Page 35

THIRTY-FIVE

SAVANNAH

“THAT’S NOT SOMETHING I would have expected from him.” Sadie frowns down at the plate of leftover syrniki. “I didn’t even know Zeke could cook.”

“He can’t.” That’s the most significant reason I’m still smiling an hour after Zeke and the rest of Shadow left to investigate a building an hour outside of Nashville.

“I can vouch for that.” Jamison snags one of the pancakes, shoving the entire thing into his mouth the same way Zeke did. His brows lift as he chews. “They’re not bad though, are they?”

“They’re perfect.” Are they a little gummy in the middle? Maybe. But who cares? Not only did Zeke remember an offhand comment I made in passing, he also stepped all the way out of his comfort zone to give me something he knew I’d like.

Something that would matter.

“Ugh.” Sadie rolls her eyes. “You’re just saying that because he’s obsessed with you.”

“He’s not any more obsessed with me than I am with him.” I jump right to Zeke’s defense. “And why does it matter anyway?”

Sadie’s expression softens. “Because I don’t want you to get hurt. You’ve been through so much, and I don’t want anything slowing down your progress.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my irritation. It doesn’t work. “The only person slowing down my progress is you.” I’ve been avoiding this moment. Trying to walk the line between keeping the peace between us and drawing lines I might never be able to cross again. But I won’t let Sadie infer that Zeke is bad for me.

My sister’s eyes open wide. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” I manage to lower my voice before saying, “I know you think I’m going to be the person I was before, but I’m not. And you need to stop expecting me to.”

Sadie’s eyes move over my face. “I thought you would want to be the person you were.” She steps toward me. “I liked who you were.”

“So did I.” I was happy with my life. With my place in the world. It’s no longer an option though. “But I like who I am now too.”

Not in a way that’s better, just in a way that’s different. I’m not as carefree and innocent as I was before Ivan and his group abducted me to use me against my sister in the hope she would help them smuggle things into Russia the same way she smuggled people out. The world doesn’t look the same. What I want and like has changed. What Ivan did altered me on a fundamental basis.

And maybe that’s the problem. Not how I’m different. But why.

I study my sister for a second before offering some honesty I should have given her a long time ago. “I don’t blame you for what happened to me.”

Sadie’s chin wobbles as she pulls in a breath. “You should.”

I shake my head. “No. I shouldn’t.” Reaching out, I rest my hands on her shoulders. “If I blame you, then I also have to blame myself. I should have realized what he was doing before it was too late.”

Ivan lured me right in and I was too naive to see him for what he really was. A snake. A manipulator. A criminal and a narcissist. His whole goal was to use me in whatever way he could. Ultimately, that’s what I fed into. What I turned against him to escape.

“None of that was your fault.” Sadie’s voice breaks. “It was all mine. I thought I was too smart. Too careful.” A tear slides down her cheek. “I was wrong, and you paid the price.”

“And I would tell you to do it again. To make sure you saved all those women and children from ending up like our mother.”

I will never be grateful to Ivan, not ever. But at least my suffering wasn’t in vain.

Sadie smooths down my hair, sniffing as she blinks away the tears lining her eyes. “You’re a better person than I am then, because if I had to do it all over again, I would change everything.”

MY HEART SKIPS a beat when the phone on the island starts to ring. Already, I know what that sound means, and my body reacts on a visceral level.

Never would I have thought helping someone else would help me so much, but it does. I understand why Zeke does it. Why Sadie does it.

I hold my breath as Lydia talks to whoever’s on the other end of the line. It’s an odd feeling to hope it’s a wrong number while also being ready to spring into action if it’s not.

When Lydia takes down an address, my adrenaline starts to pump, sending me to my feet. By the time she hangs up the phone, my boots and coat are on and Maddox is strapping on his weapons.

“This should be a pretty easy pickup.” Lydia grabs her own coat as we head for the door. “No risk her boyfriend will show up while we’re there, so that’s good.”

“Do you want me to call Sadie and Jamison?” I ask as she slips on her shoes.

Lydia shakes her head. “This sounds like it’ll be pretty straightforward. We can always call for backup if we need it.”

“Do you usually need it?” I’m not worried—I know Maddox can handle just about anything that comes our way—it’s more curiosity and interest in the process than anything else.

Lydia snorts. “Most guys aren’t too happy when they find out the woman they’ve been abusing is leaving them.” She gives me a little smile. “So there’s plenty of times we get to give them back a little of what they deserve.”

And I don’t hate the sound of that.

“So what I hear you saying is, I might get to kick some ass today?” Maddox sounds way too happy about the possibility.

I can’t blame him. He’s been stuck babysitting me while everyone else gets to go hunt down the jerks who blew up the building and chased Zeke and me through the woods.

“No.” Lydia easily crushes his dreams. “You’re going to hold him down while I stomp on his balls.”

I blink at the slim blonde as we step out onto the porch. “You don’t look like the kind of woman who stomps on balls.”

She flashes me a smile. “Any woman can be the kind who stomps on balls if they grind their foot hard enough.” Her grin widens. “I learned that from my best friend, Piper.”

“I’ve heard about her.” Maddox leads us down the sidewalk, sticking close in case we hit a slick spot, but surreptitiously lowers his hands over his crotch. “Zeke said she tased a guy in the nuts.”

“She also concussed a guy with a can of spray starch.” Lydia wiggles her brows at me. “Piper also taught me anything can be a weapon if you use it the right way.”

I’m still thinking about Lydia’s words as we pull away from the curb. Not the specific things she said, but how they made me feel. The change I’ve felt in myself in the few days I’ve been here. In my attitude. In my goals. In my plans for the future.

And I decide, I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to make sure Pierce finds a spot close enough to Memphis I can visit these people whenever I want. Help them whenever they need extra hands to dole out vigilante justice.

Because I’m sure Lydia does a great job kicking balls, but Shadow can do so much more.

By the time we reach our destination, I’ve got just as many plans going as Zeke does, and I’m confident he’ll be fine with every one of them.

I also have a plan that doesn’t really involve him, but I’ll have to talk to my sister about that one. I know we’ve had our differences lately, but I think we had a breakthrough this morning. Hopefully that means we’re on our way to a new normal.

A new normal that might be even better than our old one.

“This place isn’t what I was expecting.” Lydia frowns out the window as she looks over the isolated, run-down two-story at the address the woman provided. “No wonder she wants the hell out of here.”

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Maddox stops the SUV and picks up his phone, scanning the map displayed on the screen as Lydia double-checks her own.

“This is definitely the address she gave me.” Her brows pinch together as she makes a call, leaning to peer at the house as she presses the cell to her ear. When the woman on the other end answers, she says, “We just pulled up outside, can you see us?”

I watch as the front door to the dilapidated structure opens. I tap Maddox’s shoulder and point.

He nods as Lydia says, “Okay. We’ll be in to help carry your bags.”

“I guess it’s go time then.” Maddox opens his door before stepping back to open mine. He offers a hand as I get out, making sure I’m steady on my feet before letting go.

The snow here is relatively deep, but not nearly as high as it is in Alaska, so even though nothing has been shoveled, none of it drops down into my boots. It’s still treacherous though. I look over the driveway with dismay. “I hope her suitcases are light, because there’s no way we’ll be able to roll them through this.”

I pick my way across the front of the house, doing my best to step in Maddox’s footprints as he follows a slightly depressed area that might be a sidewalk. I’m so busy watching my feet that I don’t immediately notice when the front door opens wider. It’s not until an odd sound comes from inside the house that I look up.

Just in time to see Maddox stumble back, his body jolting as the strange sound continues. My brain still doesn’t make sense of what’s happening until he hits the snow, leaving streaks of red blood marring the pristine white surface as he fights to get up.

A man strides through the door, turning to me as he carelessly aims another silenced bullet at Maddox. The hatred in the gunman’s eyes as he stalks my way is unmistakable. “I finally got my hands on you, didn’t I, you little lying bitch.”

My feet scramble backward all on their own, but I’m not fast enough. I can’t even scream before a heavy hand clamps onto my hair. Then he’s dragging me inside as another man rushes out to grab Lydia as she attempts to flee.

What in the hell is happening?

I shove at the man, trying to break free so I can go check on Maddox. Go see if he’s okay even though I know he’s probably not.

The man holding my hair shoves me hard, and I flail as I start to go down, landing hard against an unforgiving wood chair. My head’s spinning and my heart’s racing as my brain tries to make sense of things.

The man takes full advantage of my disoriented state, quickly zip tying my legs to the chair and my hands behind my back. He pulls the plastic so tight it cuts into my skin and cuts off circulation.

Lydia is slammed down into a chair next to me before being bound in the same way. Unlike me, she is full of fight and rage.

The man wrestling her grunts as she manages to get a kick in. But before she can try for a second, the guy who grabbed me backhands her across the face, leaving a trail of blood leaking from a cut across her cheekbone.

Seeing her assaulted, snaps me out of my stupor and I turn to him. “Who are you? Why are you doing this? We haven’t done anything to you.”

The man’s eyes linger on Lydia. “She hasn’t.” His attention comes my way. “But you are the reason my brother is dead.” He leans down, resting both hands on the arms of my chair as his face hovers in front of mine.

A face that seems oddly familiar.

“If it wasn’t for you, Ivan would still be here and we would still be making fucking money.” He leans closer, bringing us nearly nose to nose. “But you fooled him, didn’t you? Made him think you cared about him. Convinced him to let his guard down.” His breath is hot as it fans over my face. “Because of you I lost everything. My brother. My business.” His lips pull into a sickening smile. “And now the same thing is going to happen to you.” He straightens, pulling a phone from his pocket before setting it up on a tripod aimed directly at me. “And your sister’s going to get to watch every second of it.”