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The unforgiving ground greets me as my body hits it. Pain blooms across my face, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. And still, the only thing I can think about is my son, how his terrified eyes had pleaded for help. Pleaded for his father.
Pleaded for me.
My surroundings become a blur, and a dark fog sinks around my brain. The world turns distant, an echo fading with every heartbeat. Desperate to cling to consciousness, I focus on Nikolai, the driving force behind every move I’ve made tonight.
“Anton!” Scarlett’s voice pierces through the swirling darkness, laced with horror and despair. And then she screams. The sound more chilling than anything that I’ve had to face until this moment. It cuts through the mist that’s descending over my mind. “Nikolai! Please, no!” she screams again.
It’s the last thing I hear before everything goes black.
In a mere second, the world blinks away.
Chapter 13
Scarlett
“Niko!” I scream. “Dear God, no!”
Horror grips me, my screams tearing through the night like a desperate siren. Terror pulses through every fiber of my being, knowing Nikolai is drowning in an unforgiving sea of cement.
A cold sweat beads on my forehead as I scan the area for any sign of hope.
Anton is down. Felled like a mighty tree as he charged mindlessly toward where his son was handcuffed in the hole. There’s no way he could have made it, and I’m certain he must have known that. It was a moment of madness, driven by a father’s instincts…a parent’s love.
It’s a feeling I understand now.
More than ever.
I slide a hand protectively over my belly. I’ve taken a lot of risks here tonight – risks that could impact my own child.
Anton’s child, too. But how could I choose one over the other? Nikolai needs us. The image of his terrified little face will haunt me forever.
I spin back to look down into the deep pit that’s rapidly filling with thick cement. What kind of animals would do that to a little boy? Tie him up. Torment him like that. Kill him in cold blood.
But when I stare down there, I see…
Nothing?
There’s no Nikolai!
Oh, please Jesus!
He’s not in there.
My eyes flicking around the pit, dread kicks me in the gut as I realize he’s no longer cuffed to the girder.
Is he already under?
Dear Lord, please don’t make him go through that!
My eyes continue their frenzied search until I finally notice the small shape, just below the pool of fresh cement.
A sudden wave of relief surges within me.
It’s him!
Clambering up the rough surface of one of the walls, cautiously seeking handholds just the way I taught him when we were playing back at the estate. I almost scream in relief.
Plucky little monkey!
