Chapter 324 Chapter 325

Chapter 324 Chapter 325
Chapter 325

Nina's POV

Nikolai let out a heavy, dragging sigh. He rubbed his face with both hands, the sand on his palms scraping against his jawline before he looked back at me.

"I did not get us rescued because I wanted to spend more time with you," he confessed, his voice dropping into a low, rough murmur. "I and the guys have an emergency tracking chip in us that can make us locate each other wherever in the world. And because I created it, I knew how to turn it off."

I stared at him, my mouth slightly open as his words settled over the quiet beach.

"I am deeply sorry, Nina," he continued, his dark eyes searching my face with a raw, almost desperate honesty. "I just wanted to spend a little time out of the real busy world. Plus, I miss nature, and I love being around you."

I let out a long, slow sigh of my own. I did not say a single word.

The quiet between us stretched wide and uncomfortable, filled only by the rhythmic crashing of the waves against the shore. Nikolai watched my silence like a man standing on thin ice, his chest rising and falling in tight, heavy breaths. He sighed again, leaning closer to me.

"Are you angry with me?" he asked softly.

I turned away from his gaze, looking out toward the vast expanse of the bright blue ocean. "Well, call them now," I said, my tone flat, tired, and completely drained of heat. "I hate being soaked in my own blood."

Nikolai flinched as if I had struck him, but he did not argue. He reached down, pulled out the tiny metallic transmitter hidden in his gear, and flipped the concealed switch.

"They will be here in fifteen minutes," he murmured quietly.

He did not say another word after that.

I sat on the warm sand, pulling my knees up toward my chest, refusing to look at him. My skin still felt hot from the sun, but inside, a cold, sickening realization was twisting in my stomach. Sometimes I felt like a whore. The thought hit me so hard my chest physically ached. Having deep, intense feelings for all three of these men—for Nikolai, for Dante, for Enzo—was driving me completely crazy. They were brothers in arms, bound by years of blood, war, and loyalty. I was the chaotic variable sitting right in the middle of them, and the terrible realization that I might end up being the one to break their bond terrified me to my core.

True to Nikolai’s word, it did not take long.

The faint, distant thrum of heavy rotor blades cut through the sky, growing louder and louder until a black military helicopter swept over the island plateau. It hovered directly above the beach, whipping up clouds of white sand and spraying ocean mist into the air. Two heavy tactical ropes dropped from the open side door.

Enzo and Dante slid down the ropes smoothly, hitting the sand with practiced precision.

I did not even care about how Nikolai managed to signal them or what trick he had used to hide us. My eyes locked onto Enzo as he sprinted across the sand toward us, his sharp face lined with immediate concern.

He pulled me into a hard, protective hug the second he reached me. "Nina. Are you okay?"

I pulled back slightly, my voice trembling. "I need a pad."

Enzo blinked, caught off guard for a second. "We do not have that in our standard first-aid kit," he said, his brow furrowing as he looked me over with deep, genuine concern. He reached out, his thumb brushing near the side of my neck. "And these mosquito bites on your neck... you must have suffered out here."

I quickly coughed, turning my face away to hide the reddish-purple hickeys scattered across my collarbone and neck. "Yeah. The bugs were bad."

I turned around completely, pressing my hands behind my back to try and hide the dark blood stain on the back of my shorts.

Before I could say anything else, Dante stepped up quietly behind me. Without a word, he unzipped his tactical vest, pulled his black shirt over his head, and wrapped it securely around my waist. He pulled the sleeves tight, knotting them at my hip to cover me completely.

"Thank you," I whispered, keeping my eyes fixed firmly on the sand to avoid his piercing gaze.

Dante did not answer. He simply gave a tight, subtle nod and turned around, heading straight back toward the climbing rope to ascend to the chopper. Enzo scooped me up into his arms, lifting me easily off the sand, and carried me toward the aircraft while Nikolai followed silently behind us.

Enzo looked back and forth between Nikolai and me as we climbed into the belly of the helicopter.

"You both are awfully quiet," Enzo noted, strapping me into a bucket seat. "What is up? What happened out there?"

Nikolai buckled his own harness, staring straight ahead at the cabin wall. "At least Isabella is dead for real now."

Enzo let out a low whistle, leaning back against his seat. "True. That is one less ghost hunting us."

The helicopter lifted off the sand, tilting steeply as it climbed into the clear blue sky, leaving the deserted island far below us. The steady, heavy hum of the engine filled the cabin.

I looked at the three of them—Enzo sitting beside me, Nikolai staring silently out the side window, and Dante in the pilot's seat with his hands firm on the controls, guiding us home. The weight in my chest became too heavy to hold inside.

I spoke up for the first time since we boarded, my voice cutting through the noise of the rotors.

"What happens then?" I asked, looking from Enzo to Nikolai, and then toward the back of Dante’s head. "When you take your revenge on everyone... will everyone be on their own? Or what is really the endgame?"

Silence descended on the chopper.

Enzo’s confident smile faded completely. Nikolai’s jaw tightened, his eyes fixing on the floorboards. Up front, Dante’s shoulders locked tense, his hands gripping the flight controls a little tighter as he quietly piloted the helicopter toward the mainland. Not a single one of them had an answer for me.

I leaned my head back against the cold metallic wall of the cabin, closing my eyes. Within minutes, exhaustion overtook my body, and I dozed off into a deep, heavy sleep, completely unaware that my simple question had just shaken something deep and dangerous inside all three of them.