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CHARLOTTE

M y leg bounces erratically as we drive through the woodlands.

After a long flight and a few hours of sleep in Mikhail’s safe house, the time is finally here.

Being back in Russia heightens my fears. I’m back in hell, and I’m about to come face to face with my tormentor.

Squeezing my fists as I aimlessly watch the trees go past, Declan clamps his strong hand on my jolting leg and holds it still.

“Everything is going to be fine, baby. Mikhail’s men have been patrolling the warehouse for days, they’re already in position. We have the upper hand,” he whispers, leaning into my side.

Visions of my first escape attempt flood my memories. This time, he has my little girl.

My worst fear has come to life, and I have one opportunity to fix this. So he’s not wrong, everything will be okay—for Isabella at least.

“We don’t know that, Declan. I need you to understand something,”

I grab both of his hands in mine.

“What, sweetheart?”

“That if there is a choice between saving me or Isabella. You chose her, Declan. I need you to promise me that you will save our daughter over me.”

I blurt the words out, and it’s like a weight lifts off my chest.

He blinks at me a few times, and I squeeze his hand.

I know how hard this is, asking him to pick a daughter he’s never met over me. But the second he lays eyes on her and that shock goes to his heart, he will understand.

She is a true Quinn.

“I give you my word, heartbreaker. Not because I want to, but because I understand. And I want you to know something too…”

Fuck, this is awful.

I’ve just found him again, and now there’s a chance that if shit goes south, I won’t make it out of here.

“What?” I fight back the tears.

“That if it comes down to it, I will die to protect my girls. I don’t give a fuck if I’ve never met her. I am her dad. She has my blood. She is my legacy. And I love her with my whole heart.”

I suck in a breath.

“But it’s not going to come down to that, Charlotte. We’re fighters. Life has been cruel and sent us here. But we’re stronger together. Maybe life has thrown everything at us so we can be the strength she needs.”

I stroke my thumb along his knuckles.

“What if this one is running out of fight?”

Ten years is a long time.

I’m not the fighter I was a few years ago.

“That’s why we go in as a team, sweetheart. You’ve fought for a long time. This is the last one. I promise you, once we get our baby girl back, it’s going to be different.”

I love his positive outlook.

But he hasn’t lived my life. Deep down, there’s only one way this is going to go.

The way it has to go.

Vlad told me I’d never escape him, not even in death, and that thought races through my mind every day.

I will never be free of him, but she can be.

Declan saved me five years ago with that one night. The idea of him kept me sane for the next five.

Now, I have everything I ever wanted in my grasp.

It’s always my husband, my monster, that stands in the way.

You have to burn those kinds of vermin and watch their souls get ripped from their bodies.

The only way Isabella is safe and can live a normal life is by ripping that man’s heart from his chest and watching him take his last breath on this earth.

He isn’t walking away from this. I’m going to make sure of it.

“I know. And I know we have a plan. I just needed to hear you say the words for my own sanity. Her over me. Okay?”

Declan closes his eyes and rests his forehead against mine.

“I hate this. But yes. Our baby first. But bet your ass if it comes down to it, I’ll be burning the world down for you too. You’re important to me.” He swipes his thumb along my cheek.

“Thank you,” I breathe out, trying to keep my emotions in check.

“Look at me,” he commands as my eyes flutter closed.

“There is a lot of fight left in you.” He pauses, rubbing his nose against mine, but his eyes are burning into mine.

“Scorch the earth if you have to. Let your fire burn their souls, heartbreaker. It’s time to make them pay for all the years they’ve tried to destroy you. Now you need to become their nightmare, baby. I don’t care if you take me down too. You are the flame, and not just a flicker, you’re the fucking inferno.”

He blows out a long breath before slamming his lips over mine.

My heart melts at his words. A real man empowers his woman, he doesn’t tear her down.

I’m his equal, and that in itself gives me the strength I need to win this.

“Then stick to the plan, Declan. Don’t let your heart get in the way here. Vlad is coming to this on the pretense he gets me.” My fingers toy with the broken heart necklace, the one wired with a tracker and a heart-rate monitor. The lifeline if things go bad.

We’ve got an army outside the warehouse. But this is his turf.

Vlad’s a malicious bastard, and he’s not going down easy.

“I know the plan,” Declan says, jaw tight. “And I’m sticking to it.”

I stroke his cheek, catching the fire behind his eyes. He hates that I’m the bait. But he’s smart. He gets why it has to be this way.

“There’s one more thing,” I whisper against his lips.

“What’s that, sweetheart?” he asks, twirling his finger through my ponytail.

“If the worst happens… There’s something I want you to read. It’s saved on the laptop you gave me.”

He raises a brow.

“You make me a naughty video?” His voice dips, playful and sinful.

I laugh, patting his hard chest. “No. Well, maybe word porn . I started a book. Based on us. Or… what I wished for us if we were different people.”

His expression shifts, brows drawing together. “Why different people? Why not us?”

“I never thought I’d see you again. I wrote it as a dream. In that world, I was free. I never betrayed you. It’s our what if .”

He’s quiet, processing. “And how does it end?”

I shrug, sliding my hands up his chest. “I don’t know. I never got that far.”

He grabs my neck and kisses me like he’s claiming my soul.

“You’re going to finish it. And then we’re going to reenact every spicy, dirty, kinky scene you write. Hell, I’ll help inspire you,” he growls.

“Oh, yeah? You want to help write our future?”

His eyes lock on mine. “More than anything.”

A grin tugs at my lips as I whisper, “I’ll hold you to that… Jimmy.”