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“You'll survive this,” I say, fresh determination settling in my blood.
Her eyes meet mine and there is a strength that wasn’t there before. I see a woman filled with courage and resilience, one who will do what it takes to protect herself and her unborn child.
“I will,” she says with a quiet resolve.
"We'll get out of here,allof us."
“But how?” she asks, her eyebrows drawing together, not because she doesn’t believe we could, but because she needs to hope that we can. “Soren's men are everywhere. Even if we were somehow able to slip past the Skulls without them noticing, we're miles from anywhere. We'd die from dehydration before we'd ever reach the nearest city. And even if by some miracle we make it there, we still won’t be safe. Soren has many people under his control, not just the Skulls.”
“Because we’re not going anywhere,” I say.
“I don’t understand?”
“The Skull Brotherhood stole from the wrong people, and the men I care about won’t stop until they’ve found me,” I say, letting out a soft, incredulous laugh at the thought of The Masks and the Deana-dhe working together. Iknowthey’ll do it, but that doesn’t make it any less surprising.
Faith gives me an intense look. “You’re special, aren’t you?”
I shake my head. “No more than you are. No more than any of these women held captive are.”
“And yet no one’s coming to rescue us,” she replies, a hint of sadness seeping into her words.
I take a deep breath and meet Faith’s gaze. “That’s about to change.”
Faith stares into my eyes, searching for something that I cannot name, before she speaks again.
“I believe you,” she finally says, her voice low and determined.
“Good, because I need you to live up to your name. I need you to have faith,” I say with a wry grin. “I already know you’re emotionally and mentally strong, but I need you to get physically strong, then together we can give my men the best chance of succeeding.”
“How?”
A devious smile pulls up my lips. “Not all of the ingredients I requested are for you.”
7
Arden
“Bienvenidos, bienvenidos,” Vasko says with a warm smile as we enter his courtyard garden, surrounded by lush greenery and a pergola covered in grapevines. The evening air is pleasant and I remove my jacket as we follow Vasko towards the seating area. “Please, come and sit. I have tapas and wine, or beer if you’d like?”
“I could use an ice-cold beer," Beast says, settling himself in the wicker chair which groans under his weight.
“Very well. And you?” he asks, turning his attention to the three of us.
“We’ll have beer too,” I reply for all of us.
“Four beers, coming up," Vasko says as he disappears inside the villa, returning moments later with four bottles of chilled beer that he hands out to each of us.
As I take a bottle my gaze lands on Vasko, whose silver hair shines in the fading sun behind him. He takes a sip from his glass of red wine and clears his throat before speaking again.
“I didn't expect to see you so soon, Arden," he begins, eying me carefully.
“Needs dictate,” I reply tightly, recalling our last interaction.
One year ago, Vasko contacted us to get the details on a competitor who sold counterfeit items, hoping to become the biggest supplier of women's luxury handbags in Europe. He wanted to know who was supplying them and where the rival’s warehouse was located. We supplied him with the information he required in exchange for a debt. We later heard that the warehouse had been destroyed by a fire. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out he was behind it.
“So how’s business?” Lorcan asks, reminding him that he owes us a debt, and we’re here to call it in.
“Booming,” he replies with a wide grin, swirling the wine around his glass, airing the dark red Rioja before taking another sip. “Thanks to you.”
