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ARSENI

“Fuck.” My foot taps as I pick anxiously at my lip.

She’s all right.

She’s gonna be all right.

Don’t panic.

“We should call the police,” I say, as if I can’t hear the siren blaring on top of the car. Hudson insisted on going with me as backup when I called, and I didn’t even hesitate to climb into his cop car. I’m a fucking dead man.

“I doubt your buddies would appreciate that.” Hudson points to the glove box. “Take my silencer out, will you?”

“I don’t give a fuck what the consequences for me are.

” Frustration spills through a mound of helplessness in my tone.

Every second feels like a second too long that I’m not with her.

The only thing that gives me a shred of comfort is suspecting Nikita wants the brothers to take me out as well, so they may wait for me to arrive.

But if that were the case, Nikita would’ve given me her location.

Of course, in some ways he did. He knew I could find the Jag.

She’s okay. For the moment, she’s okay.

I fucking hope.

“Yeah, well, pretty sure the Bratva wouldn’t let a law enforcement witness go, so her life is on the line here too.”

When he points at the glovebox, I open it and retrieve the silencer he asked for.

“Aren’t these illegal?” I hold up the black metal while pursing my lips at him.

“Nope.”

I hand it over and watch him take the wheel with his knee while pulling out his gun. He screws the silencer on before taking the wheel again. When I lean over, I see the speedometer needle on ninety-five.

We’ll be there soon. She just has to hang on a little longer.

I didn’t bring my gun, which makes me feel like a world class fool right now. I ran out of the house without thinking about it. I was just panicked.

But I don’t want to use a gun anyway. I don’t want to kill my brothers. Whoever Nikita sent after her is a pawn, and I’m hopeful I can make them see it. After all, I’m the biggest pawn he has.

I could say Vitaly ordered them to stand down. But would they believe me?

Luka.

They’d believe Luka.

“What do you need a silencer for, anyway?” I ask, pulling out my phone and bringing up Luka’s contact with shaky fingers.

“Like I said, I don’t want to alert the police. We should keep the noise to a min—What the hell are you doing?”

He swipes the phone from my hand and tosses it in the backseat. All I got sent was: Help .

“What the fuck?” I wave a hand toward the backseat.

“Who were you texting?” Hudson demands, throwing a disapproving glare my way.

“Backup. We don’t know if these guys are going to stand down.”

“I’m a cop,” Hudson says with a frustrated huff.

“They’d drop you like a dime for that reason alone. We aren’t the Irish, Hudson. We don’t think too hard about killing cops.”

“Well, I’m laying my ass on the line for you, Ars. Nobody can know that we’re working together. Just…” He shows me a palm. “Calm down. We’re gonna get her.”

The way Hudson says it—like he’s talking partly to himself—makes me stare at him for a few seconds. I know my energy is chaotic. I know how scared I feel. Maybe it’s rubbing off on him because he sounds worried too. More than I’d expect.

I stretch to grab my phone from the back seat and see a message from Luka.

Where are you?

I tuck my phone beneath my thigh and face the windshield. We’re out of town now, and after a thirty second phone call with someone, Hudson tells me Margot has stopped. My heart leaps into my throat.

She’s okay.

We’ll be there soon.

She’s okay.

Nikita wants them to kill me. He would tell them to capture her, not kill her right away. He wants me to find them and try to stop them. He’s banking on it.

She’s okay.

It’s okay.

Just a little bit further.

But it’s only seconds before my head is spinning with what happens when they do kill me. No one will know what took place. No one will protect her.

Tossing Hudson a glance, I bring my phone to my side and slyly type out another message to Luka.

Route 94 out by the lake.

Hurry , I add.

I tuck my phone back under my thigh and ignore it when it immediately buzzes. He’ll come. I’ve been blowing him off for six months, and I broke his ribs just days ago, but … he’ll come.

Regret hits me so hard, I double over, resting my forearms on my knees. If I’d just listened. If I’d just been less selfish…

She never would’ve been here to begin with. I never would’ve come across her. The need for revenge would never have surfaced.

She wouldn’t be fighting for her life right now.

When Hudson’s phone rings yet again, he holds up a finger to tell me to be quiet.

“Sergeant Peters,” he says into the phone. At first, I think he’s talking to Sergeant Peters, but his authoritative command that follows makes it clear that he is Sergeant Peters. It occurs to me that I’ve never paid attention to Hudson’s last name.

When he gets off, I give him a puzzled stare. “ Sergeant ?”

He looks at me and shrugs. “My uh, adoptive father, I guess you can say, is the Chief of Police. Helps to know people.”

I nod and face forward, the first piece of water coming into view.

Almost there.

Hang on, Margot.