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A quiet murmur at my side has me turning my head, and I see Clara curled up on the corner of the bed against the wall with Squish pressed against her tummy. Her big, wide eyes are filled with tears as she stares at me.

“Char,” she sobs, her bottom lip trembling.

“Oh, sweet girl.” I ignore the dizziness sweeping over me as I reach for her and scoop her into my arms, tugging her against me. She presses her face into my shirt, and I slide a hand down the back of her head. “Everything will be okay. Your daddy is going to save us.”

Remembering what Alex told me, I reach inside my pocket for my phone, but find it empty.

Which means he has no way to track us.

Defeat swallows me whole as I bury my face into her shoulder, hiding my tears. “He’ll find us,” I whisper.

I glance around the room and immediately recognize where we are, thanks to the bare space occupied only by a twin mattress. The cabin in the woods Garrett would bring me to punish me. The place where I spent winter nights with no heat, summer days with no water, and days on end with nothing to eat. The memory settles over me like a familiar cage I never left.

This place is an inescapable prison.

Every window is surrounded by steel bars on the outside.

Every door is wired with alarms.

Even the damn floorboards are sealed shut, as if someone planned for every possible escape route.

We’re trapped.

And there’s no way for Alex to find us.

It’s not possible.

Voices from beyond the door startle me, and I hold Clara tighter.

“I have her.” Garrett’s deep voice rings out, sharp with satisfaction. “I’ll bring her to you in Chicago tomorrow morning. But first, she needs to pay for what she’s put me through.”

“Understandable,” Mikhail replies in his familiar deep accent, sending a shiver down my spine. “But remember, men don’t pay for broken toys. Keep her in one piece, or the deal is off.”

“Of course,” Garrett answers like the obedient puppy that he is.

“And the child?”

No…

I hold my breath, so I don’t miss a single word.

“Got her too,” Garrett tells him. I glance down at Clara, fighting back tears. “I’m sure Alessandro will pay a pretty penny to get her back… But I might enjoy taking everything away from him, just like he did to me.”

No. No. No.

I press my back against the wall, trembling as my eyes sweep the empty room, searching for something I might have missed over the years that could be the answer to our escape.

But it’s useless, because I’ve tried.

More times than I can count.

This place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

The rest of their words blur as terror wraps its talons around me. I can’t let anything happen to her. I won’t. I just need—

The door swings open, and Garrett stands before me with a devilish grin widening across his face. His eyes are cold, glazed over with amusement at the thought of punishing me for my actions.

I know, because it’s a look I’ve seen in his eyes so many times that it haunts my nightmares.