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If anyone—with the exception of my old protégé, my sister, cousin, and now the Russian siblings—guessed at my secret identity as a world-famous assassin, it would be this soldier. Daniel Shaeffer was ex-special ops who’d gone under the radar. That wasn’t even his real name; he’d changed it so many times. We’d worked together for nearly ten years. He knew things, and he kept his mouth shut, not even telling his boss. For all Jakob knew, I was a smuggler with the face of a shipping mogul. Daniel was good. Which was exactly why he was the only one I trusted to kidnap and hold Talia, because while a few of my other guards and employees knew about my smuggling operations, they would balk at what I was about to do.
What am I about to do?
The internal question was immediately answered:Kill a venomous snake or destroy an innocent woman.
Gazing into the blaze of the western sky, I wished to be incinerated, longed for the sweet bliss of escape. I hated torture; it was abhorrent. I clenched my hands tight, and the device in my hand vibrated. I instinctually glanced at the screen to see there was a message.
Père: It was good to see you last night.
The phone in my hand had suddenly become Fate’s coin, and I weighed up my options—heads or tails. I hacked into the device in a few taps, already knowing Talia’s passwords by heart. This cell phone had been brand new when we married. During our stay in Greece, Jakob had done what he could to track the devil with it. Obviously, it hadn’t worked. But right now, it could be a powerful tool to stoke my righteous anger and channel it into safely recovering my sister.
I continued to walk away from the front of the house. At a safe distance where I couldn’t be overheard, I dialed Gustav’s number, glaring at the stucco façade. The cellular service out here sucked. The satellite connection allowed the dial tone to drone into my ear.
“Fille, ce n'est pas le bon moment.” While Gustave’s greeting lacked warmth, his bite struck a chord.
“I don’t give a shit if it’s a good or bad time for you,” I snarled.
“Ah, it is you, butcher.”
I saw red. “Listen to me and listen good, you devil. I’m going to kill your children. This is your only warning to release my sister.” The rash words spilled from my lips and made me look weak. Desperate.
“Oh? And what has my child done to your sibling? You’re going to want to consider the repercussions of touching what belongs to me.” The warning was clear in his voice.
This was what I needed. To be reminded of who the enemy was and what they were capable of! Iryna was in their hands. It was time they lost their heads.
“Enough! This feud ends today.”Even if we have to burn the world down to do so.
“Well, I’m sure your wife has whatever is coming to her,” Gustave drawled.
Whatever else he was going to say was cut off by my roar of protest. “You’re all going to die! It was your son who kidnapped Iryna! I saw it on a video he sent of my tortured sister! And I saw the marks he left on my wife during their last encounter, so don’t tell me he didn’t lay one of his filthy paws on Iryna. I’m putting the demonic motherfucker down!”
There was a pause. “Claude sent...a video? He lashed out against your sister?”
The laugh that bubbled up my throat threatened to choke me. “You didn’t order this,” I surmised. “You don’t know what’s going on.”
“I would never do something so stupid as to bring this war to sudden death unless I was assured of victory,” the devil hissed, confirming that he didn't order this hit.
This situation was utterly unbelievable, and I laughed harshly. There was nothing else to do. “Are you proud now?” I seethed. “Do you finally see what a stupid ape you’ve raised? You shouldn’t have beat down and tried to smash the threads of intelligence blossoming in your daughter. You should have lifted her up and valued what you really had!”
“Like you do?” His jab was quiet, almost a whisper.
I clamped my mouth shut. My silence was a mistake, only strengthening my enemy’s ludicrous claim.
“What will you do with her, butcher?” the devil taunted.
“If you value your son, you’d better move heaven and earth to hide him from me. Because I'm coming, and he won’t survive what I’ll bring.” With that, I ended the call.
Iryna—louloudi mou.She was in pain and danger because of me.Just like your princess.The vicious retort stabbed my chest. I clenched the smart phone so tight the screen cracked.
“What are you going to do, Con?” Adrian’s question surprised me, making me spin around. His voice was soft compared to the storm that was raging inside me.
“I’m going to kill my wife. Something I should’ve done in Greece.” While my mouth said one thing, those words nauseated me.
I was so fucking weak! I was being a coward. Didn’t I thrive on the kill? I began to stride back to the house, ready to storm inside and prove I could do this.
Adrian scooted around the car, coming to a stop right in front of me. Both of his hands shot up in a bold move. “Con, let me.”
I barked a laugh, stepping around him. He met my trajectory measure for measure.
