I check Nessa. She is still unconscious but unharmed from the explosion.
“Valen!” I shout, my voice muffled behind the ringing in my ears.
“Here.” He emerges from behind one of the vehicles, bleeding from a cut above his eye. “I’m good.”
“Everyone else?” I ask as I rise to my feet and look around. I see my men pick themselves out of the rubble.
“Accounted for.”
I stare at the decimated warehouse. And very quickly, the pieces fall into place. The empty warehouse. The lack of guards. The door left ajar. The bomb on a timer.
Konstantin didn’t leave Nessa unguarded as a trap.
He left her unguarded because she was the fucking bait.
Panic rips through my chest, and my vision whites out for half a second.
This trap wasn’t set to kill us. It was set to lure me away from Leonore.
“Get back to the house!” I order as I carry Nessa to my car. I can’t think clearly as my mind waves in and out. How did I get this wrong? How did I miscalculate? I’m always three steps ahead.
My focus is razor sharp on the road ahead. I’ve never driven this fast in my life.
Nessa is in the passenger seat, slumped against the door. She’s half-conscious with her head resting against the window. She should be in the hospital, but there’s no time. Instead, she’s getting a car ride at 140 miles per hour.
Behind me is a blur of headlights. A stream of cars containing my men. Every single one of them is ready for whatever fucking move Konstantin has put into play. But they’re struggling to keep up.
Vibrating with adrenaline, I lose my cool and punch the steering wheel.
I’m fucking smarter than this.
But clouded by emotion, I let Konstantin play me.
I press the accelerator harder because I’ve called Leonore four fucking times, then I called the house, but no one answered.
Because he is there.
Nessa stirs with a groan, and her eyes flutter open. Dazed, she looks around.
“Where the hell…” she croaks.
“You’re safe,” I say without looking at her. “Stay still.”
“Larissa—”
“Leonore is with her. She’s safe.”
But is she? If Konstantin is there, none of them are safe.
I stop the thought before it spirals into something bigger. If I let fear take hold, I’ll lose my edge.
Instead, I allow myself the luxury of a silent vow. If he has laid a single finger on any of the women currently in my house, I will spend the rest of my life hunting him. I will visit every corner of the world. Every nook and cranny on Earth. There will be no rock left unturned for him to hide under.
48
LEONORE
Ican’t sit still.
