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With her permission, I strip her and tenderly examine every inch of her body. Kissing each and every bruise, cursing every red mark and painful welt. When her eyes finally shut and her breathing evens out, I lie down beside her.
“I need to tell you something.” She turns to face me, her eyes wide with worry. “He’s told people, Leo. Sent our picture out to his contacts. He doesn’t know who we are, but it’s only a matter of time.”
Motherfucker. Ice freezes in my veins but I don’t want to worry Aly, so I say, “I’ll look into it. Right now, just sleep.”
“Don’t leave me,” she murmurs, but she’s already drifting off.
“I’ll be right here.” I stroke her cheek and kiss her forehead. “I’m not going anywhere.” Her breath evens out, and although she can’t hear my words, I whisper into her hair, “I love you.”
* * *
With Alystill out to the world, I leave her a note and head to the office. There are things in need of my attention that can’t wait. Like figuring out the damage that Jack wrought. I blame myself for not seeing what he was earlier. A sick man, a predator, the lowest of the low. Anger claws up my throat every time the vision of Jack on top of Aly enters my brain. It’ll haunt me to my dying day.
But he’s left us with a much more urgent problem.
Dima already hacked into Jack’s phone and email accounts and learned that he made high-level connections working on the yacht—politicians, CEOs, mob bosses. He sent them our photo, taken in secret like the twisted fuck he was, and exposed us. Our true identities will soon be revealed, if they aren’t already.
Time has never been on our side, and now it’s become our mortal enemy. Soon, those hunting Alyona will find us.
“Andrei,” I say, answering the phone that buzzed in my hand. The fact that my brothers, Kira, and Yulian landed in Dubrovnik a few hours earlier and were able to get a head start on hunting Horvat might be our only saving grace. “What’s going on? Do you have Horvat yet?”
“We’re watching him. He’s in the back room of a nightclub getting his dick sucked. Him and his men are coked up, sloppy. It should make our job easier.” Andrei’s voice is somber, the weight of the situation evident. “When are you set to arrive?”
“Next few hours,” I confirm. “We’ll avoid the main port and head to Mlini, a small fishing village a few miles from Dubrovnik. I need a car ready and waiting for me.”
“I’ll make it happen. Kira secured a safe house. She’s grabbing supplies and will meet Aly at the house.”
I sigh, running an agitated hand through my hair. “Horvat better have some fucking answers,” I growl. “I can’t take much more of this shit.”
“He’ll know something, I’m sure of it.” Andrei pauses. “But this goes beyond Horvat, beyond any single brotherhood or mafia. Whoever is behind this has the resources to keep themselves well-hidden. Our contacts in Moscow had no intel. That’s rare.”
My nails dig into the palm of my hands. My brother’s not telling me anything I don’t already know, but fuck, it’s hard to hear. How the hell am I supposed to protect the woman I love when our enemy is a nameless, faceless force?
This is a nightmare, that’s what it is.
But now, it’s time to wake up and fight like hell.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
LEO
Aly lookspale as a sheet as we say a final goodbye to Genevieve, the only crew member present to see us off. After shit went bad with Jack, I met with Captain Hansen and told him about the attack. I also let him know that we would not be getting the authorities involved. We would handle it all on our end.
Being a smart man, the captain understood not to ask too many questions. I’ve let it be known that the crew will be taken care of and paid handsomely for their silence.
One hand resting on Aly’s lower back, I lead her off the yacht towards Mlini’s harbor, scanning for any sign of danger. It’s quiet here, just a few fishing boats bobbing in the water and locals going about their daily business. Her body is rigid as we approach a sleek black luxury sedan parked a few feet from the main road. I’d like to tell her that it will be okay, that there’s no need to worry, but we both know I can’t promise that.
I input the code Andrei provided into the car door’s keypad. After the doors unlock, I assist Aly into the passenger seat and then slide into the driver’s seat. Swiping my finger across the dashboard, the GPS system awakens, already programmed for our destination.
“Where are we going?”
“A safe house. I’m going to take you there, and Kira will stay with you.” I place my pistol in the cupholder between us. Aly eyes it warily, and I hate that she has to see this side of me. The cold, calculating mobster, born of the underworld.
“And what about you?” she asks, her voice quiet with worry. “What will you do?”
I merge into traffic, glancing in the rearview mirror, searching for tails.
“I’m going to find out what the fuck is going on once and for all. I promise, baby, I will hunt down and destroy whoever is after you. I will tear them apart with my bare hands, fucking bury them alive if I have to. You don’t deserve this.”
