Page 65 of Promise of Destruction (Destruction & Vengeance Duet #1)

sixty-one

Soren

My eyes feel like they’ve been massaged with sandpaper, and when I open them, everything is blurry.

“It’s okay.”

The voice that assures me I’m okay is not Declan’s, but that’s not exactly cause for concern considering I can’t stomach the idea of facing him right now.

Dimitri leans a little closer—I can smell him, warm and spicy like he’s made it a habit of bathing in cinnamon cloves.

It takes a few seconds of rapid blinking, but my vision clears, and I’m able to see the look of concern on his face.

It pulls his thick lips down into a frown, puts a crease between his eyebrows.

There’s something about this man that feels comforting in the chaos that is Declan and his intrusion in my life.

“What happened?” I groan.

I remember leaving the guest house with Dimitri, his concern, his offer of assistance.

And then I remember why I needed to get out of there— what I saw on Declan’s computer.

I remember the betrayal, the humiliation, the realization that my beloved husband didn’t love me half as much as he claimed he did.

“I’m no doctor,” he shrugs, “but Elaine simply thinks you passed out from malnutrition.” He glances quickly over me, and I realize I’m lying flat on my back on some sort of couch.

It isn’t a couch though—we’re outside. I can feel the breeze on my skin, hear the chirping of animals or insects in the distance.

I sit up slowly and take in my surroundings.

The setting sun is orange and pink as it sinks into the water, turning the horizon bloody with the reflection of it.

It’s easily one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

“I think you had some kind of panic attack.”

Dimitri’s voice tears my attention from the pool sparkling in front of me, and I turn to look at him.

“Probably just tired. I didn’t sleep well.”

That’s a lie. I slept most of our flight here, and I’m still tired, but I won’t admit that to him.

“I’m sure that’s a factor too.”

I focus on breathing the evening air, marveling at how fresh it feels when it hits my lungs. I won’t let my mind go back to the place it was before I passed out, so I focus on how the falling night seems to breathe new life into me.

“How long was I out?”

Little pricks of light bloom to life every couple of feet and I notice the strings between them. This place is peaceful… I’m not sure I ever want to leave. I turn around to look for the source of whoever turned the switch, but Dimitri laughs.

“They’re on a timer. And not long. I came back to fetch coffee for Evers, but you passed out right before I walked in. I heard you hit the floor. How is your head?”

“Fine,” I swallow. The uncomfortable swarming feeling that had been there before I hit the ground is gone, and if it never comes back again, it will be too soon. “So, he’s still working on finding her?”

“He’d better be.” Dimitri’s voice is gentle, but also firm. I don’t have any doubt that if Declan fails to give this man what he wants, then things will go bad. I hate that I feel concern for him, but I do. I don’t want Declan to fail, because I don’t want him to get hurt.

I shouldn’t care what happens to him, but I do.

“I’m not.”

I look up to find Declan walking casually toward us, and fuck, he’s gorgeous even when he’s dressed down. Maybe even more gorgeous because of it. That white shirt clings to his muscles like it’s holding on for dear life.

The housekeeper trails close behind him.

“He found them.” Elaine says in a rush. She sounds like she’s run the whole way here, but Declan looks perfectly collected as his eyes take me in and then slide to Dimitri, cold, calculating, assessing the situation.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes,” I manage. That’s all I can get out before my throat tightens, the air starting to feel like it’s being restricted. The sight of Declan makes it hard to deny the awful thoughts I’ve refused to give any mind.

“You found her?” Dimitri’s voice is skeptical, and his eyes are even more so. “Already?”

“Earlier you seemed to believe I was taking too long. Now you don’t believe I’m done?”

Dimitri glances at me and then stands, closing the space between him and Declan.

Dimitri is a big man, but he doesn’t diminish Declan’s presence.

My boss/stalker is still imposing, and his green eyes are devastatingly gorgeous and dangerous, particularly as they sweep over me once more before turning on Dimitri.

“Is it true?”

Declan lifts his hands in either a shrug or a call for worship. His face is smug enough that I’m guessing it’s the second.

Elaine interjects herself into the space between the two men, commanding Dimitri’s attention.

“I saw it.” She rushes out. “Rhea is in Dubai. I took a picture of the coordinates.”

She thrusts her phone into his chest. After a moment, he blinks like he’s been pulled out of a trance and takes the phone into his hand to look disbelievingly at it.

“Have you gotten ahold of Remy?”

“He didn’t answer my call.” Elaine’s voice is full of panic, and though I know none of these people, I feel tense with their lives hanging in the balance.

“I’ll call him on my way.” Dimitri says.

His own phone chimes, and I imagine he forwarded himself the picture from Elaine’s phone. He’s halfway across the porch, apparently ready to go at this exact moment.

Elaine opens her mouth to call after him but is cut off by the ringing of Dimitri’s phone before a single word can fall out.

Dimitri answers promptly. Either the man on the other end is yelling, or Dimitri is deaf and has his volume on high.

“You have news?”

“Evers found her.” Dimitri confirms quickly.

“Where?”

There’s a moment of panic while he tries to figure out how to break the news. “Rhea is in Dubai.”

“Dubai?” I hear the voice parrot the word, confusion immediately turning to rage. “ Fucking Shah.”

“It makes sense.” Dimitri nods despite the fact that the person on the other end of the call cannot see him. “Of course, Boulder Tech would be capable of locking us out. They locked Evers out of his own code, but he broke it easily.”

“I sent Simon to pick up Evers. If he’s even left to come back, he’s hours away at best.” The man on the other end blows out a loud breath that sounds like a hiss.

“I’ll have to fly public.” I can hear movement in the background, buttons clacking on a keyboard, car keys jostling. It paints a frenzied picture.

Normally, that’s the sort of sentiment I’d mock, but I realize how that may be an inconvenience when you’re used to having your own jet to take you anywhere you want anytime you want.

Declan also remains silent, his hands in his pockets.

We have no business here. Whatever this is, however he’s tied to these people, his part is over.

But we haven’t been explicitly dismissed so we’re still here, Declan standing there looking like he’s bored, and me sitting awkwardly on the patio chaise, my knees pressed together and my heart in my throat.

I have never left the states until today—or, rather, yesterday—but I am fairly confident that it’s a long flight. Europe to Asia, with a few seas between them.

“You might wanna hold off.” Declan warns.

The silence is too long before the sharp voice says, “What?”

“Rhea is in Dubai, but she wasn’t alone when she was taken.”

Declan and Dimitri stare at each other. “Who was she with?”

Declan looks like he doesn’t want to reveal the information, but he sighs anyway. “Claire Boudreaux?”

There’s a beat of silence before the housekeeper gasps, grabbing hold of the back of a chair to keep herself upright. None of these names mean anything to me, but apparently it’s relevant to them. Given the last name, I can tell these people must be related.

“Impossible.” The voice on the other end of the phone cuts through the silence. “I just left my wife asleep in our bedroom.”

“The closest match I could get on the companion there was a ninety-five percent match to Claire Boudreaux.” Declan explains, clearly not as bothered as the rest of them. “They were together in the last known footage before Rhea Boudreaux went missing.”

“FUCK!”

The roar is so loud that I wince from where I’m sitting feet away from Dimitri. There’s a minute where I imagine the man on the other end taking a second to compose himself, hear his ragged breaths.

“They’re separated?”

“Yes.” Declan confirms. “I have the coordinates for both, but by the time you rescue one, they’ll figure it out and move the other.”

Oh.

I feel like a block of lead has just dropped inside my stomach now that Declan is saying what I couldn’t put together myself.

“Tell me where to go.” Dimitri says, his voice tense. I can see that he wants to act, to do something.

“I’m at my house.” It’s not a command, not the information Dimitri sought. But it gives him an answer.

“I’ll send you the coordinates for Claire’s sister. Take Victor with you.” Dimitri says decisively. “Then you can meet me in Dubai, and we’ll get Rhea together.”

“Dimitri…”

“It will be alright.” Dimitri says it matter of fact, leaving no room for argument.

There’s a second of silence where I think the man on the other side of the world is going to yell again, but his voice is quiet so that when he speaks again, the only sound I am able to pick out is ‘Evers’.

Dimitri holds the phone out to Declan, who stares at it a second before pressing it against his ear.

“Yes?”

I can’t hear the man on the other line now—Declan must have lowered the volume. He walks, still with one hand in his pocket as he listens to whatever he’s being told. He’s silent until the end when he says ‘of course’.

A moment later, he passes the phone back to Dimitri.

“I’ve already buried the trace I used to find them.” He says. “That means I can’t turn on any notifications if they’re moved. They’re ghosts in the machine right now.”

Dimitri nods his understanding.