Chapter 69
Dread washes over me. ‘You wouldn’t!’
‘I absolutely would.’ Nadya reaches down, grasping my chin between her thumb and forefinger. I thrash my head to loosen her grip, but she’s surprisingly strong. ‘You have no idea what I’m capable of. You think I’m a monster, but everything I’ve done has been in the name of avenging Arkady’s death and shielding Maxim from more hurt and heartbreak.”
“You’re delusional. What you’re doing to me will hurt him. This will break his heart.”
She shakes her head vehemently, unwilling to listen to me. “You weren’t there for the days after Ilya’s death. I never want to see him like that again.” Nadya’s voice cracks, eyes clouded with grief. “Maxim is so much like my Arkady. I couldn’t protect him, but I will protect Maxim.”
My stomach twists. Nadya’s judgment is so clouded by the past that she can’t see the harm she’s causing now.
She shrugs on her coat before turning to me and tilting her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back as soon as I can, to put you down once and for all.”
Desperation grips my throat, panic lighting up every nerve. “No, Nadya. Please, don’t do this. Listen,” I beg, my voice cracking with urgency. “I’m carrying Maxim’s child—think about what you’re doing. You’re not only killing his wife but also his unborn child. If you truly care for him, how can you do this?”
Her expression twists into one of pure rage, more horrifying than I’ve ever seen. “A child he never wanted! After one disastrous marriage, I’m saving him from another.”
She hurls a glass vase against the wall and it shatters, pieces scattering across the floor. A single shard lands beside me on the bed.
“You stupid whore, you’ve done this to yourself.”
With a swift motion, Nadya pulls out a needle and plunges it into my neck before I can react. The drug courses through my veins as she spins and leaves.
Hopelessness wraps around me, and my final thoughts before I’m dragged down into the darkness are of Maxim.
This can’t be the end, not when I haven’t told him how I really feel.
That I love him. That he’s the only one for me.
That I’m willing to stand by his side—forever.
Right after takeoff, I’m pacing the aisles and calling Viktor for an update. I’m desperate to scream, rage, and drown my sorrows in vodka, but instead I force myself to push aside my emotions like I do before a fight, and focus on my next move. The decisions I make now are critical in the search for Kira.
“What the fuck is going on?” I growl the moment Viktor answers.
My head of security was monitoring the Black Company mission from a control center off-site. But since the early morning hours when it was discovered Kira was missing, he’s been relentlessly trying to piece together what happened.
“It’s not good,” Viktor starts, his tone grim. ‘Just past midnight, an explosion was heard on the east side of the property. When the guards went to look into it, they discovered all the camera feeds were down. Believing it was a counter-attack by the Black Company, they secured the property and focused on eliminating the threat. Except … there was no threat. We’ve scoured the property, and there’s no sign of an outside breach. I was able to get the cameras back up and running this morning—that’s when we discovered Kira missing. No sign of forced entry or struggle. It’s like she vanished into thin air.’
My grip on the phone tightens as panic sets in, a cold fear twisting my gut. ‘She didn’t vanish. Get every available man searching. I want eyes on every inch of footage before the blackout. Someone saw something.’
Viktor is quick to respond, military precision in his voice. ‘Already on it. I’ve put a team together, and we’re doing everything we can.”
“Update me as soon as you have something.’ I end the call, the silence left behind louder than a bomb.
How the fuck could this happen? Did someone take her? Did she leave on her own? I think back to every face, every ally and enemy. The staff, the guards—could I have missed a traitor among us? Was Kira’s disappearance part of a larger scheme against me, the work of the Black Company or another enemy?
Questions gnaw at me, but the one that burns the hottest, the one that feels like acid in my veins, is simple.
Is she still alive?
I don’t allow myself to consider the alternative, the grim possibilities that try to intrude. There’s only one thing I’m sure of—I’ll tear through heaven and hell, leaving only ashes behind if that’s what it takes to find her.
Four hours later, I slam through the mansion’s entrance, all raw energy and frantic urgency. My boots echo against the marble as I make a beeline for the security office, with Roman and Pavel flanking me.
As we turn the corner, Nadya steps in front of me, throwing herself into my arms. “I’m so sorry, Maxim. I can’t believe it.” Her eyes are swimming with tears, her usual composure shattered. ‘She must have planned this for days.”
“Planned what?” I freeze in place as she shoves two plastic strips into my hands. ‘What’s this?’ I question, my tone rising with agitation.
“I found these in your bathroom. Two positive pregnancy tests.”
The ground seems to shift beneath me. The word “pregnant” echoes in my head, a thunderclap that drowns out all else. My thoughts race, trying to grapple with the reality of what Nadya is saying.
I clench the tests in my fist, feeling the plastic crack under my palm. “Kira’s pregnant?”
She nods. “It’s why she ran away.”
Panic takes hold. Kira is pregnant with my child and she’s left me?
Beside me, Roman’s voice is hard and unyielding. “Kira wouldn’t run. It’s not who she is.”
“Do we really know who she is?” Nadya sighs, shaking her head. “There’s no sign of forced entry or abduction. She probably cut the cameras and orchestrated the explosion.” She grabs my hand, her sad eyes meeting mine. ‘She’s so young. She probably doesn’t want a child, but she knew an honorable man like you would never let her go if she carried his heir.”