Page 98 of Twisted Fate
Freedom beckons—the corridor, the exit, the island beyond. If I can just reach the beach, find a place to hide…
I make it two steps into the hallway before something hard connects with the back of my head. Stars explode behind my eyes, my legs buckling beneath me. I hit the floor hard, vision swimming.
Through the fog of pain, I see boots surrounding me. Guards, responding to Kane's howl of pain. They must not have been far. Too many to fight, especially in my current state.
Stupid. Reckless.For the first time in my life, I acted without thinking it through, and I’m going to pay for it.
Kane appears in my wavering field of vision, cradling his broken wrist against his chest. The cultured mask has slipped completely now, leaving only cold fury in its place.
"You ungrateful bitch," he snarls, all pretense of affection gone. "After everything I've done for you."
His foot lashes out, catching me in the ribs with enough force to lift me off the floor. Pain explodes in my side, bright and sharp. Another kick follows, and another, each punctuated by words spat like venom.
"I. Should. Have. Killed. You. With. Your. Parents."
Each word is a blow, a confirmation of what I now know with bone-deep certainty: he never cared for me. Not as a daughter, not as a protégée. I was only ever a tool to him, a weapon to be wielded and discarded. I wonder now if he would have ever set me free, if he would have given me some false name and let me out of his employ. Or if he would have just killed me, if I’d done the job as I was supposed to, and killed Konstantin.
Through the haze of pain, I hear him instructing his men. "Take her to the cells. Chain her properly this time. And alert me the moment Abramov is spotted approaching the island."
Rough hands grab me, dragging me to my feet. I'm barely conscious, my body a catalog of new injuries. But as they haul me away, I meet Kane's eyes one last time.
"He'll kill you," I whisper, tasting blood. "And if he doesn't, I will."
Kane laughs, his smile cold. “Of course, my dear. Of course you will.”
My vision swims as I’m dragged away, and my last thought, before blackness closes in again, is of Konstantin.
He’s coming for me.
26
KONSTANTIN
The moment they took her, something inside of me snapped.
I fought like a man possessed, breaking the nose of one of Kane’s men, the neck of another, shooting several more. But there were too many of them, and by the time I managed to break free, Valentina was gone.
The minute I made it back to the car, my knuckles raw and blood streaming from my nose and mouth, I called Yuri. The only thing I needed was to know where she’d been taken.
Now, several hours later, I have that information.
Kane has a fortress on a private island, his own personal retreat, a compound where no one goes without his permission. Except I’m going to fucking go there, and I’m going to get the woman I love back.
"I need everything you have on the island," I tell Yuri, pacing in the living room of my penthouse. "Layout, security protocols, patrol schedules. Everything."
"Already working on it," he says, and I hear the rapid clicking of keys in the background. "But Konstantin—" He hesitates,which is unlike him. Yuri never hesitates. "It's a trap. You know that, right? They took her to draw you in."
"I know." My jaw tightens. "Doesn't change anything."
Another pause. "You're really going after her."
It's not a question, but I answer anyway. "Yes."
He says nothing. I’ve known Yuri for a long time. He works for me, but he’s also something of a friend. I can practically hear the smile on his face—deep down, Yuri is a romantic. A rare thing, in a world like ours.
I end the call and head down to the garage, driving straight to the warehouse where my father keeps excess equipment and weapons. The guard at the entrance takes one look at my face and steps aside without a word.
Inside, I find Damian, his enforcer, inspecting a shipment of weapons. He looks up as I approach, his face registering surprise at my appearance.
