number to a group containing three numbers. Mine, yours, and Roman’s.” After a second of scrolling, he turns the screen around to show me.
We have the girl. If you want her back, meet us at the docks before sunrise. East corner. Come alone. Come unarmed. If you don’t, she dies.
My heart stops.
Turning around, I stare into the dark halls of the brownstone.
“Sophia?!”
The shout comes from the deepest part of me. Blood rushes to my ears as I shout her name one more time.
I know she won’t respond. But I can’t help it. I need an outlet for the infinite rage building up inside of me. For the infinite dread.
They’ve taken her.
… I’ll burn the world down to get her back.
35
Sophia
“Are you sure you’re ready?”
Castor stands tall next to me, his broad shoulders blocking off a chilly breeze that has suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Yes,” I lie.
This is huge.
If Castor is telling the truth—and I have no reason to believe that he’s not—there are about two dozen of my former men on the other side of that door.
Greek soldiers. Killers.
… Terrorists.
This is what I wanted. A chance to prove myself. An opportunity to discover whether or not I was a real leader. A stage to speak on.
But I’m not ready.
The brainstorming was almost fun. I was alone in a safe place. Then, Castor showed up and told me we had to leave.
Retsos was coming.
How could I not have gone with the man who has dedicated his life to protecting me?
“I’ll have your back in there,” Castor assures me, his big hand falling on my tiny shoulder.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
With that, Castor steps forward and opens the rusty alleyway door.
Immediately, I hear the voices we’ve come to see. They all talk over one another, until Castor clears his throat.
Silently, I step inside behind him.
One by one, the voices go quiet, and all eyes turn to us.
