Chapter 22 Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Dimitri
"We found her?" I whispered. My voice came out broken and hoarse.
"Yes, sir!" The guard's face was flushed with excitement. "Our tracking equipment picked up unusual signals, communications and movement patterns. All pointing to a location near the Black Sea coast."
I tried to stand but my legs gave out immediately. I crashed back onto the bed.
Mikhail caught me. "Easy. You are too weak. You have not eaten properly in days."
"I do not care!" I grabbed his shirt. "Where is she? Tell me exactly where she is!"
"A villa," the guard said quickly. "On the coast. It is very isolated and very secure. It matches Alexei's style perfectly."
"Then what are we waiting for?" I tried to stand again, but Mikhail held me down.
"You are not going anywhere," Mikhail said firmly. "Look at yourself. You can barely stand. You are in no condition to…"
"I am going!" I roared. "I do not care if I have to crawl there. I am going to get her!"
"Dimitri, be reasonable…"
"I have been reasonable!" I shoved him away and used the wall to pull myself up. My legs shook but I stayed standing. "I have been patient. I have waited. And now you tell me you know where she is and you expect me to just stay here?"
"I expect you to think clearly," Mikhail said. "You are weak and injured. You will be a liability, not an asset. Let me go. Let my men handle this. We will bring her back safely."
"No." I took a step forward, then another. My body screamed in protest but I ignored it. "I am going. That is final."
"You are being a fool…"
"Then I am a fool!" I grabbed the doorframe to steady myself. "But I am a fool who is going to get his woman back. Now are you going to help me or do I go alone?"
Mikhail stared at me for a long moment. I could see the conflict in his eyes. Worry and frustration etched on his face but I didn't care.
Finally, he sighed heavily. "Fine. But you eat first, drink water and let me bandage those wrists properly. You do exactly as I say when we get there. Agreed?"
"Agreed," I said immediately.
He did not believe me, I could see it in his face. But he nodded anyway.
"Get him food," Mikhail ordered the guard. "And clean clothes. Also medical supplies."
The guard ran off.
Mikhail helped me sit back down on the bed. "You are going to get yourself killed."
"Maybe," I agreed. "But at least I will die trying to save her. That is better than rotting in this room."
"Your mother would have hated this," Mikhail said quietly. "All of this. The war between you and your brother. The violence and obsession."
"My mother is not here," I said. "And if she were, she would understand. She loved my father the same way I love Irina."
"Your father got her killed," Mikhail said bluntly.
"I know." I looked at him. "But she died loving him. That is more than most people ever get."
The guard returned with food. Bread, meat and water. I forced myself to eat quickly. It all tasted like ash but I swallowed it anyway.
Mikhail cleaned and bandaged my wrists and ankles. The cuts were deep and infected. But they would heal.
Then I wore the clothes. Black tactical gear, weapons and a vest.
I suited up slowly. My body protested with every movement, but I pushed through the pain.
When I was ready, I looked at myself in a mirror.
I still looked like death. Pale, gaunt and haunted.
But I was standing. And I was going to get her back.
"The cars are ready," a guard reported from the doorway. "We can leave immediately."
"Then let us go," I said.
Mikhail nodded, and followed behind me.
The journey took three days. It was unexpected, but we had no choice.
Alexei would be harmed, prepared and ready. And I was also. My convoy followed behind. Guards, armed to the teeth.
We drove through the night, following the signals, getting closer.
Every hour felt like an eternity. Every mile felt like a thousand.
I barely slept, and barely ate. I just sat in the car, staring ahead and thinking about her.
Was she safe? Was she hurt? Was she even thinking about me?
Would she still want me after spending weeks with Alexei? Alexei was manipulated.
"We are getting close," Mikhail said on the third day. "Another hour, maybe less."
My heart pounded. After all this time. After all this waiting. I was finally going to see her again.
And I swear Alexei would regret been my other half.
"What is the plan?" I asked, my voice cold.
"We go in quiet," Mikhail said. "We send scouts first, they will assess the security. Then we move in fast and clean. And get her out without alerting Alexei if possible."
"And if that is not possible?" I asked.
"Then we go in loud," Mikhail said grimly. "And we take everyone down."
I nodded. "Good."
The sun was setting when we finally arrived at the location. The coast was beautiful. Rocky cliffs, blue water stretching to the horizon, waves crashing against the shore.
And there, on top of a cliff, stood a white villa. Modern, stark and isolated.
"That is it," Mikhail said. "That is where the signals originated."
I stared at the building. She was in there. This was where that bastard let my woman. Irina was in there right now.
"Send the scouts," I ordered,my voice cold.
Three men moved forward silently, immediately. They disappeared into the rocks.
We waited, every second felt like torture.
Finally, one of them returned. His face was pale.
"Sir," he said to Mikhail. "The villa is empty but, you need to see this."
"What is it?" I demanded. "Is she there? Is she safe?"
"Just... come," the scout said. He didn't look me in the eyes.
Fear shot through me like ice. "What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?" I thundered.
"Please, sir," the scout said. "Just come."
Mikhail and I followed him down to the beach. The other scouts were there, standing around something that looked like a black bag. It was large and it looked heavy, lying on the sand just above the waterline.
"What is this?" Mikhail asked.
"We found it washed up," one scout said. "It's been here about twenty minutes ago. Sir... there is a body inside."
My blood ran cold. It couldn't be.
"Open it." I whispered.
"Sir…"
"OPEN IT!" I ordered.
The scouts looked at Mikhail. He nodded slowly.
Then, they unzipped the bag carefully and pulled back the plastic.
The first thing I saw was hair. It was long, and dark.
Then a face. Pale, and lifeless. The eyes were closed.
But I know who it was.
My legs gave out immediately. I fell to my knees in the sand.
It was Irina.
Mikhail reached out, but I pushed him aside.
"No," I whispered. "No, no, no, no..."
I crawled forward, and reached for her. My hands trembled as I pulled her body from the bag.
She was already cold. Her lips were blue, her skin was white as paper.
"Irina," I choked out. "Irina, please. Please wake
up. Please do not do this. Please..."
I pulled her against my chest and held her tight, like I could warm her with my body, like I could bring her back just by holding her.
But she did not move. She did not breathe. She did not respond.
She was gone.
After everything, after all of this. I had found her too late.
"IRINA!" The groan tore from my throat. It echoed across the beach, over the water.