Page 83 of Cinderella and the Daddy

"I'm going in." My voice cuts through Viktor’s concern like a blade. "She's in there. That's all that matters."

There are eight of us moving toward the garage. We use hand signals to communicate.

Viktor steps forward first and throws a smoke grenade through the door. The air is filled with thick gray clouds that turn the world into a maze of shadows and confusion.

Another one goes in.

I can hear voices from inside. They’re scattering.

“Going in,” I say.

I move like death itself, sliding through the chaos without a sound. The first guard goes down before he even knows I'm there, my knife sliding between his ribs. The second turns at the sound of his partner falling and meets my fist instead of my blade.

One by one, they drop. Some fight. Some run. It doesn't matter. My men will get any that try to escape. They stood between Cindy and me, which makes them all dead men walking.

I make my way into the room. I hear a few gunshots but ignore them.

I have only one goal.

I push through a door and into a room mostly empty.

Except for a single metal folding chair sitting in the middle of the space and the woman tied to it.

Even through the smoke and darkness, I would know her anywhere.

“Luka,” she murmurs. “You’re here.”

The smell of gasoline hits me, and that’s when I see it. They've soaked the floor around her chair, turning this room into a death trap waiting for a single spark. One cigarette or a bullet, and she goes up like a Roman candle.

Rage floods through me, white-hot and consuming. They didn't just take her. They were planning to burn her alive.

I'm across the room in seconds, my knife cutting through the ropes that bind her wrists.

"I'm here," I tell her, slicing through the last of her bonds. "I'm here,malyshka. You're safe."

She looks at me for a long moment, taking in my blood-soaked shirt, and then she does something completely unexpected.

She laughs.

It's not hysteria, not shock. It's pure, genuine amusement, like she's just heard the world's best joke. "You look terrible," she says, reaching up to touch the dried blood on my cheek.

"You should see the other guys," I reply, pulling her into my arms.

I shield her while we walk toward the exit.

We're almost to the stairwell when my legs nearly give out. The adrenaline that's been carrying me is starting to fade, replaced by bone-deep exhaustion and the throbbing pain in my shoulder. I stumble, catching myself against the wall. Cindy reaches out for me.

“Let me help.”

“Who took you?” I ask.

“Drew. Anna. And someone named Yuri.”

“Fuck.” I pull out my phone. I call Viktor, who tells me to take cover. It’s not safe to leave. “Come,” I order.

I have every intention of finding a closet or office space to hide her in.

I open a door and find exactly what I’m looking for. It’s a small office with no windows. I close the door and lock it, leaving the lights off.