Chapter 30

My heart was racing so fast,I was sure it would burst right out of my chest.

Dalton will find us. He'll find us.

It was a familiar chant because I'd been repeating it in my head from the moment Aggie and I had been forced onto the speedboat by four men dressed in black clothing. Like Ronan's men, they'd carried big guns along with several knives and smaller guns on their person. The guns they'd used to force Aggie and me into compliance had been the kind that were quiet when the trigger was pulled. It was one of those bullets that had hit Sadie as she'd gone after the man who'd grabbed me by the arm while another had put duct tape over my mouth.

I'd screamed behind the duct tape as Sadie had hit the ground and blood had begun to pool around her body. I'd tried to go after the man holding my arm, but he'd punched me and before I could recover from the blow, my hands had been bound behind my back. The men hadn't spoken much, but I'd understood them because they'd been speaking Russian. While the words they'd said to each other hadn't been anything other than instructions to tie both me and Aggie up, I had heard one order in particular that had me cursing my own stupidity. The order had been to get rid of the locket around my neck because they didn't need it anymore.

It was then that I'd realized that the locket Ivan had given me so many years ago probably had some kind of tracking device in it. It explained why Ivan's men had been able to find me so easily after I'd taken Willa to reunite her with the only family she'd had left. The locket was also what had allowed the men holding me and Aggie captive to find my location. They'd been smart and waited weeks until they'd found the opportunity to get to me when I'd been at my most vulnerable. Aggie, sadly, had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My sister was crying but when I tried to reach out to touch her with my bound hands, one of the men shoved me hard enough that I barely managed to catch myself before I hit the asphalt. I already knew where we were and why we were there. I hadn't seen Dmitri or heard mention of his name since we'd been taken, but it was the only explanation. It also meant that the numbers Ivan had given me did indeed mean something. Dmitri must have had a spy in Ivan's house and he or she had overheard one of Ivan's many rants about the numbers.

Sure enough, as we neared the private plane sitting on the tarmac, I saw a man through the small window. He was completely bald and had a portly face. He never looked up from whatever he was doing until Aggie and I were forced onto the plane and shoved into oversized leather seats that faced Dmitri but were a row in front of him. He was doing something on his phone and smoking a cigar.

"You know who I am?" he asked in English. There was a heavy accent, but the words were clear.

"Yes," I said. "Let her go and I'll give you whatever you want."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the grotesquely overweight man said as he shook his finger at me. My heart dropped when I saw the plane's steps lifting. "I think you know what I want, silver eyes."

"Let her go and I'll give you the numbers," I responded. My only goal was to get Aggie safely off the plane and out of Dmitri's reach.

Dmitri pretended to mull it over and then nodded his head. I knew it was all for show, though. He told one of his men to get the plane moving in Russian. The pilots heeded the order and began the short taxi to the runway. Since the pilots didn't seem to give a shit that two tied-up people had been forced onto the plane, I knew they weren't just pilots for hire. They worked for Dmitri.

"Now, my little silver eyes, we go back to negotiating, yes?" Dmitri said with a smug look.

I didn't answer because I knew they weren't going to let Aggie off the plane no matter what I said.

"Did my brother tell you how he came by his riches?"

"No," I responded. "I wasn't exactly his confidante."

Dmitri laughed heartily. "Yes, my brother did have his… perversions." He took a drag on his cigar. "He also didn't like to work for his money… or should I say my money." Dmitri waved his hand. "Ah, what does it matter now. Your friends did the favor of killing him for me, no?"

I remained silent.

"Luckily, my little birdie overheard Ivan telling you some numbers. Sadly, that birdie met his end because he didn't sing quickly enough, and he remember only a few numbers." Dmitri paused to take another drag on his cigar. "My brother, he not right in the head, yes?"

When I didn't answer, Dmitri let out a heavy, dramatic sigh and pointed to one of his men. When I heard the order spoken in Russian, I prayed it was a bluff. But it wasn't. The man grabbed Aggie and pulled her to her feet. He began pushing her toward the back of the plane. I could see the bed in it.

"Okay, I'll tell you the numbers. Please, just don't hurt her."

Dmitri raised his eyebrows. In Russian, he told me I was a sneaky birdie, but it was time to sing.

I sobbed in relief when Aggie was brought back and shoved down in the seat next to me. I still had no idea why Dmitri was obsessed with the numbers, but it didn't matter. The plane had reached the runway. We'd be airborne within a minute and that would be it. There would be no time for Dalton to find us and even if he did, it would be our bodies that he found because Dmitri would no longer have use for either of us once I gave him the numbers.

Dmitri nodded to one of his men who opened a laptop and began typing. When the man nodded, Dmitri said, "Begin."

I started reciting the numbers, but Dmitri stopped me after the first twenty-five or so. He looked at the man with the laptop. The man told Dmitri it was good in Russian and then turned the computer toward him. To me, Dmitri said, "The next one."

It was then that I finally understood what the numbers were.

"They're bank accounts," I said more to myself than anything.

"The next one!" Dmitri snapped impatiently.

I began reciting more of the numbers but only got twelve in when Dmitri yelled in Russian at the pilots. He was asking them what the delay was. When one of the pilots said it appeared to be a flat tire, my heart soared. If the tire really was flat, we wouldn't be able to take off. We'd have a little more time, and a little more time meant Dalton would have more time to find us.

The plane's door opened and one of Dmitri's men hurried down the steps. I obeyed when Dimitri told me to continue, but I recited the numbers slowly and pretended to struggle to remember them. That only lasted long enough for Dmitri to order one of his other men to shoot Aggie. His words were in Russian, so thankfully my sister didn't understand him. I quickly began reciting the numbers at the pace the ugly man demanded. The man who'd been checking the tire returned and confirmed it was indeed flat. Dmitri lost his shit at that point and began yelling at anyone who would listen to fix the damn thing. The men and pilots began to scramble to do as they were told.

"Contin—"

That was as much as Dmitri was able to get out before the top of his head exploded, spraying both Aggie and me with blood.

"Get down!" I shouted to Aggie.

Gunshots popped all over the front of the plane and then it became deathly quiet.

"Silver!" Dalton called frantically. He was already leaning down to hoist me to my feet before I could respond. Then I was in his arms. I heard Aggie crying as Nick helped her to her feet. Dalton kissed me hard and then wrapped his arms around me like he was never going to let go. It was Nick who cut through the duct tape around my wrists. As soon as my hands were free, I threw them around Dalton's neck.

"I knew you'd come," I cried against his cheek.

"Always," he said softly. He pulled back enough that I could see his face. "Always," he repeated in a no-nonsense tone, then he was holding on to me.

"Sadie! Dalton, they shot Sadie!" I cried as I remembered our valiant dog who'd tried to stop the attack.

"She'll be okay, Silver. The wound was in her shoulder and didn't look bad. She might limp for a while, but she'll be back to joining us in our fishermen's showers in no time."

I laughed and cried at the same time as the relief that Sadie was okay washed over me.

Dalton eventually released me so I could embrace my sister who was as much of a mess as me. I kept my eyes off Dimitri's body as Dalton used his sleeve to wipe away as much of Dmitri's blood from my face as he could. Aggie hadn't been sprayed with blood as much, but Nick still began wiping her skin clean.

I let Dalton take my hand and maneuver me past the bodies strewn all about the cabin of the plane. As soon as I stepped onto the tarmac, I saw a man striding toward us, a huge, long rifle in his hand.

It was Jace.

"How?" I asked Dalton as he began carefully removing the cut duct tape from my wrists.

"I called him yesterday and asked him to fly out here," Dalton responded. "Something just felt off and I wanted to make sure I had all my bases covered." His mouth dropped to mine for a bone-melting kiss. "God, Silver, I was so fucking scared I was going to lose you."

I once again wrapped my arms around his neck and just held on tight. Dalton released me but tucked me against his side. As Jace neared us, a big grin on his face, Dalton leaned down to growl, "Just remember who really has the better aim, sweetheart."

I laughed and then murmured, "I may need a few more demonstrations before I can come to a final conclusion."

Dalton frowned and then his mouth was on mine. When he finally released me, he turned to shake Jace's hand. Jace smiled and wrapped his arms around Dalton. I heard Dalton softly say, "Thank you, brother."

When they parted, I made a move to give Jace a hug and say thank you myself, but Dalton put his body between mine and Jace's.

"Sorry, buddy," Dalton said. "I have to get this one home so I can get him cleaned up and demonstrate something for him."

Jace looked utterly confused. "Demonstrate what?"

Dalton didn't answer and he didn't give me a chance to say anything because he was kissing me. The sweet kiss. The one that assured me everything was going to be okay.

"Let's go home," Dalton urged.

He didn't say whether we were going to his house or mine, but it didn't matter.

I was already home.