Page 111 of Thorns of Desire

His eyes widened as he was stunned into silence before a huge smile stretched across his lips.

“You think of me as your dad?” I nodded, struggling to find my voice. A big part of me resisted the idea of a father who was involved in human trafficking and brought pain to so many people. But at this moment, he was my savior. “Say it again,” he croaked, a genuine smile stretching across his lips.

“No.” I had no idea where this strength was coming from. Maybe I recognized Atticus’s hunger to be loved by his child or his resolve to have a connection with me. Whatever it was, I was determined to use it to my advantage. “Take me to my husband. Get me out of here.”

He chuckled. “No wonder Danil is protective of you.”

I blinked. “Why is he protective of me?”

He stepped closer to me. “He sees the fighter in you, but also a woman who’s fiercely protective of those she loves.”

“He couldn’t possibly know that,” I muttered. Except, if he had me watched for years like Atticus had said, that would make sense. “But maybe one day I could get to know him.” I looked over to the door that led to my escape before my gaze slid back to him, my hope of escaping this flaring to life. “And you,Dad.”

He seemed taken aback before he pulled me into a tight hug.

“Your husband’s on his way.” His phone beeped and he flicked a glance at it, cursing under his breath. “And so is my son.” He pushed his hand through his thick silver hair, a tattoo catching my attention. “I should have known those two would team up and shoot their way through Qian’s men.”

“What do you mean?” I gasped, my eyes locked on the familiar tattoo. Before I could dwell on the meaning of it, an alarm blasted.

“Stay here,” he ordered. “I have a game to play with Qian, but I promise you, your husband will find you. Very soon. And trust me when I say no one will hurt you again.”

And with that, he exited the room.

I stared after my only way out of here, unable to stir into action. Every fiber of me stood frozen as the seconds ticked by, trying to understand what just happened.

I was pacing the small room when the door opened. Qian came to stand in front of me, his shoulders square as he stared down at me.

“And how in the fuck did you get out of that box?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I know a few of David Copperfield’s magic tricks.” His eyes flashed. Fuck, I was getting too brave for my own good. “What’s going on?”

“Your husband and brother are fucking maniacs,” he roared, letting the subject of my questionable magic go. “That’s what’s going on.”

My lips lifted and hope ignited in my chest, my eyes darting around as if they might appear out of thin air. “They’re here?”

A few more men barged through the door, speaking Chinese. It almost sounded as if they were bickering when an explosion rocked the boat.

“Fuck, please tell me we’re close to shore,” I muttered just as my captor shoved me to the ground.

“Stay down,” he ordered, brandishing a gun. He barked out a few orders in Chinese, and men I hadn’t noticed before sprung to action.

“What’s happening?” I breathed.

“It seems your husband and brother teamed up for your rescue mission and are determined to sink my ship.”

I grinned.

Maybe this wasn’t the end after all.

FORTY-FIVE

MANUEL

The whole time I fought through the Triads, I pictured the terror in Athena’s eyes, her ravaged expression, and it kept me pushing onward.

Danil and I froze as soon as we barged into the room where Athena’s tracker led us.

She was surrounded by Qian and three of his men. He yanked her off the ground by her elbow and she winced, shooting him a glare.