Page 109 of Thorns of Desire

Soren chuckled. “It’s his mistake.”

Rumors were that Soren once battled through fifty men on his own before he was joined by his men. It was how he got his scar. So I wasn’t surprised he saw this as a piece of cake. He didn’t even consider it a challenge.

The night air was crisp as we jetted across the rough waters. The moon glimmered against the dark skies, lighting the path that would take us to the only woman that mattered.

I made a vow to never waste time again because it was fleeting and precious. When I had Athena safe in my arms, I was going to live every day like it was my last.

I would tell my wife I loved her, so fucking much that it terrified me. Without her, I was a shell of a man and this life wasn’t worth living.

Before long, we spotted the super yacht.

“Keep to the shadows,” I instructed Danil, although I was confident he knew what he was doing. “I’m glad we went with this black boat. It’ll be easier to blend in.”

“Black is Qian’s favorite color,” Danil said wryly.

I shared a look with them. “Silencers on?”

A terse nod.

Danil promptly killed the motor and Umbrio, who used to be an Italian rowing champion, took us the rest of the way.

We swung our ropes up and climbed onto the deck. It wasn’t long before we were spotted. Chaos erupted. Men scattered, picking up their weapons. I killed two before they could even reach for them.

Danil was next to me while Soren and Umbrio fell behind. We moved efficiently, careful to not alert Qian too soon and give him an opportunity to hurt Athena.

It was over quickly.

Ten Triad men were dead, and we moved to the upper deck. I scanned the area and motioned to the separate sets of stairs. We couldn’t leave an open exit and potentially miss Qian if he decided to flee with Athena, so we separated. Danil and I went up the first flight of stairs.

We crept up slowly. I knew there had to be more men close by—there was no chance they hadn’t been alerted to our presence.

The moment my foot took the last step, I caught a subtle shift against the far end of the deck and sneered.

Movement behind me registered a second before a garrote snapped around my neck. Dropping my gun, I got a few fingers under the cord before it could go taut, and I yanked with both hands. He was trying his fucking best to strangle me, but he didn’t have what it took. I shoved him backward, ramming my skull against his.

The sound of crunching bones rang out and he screamed. Pulling a knife out of my holster, I spun around to find him clutching his bloody nose, and without wasting another second, I drove the knife into his stomach.

“Where is my wife?” I said, letting him see my fury.

“I don’t know who your wife is,” he wheezed.

“Don’t lie to me,stronzo, or I’ll gut you alive.”

I could feel his blood leaking everywhere, coating my hands and clothes.

“I… I… don’t know,” he screamed. “Boss took her.”

Pulling my knife from his belly, I sliced his throat and heaved him overboard.

Another two men appeared out of thin air.

Danil was shooting at the ones behind us while I focused on the men in front of me. I heard shots fired on the other side of the deck, probably Soren and Umbrio, but I ignored them.

Athena was here and I needed to get to her.

Athena

I swallowed my fear while a hum built in my throat.