Page 106 of Thorns of Desire

I’d fight to stay alive for my baby.

Your daddy will come for us, I thought silently, fighting the urge to hold my belly.

Once on the yacht, they left me alone as the crew busied with the anchor and untying the ropes. I seemed to be of little interest to my captors, and too soon, there was nothing but blue ocean as far as I could see.

My hands clutching the rails, I decided I couldn’t just wait around for my husband to come to my rescue. I needed to gather intel. Get some answers.

Or better yet, jump off the boat and swim ashore. No, that wouldn’t do. The cool temperatures might threaten hypothermia before reaching the coast.

Taking measured, even breaths, I shook the thought away and let my sea legs carry me down the polished deck. It didn’t take long to come face-to-face withhim.

“Little Athena, we meet again,” came the voice of my living nightmare.

I sucked in a breath and stared at the darkest eyes I’d ever seen. A face that had terrorized me for years, with high cheekbones and thick dark hair. He might have had a mask on when he shoved me into that box all those years ago, but those eyes and that voice were impossible to forget.

“I’m not so little anymore,” I hissed, straightening my shoulders. He terrified a little girl, but I refused to let him scare the woman I’d become.

The air suddenly became charged with electricity, dark and dangerous. I gripped the rail to steady myself.

“Welcome aboard, Mrs. Marchetti. I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.”

I swallowed hard, the voice too familiar for comfort.

“Since you know my name, it’s only fair you tell me yours.” I forced myself to stand with my chin held high, ignoring the tremor in my voice. “And why is my mom working with you?”

“Qian Long.” My eyes narrowed as he took an exaggerated bow. “And it seems your mom sold you out to save herself.”

He smiled—a cold kind of smile that sent chills down my spine. Anyone in the mafia world who valued their life knew of this man, and he wasn’t known for his kindness. He was known for causing fear and terror anywhere he went.

The head of the Triads.

The man who had tried to bury me and set me on fire eleven years ago. Everything from that night was distorted in my mind, but this man had haunted me since.

What was he planning to do to me? If his intention was to kill me, he’d have done so already.

“Why?” I breathed.

His brows arched. “Why what?”

“Why does she have to save herself from you?”

He shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his linen slacks.

“Your father started it, your mother took it to another extreme, and I’m going to finish it.”

“It makes no sense,” I said more to myself than him. “Why would Mom betray me? She’s always protected me.”

“Something about a stolen lover,” he said coldly. “Being discarded for the last time.” Shock rolled through me at those words. Maybe he was lying, but I didn’t think this man would bother with such frivolities.

My concern was my mother’s betrayal. She had to have been the one to give the Triads my location. After all, she knew about my appointment today. Damn it, why did I tell her? She seemed amicable, so I was trying to return the sentiment. After all, she was my mother and I wanted her to be part of my life.

“Someone had to die,” he continued casually. “She reached out and offered you up as a sacrificial lamb.”

Oh. My. God.

She had thrown me to the wolves because she was… jealous. The inner turmoil her betrayal caused felt like a lash against sensitive skin.

The only blessing in disguise was that Manuel hadn’t come with me to the clinic. Otherwise, they would have hurt him too or, even worse, killed him.