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There was more shouting from Andrei and Ari as they navigated through the space with their guns raised.
I moved to approach Andrei but felt a rough hand stop me.
Yaro stood in front of me, gripping the front of my shirt with an aggravated scowl on his face. He was pissed.
“Did you have something to do with this?” he snapped at me, voice booming inside my head. “Did you?”
“No, I had no idea. I swear,” I managed, trying my best to fight through the slight dizziness I felt. The alarm ringing within me didn’t help matters at all. “Where’s Anastasia? Have you seen her?”
Yaro stared at me a moment longer, as if calculating if he could trust me. “You swear on her life you didn’t know about this?”
“I swear! Where is she?” I demanded, growing more impatient as I couldn’t see her anywhere.
“I don’t know,” Yaro muttered, letting go of me as he turned and tried to scan the space for himself.
As everyone seemed to stand and regain their bearings, the smoke and debris began to settle, and the startling realization hit me faster than I could handle. My heart was in my throat.
The building had been targeted and hit, and those men stormed us before anyone had the chance to truly fight back.
They took her.
Anastasia was gone.
Chapter 26 - Anastasia
Not even during my wildest escapades across the world had I ever had a headache so strong before. I was convinced waking up in a ditch would’ve felt better than I did at that moment.
It took every ounce of willpower to finally open my eyes, only to feel the full wrath of my pounding head. Black splotches filled my sight, and my head was so hazy I couldn’t string a coherent thought together.
But as those aches moved through my body, reaching every point and causing me to feel nauseous, the space around me came into focus again.
Glancing around weakly, it didn’t take long to realize my hands were bound by rope and situated in my lap. Propped up against some sort of loveseat, it seemed I had been placed there carelessly while I was passed out.
At the very least, it wasn’t the hard ground, or some cement floor in a basement somewhere.
Still, I didn’t recognize the room, and that was enough to stoke panic within me.
Nik and my family were nowhere to be seen, and this place didn’t resemble any of their homes. While I wanted to believe they had me holed up somewhere, I knew they wouldn’t have any reason to bind me.
Fighting through the brain fog, vague memories of the conference room and the explosion filtered back into my mind. There was no questioning it. I was not with my family, and something was horribly wrong.
That dread sat heavily in my stomach and wrapped around my throat, threatening to close it completely.
I didn’t know what to do or where to go.
The room was bigger than most, with several different couches, side tables, a big throw rug, and decor spread out over various shelves and the mantel across from me. It appeared to be an old sitting or drawing room, and I already knew whoever had me tied up was wealthy enough to buy all those busts and expensive-looking pieces.
A row of windows spanned the wall to my left, and while I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to open them properly, I felt tempted to get up and investigate them.
At the same time, I didn’t know what they could possibly do for me. I felt desperate for an escape, but there was no telling where I’d end up or if I’d survive a drop. I certainly couldn’t climb.
It didn’t hurt to try, anyway.
Just before I could shuffle out of the loveseat, the door to my right opened, and I immediately froze in place.
An older-looking man glanced over at me, and with recognition in his eyes, he slowly approached. “What a pleasure it is to have the Levov Princess back for a visit.”
Immediately, I recalled his face. It was the same man I had seen when Nik captured me and we went to that mansion.
