Page 126 of Queen’s Gambit

“What did Vadin say?”

I looked at my mother, and my heart fell.

“Father didn’t?”

“I’m sorry….”

That was all she said before she turned her back on us and got back in the limo.

Are you kidding me? What the hell is going on here?

“Well, now that we have that settled. There is one more matter that needs to be handled.” Christov pointed at my guards. “You’re all fired from Yulianna’s service. If you want to continue working, then leave with Mrs. Mikhailov. But you won’t step a single foot on my property ever again.”

Oh my god, he was stripping me of my last line of defense. Vlad and Mylo looked ready to fight to the death. But this wasn’t the time or place, not with Lilya here and the government soldiers with machine guns.

“It’s fine, go with my mother, please,” I said.

They were livid, but Vlad let go of Lilya, and I held out my hand.

“Come here, baby.”

She ran to me, and I picked her up. She’d been so quiet and strong, but I could tell she was terrified and confused by everything. She wrapped her arms around my neck and tucked her face under my chin.

Christov waited until my mother’s limo was out of sight before turning his venomous gaze on me.

“Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way. Take her home. I’ll be there shortly.”

As I turned, I caught Vlad and Mylo’s stare just before they got into their SUV. I subtly shook my head. I really didn’t want them to interfere. My main concern was Lilya, and there were too many men with guns in here. One of the soldiers escorted me to a van with no windows, and I pushed aside my fear for Lilya’s sake.

I thought I knew what it was to feel trapped, but this…this was like having my leg locked in an animal snare, dangling high in the air with certain death below me.

I had to get us out of this.

Edmundo

I thrashed from side to side in the chair, screaming in rage. The tape on my mouth muffled the sound as I tried to get loose. I watched what was unfolding on the screen, completely helpless.

My men, including Marcus and my pilot, were all tied up back-to-back on the concrete floor of the plane hangar. Tape covered their mouths, and zip ties held their legs. We’d been ambushed.

The jet landed and we were waved over to the hangar by the minimal ground crew like normal. But when the engines shut off and the stairs were lowered for the routine inspection, soldiers marched onboard. We were thrown to the floor with guns pressed to our heads as we were stripped of any weapons, and our hands were secured.

Glancing over at Marcus, I’d never known my friend to look so murderous, but his expression mirrored how I felt. I turned my attention back to the television and growled when Christov grabbed Ana’s arm roughly. She looked scared but was covering well. All I could hear was the blood rushing through my body and the steady thumping of my heart.

Lilya ran to Ana, and she picked her up. More words that I couldn’t hear were exchanged before Ana and Lilya were taken to a white van. My rage quickly turned into terror.

What is he going to do to them?

I roared behind the gag, and the cuffs cut into my wrists as I tried to pull my hands free or break the fucking chair. Then they were gone. My beautiful family was ripped away from me all over again. They’d been so close. We’d been so close. It was like déjà vu of Ana’s eighteenth birthday. One moment, everything was going just as planned, and then bam, it was blown up.

The metal door that divided the two hangars opened, and Christov strutted across the room with an evil smirk on his lips.

“There you have it. I win. Did you really think that you’d ever best me?”

If I had my gun, it would be pressed right between his eyes.

“I will kill you,” I growled, but my promise was so distorted through the tape that it lost its effectiveness.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” Christov said and then laughed.