1. MADDY

1

MADDY

“There is no body,” Archer says.

No body.

No body.

No body.

The words keep pulsating in my head as I try to hold back tears.

Archer watches me as I smooth back my hair with shaking hands and try to process the information, the possibilities of what could’ve gone wrong.

It’s been hours since I was dragged from the jungle to the Center. The Center is brightly lit, but it’s nighttime out there. And suddenly, darkness is scary. I was never afraid of the dark until it took Raven from me.

We are still in Archer’s office, just him and I. I can’t be around people—all those macho dudes with their stellar military records who couldn’t protect Raven. Nilanski feels the worst. He should. He should’ve let me be with Raven, no matter the consequences.

I look through the office blinds at the main hall, crowded with people, IT guys, security, all those fucking geniuses trying to find a way to track Butcher’s men and Raven. They are helpless.

A scream is threatening to rip out of me. I want to break things. Take a gun and go to Port Mrei. I’ve never felt so helpless either.

Archer leans back on his desk, smoking. He looks worse than when he used to binge and get high. He should. He gave up one of his most important men.

Slowly, I walk around the office, trying to imagine the many outcomes of what happened in the jungle earlier. I try to rationalize the events, but anger boils inside me. The tears won’t go away. The only thing that keeps me from having a complete meltdown is the latest news.

They didn’t find Raven’s body… As soon as Nilanski and the other guards had dragged me far enough, as soon as the shots went off, Nilanski contacted Archer, and the Center sent an extraction team. They found no traces of Raven where the meeting went down. Blood. A lot of blood, they said. Raven’s Ayana bracelet. His phone—they are going through it to see if they can trace his calls.

But no body.

No body.

No body.

It’s been four hours since the standoff and the most horrible minutes of my life. I still refuse to believe that they executed Raven. Security guards are installing additional cameras around my bungalow. I will be a prisoner, but even more so, a failure. I failed Raven.

Dad called, but I couldn’t talk.

“I’m fine,” I said, unable to speak and sobbing with every word.

Now Archer is trying to reason with me. An IT team is trying to track any suspicious activity in Port Mrei with drones that keep getting shot down.

It’s pointless, I know.

Archer’s face is grim. He won’t meet my eyes. That’s right, traitor. I understand that this island gives certain people priorities. But apparently, Raven’s life wasn’t one of them.

“It had to be done that way,” Archer says. “Raven gave the order. We couldn’t jeopardize you.”

“You could’ve ordered a shootout. At least Raven would’ve had a chance.”

“A chance at what? Getting both of you killed?”

“A chance of both of us getting out of there. I’d take that chance over anything else, Archer.”

“ Your safety,” Archer says louder and angrier. “We put your safety before his, Maddy. That was the collective decision.”

“Why? Because you are afraid of my dad?”

Archer’s cold eyes meet mine, boring into me as his lips curl in a smirk.

“Let me explain something to you,” he says in a gruff voice he’s never used with me. “Raven is my right-hand man. He is Ayana’s caretaker. He is more important here than most people. I consider him a friend. Moreover… I would choose him over you any time, Maddy. Don’t fool yourself.”

His expression becomes almost cruel. For the first time, he looks like he’s judging me.

“You know why I chose to do what I did and prioritized your life?” Archer has never looked as spiteful as he does now. “Because I respect him more than any other person I know. I respect his opinion and decisions. And his wish was for your safety first. Always. Anywhere. In any. Fucking. Situation. He made it very clear.”

It hits me hard, the realization that even when Raven and I weren’t talking, he put me first. Before his job. Before others. And—as heartbreaking as it is—before his life.

My grief shifts into a gloomy, vacant stage where I can’t, won’t , accept the reality.

“They wouldn’t take his body if he were dead, right?” I ask in a low voice, afraid of my own words.

“I don’t know, Maddy,” Archer answers truthfully, his expression grim. “We questioned Nilanski.”

“Why?”

“Because he was in the bathroom the two minutes it took for Skiba to kidnap you.”

“I trust Nilanski. He walked out to the thugs without a weapon to retrieve me. He jeopardized his life.”

“Maybe. Maybe that wasn’t what it looked like.”

I gape at him.

“We can’t locate your other bodyguard.”

My chest tightens. “Ali?”

He nods. “Kat and the IT team are on it. But his Ayana bracelet is not active.”

“How is that possible?”

“He got rid of it. Or something happened to him. He is missing. Gone. Simply vanished.”

My insides twist in unease. “You think he…”

“I don’t know if he was in on it. We have to find him first. Not sure we will. Or Raven, for that matter. There is no way to trace anyone in Port Mrei. They use network blockers there.”

“And you can’t do anything about it? How does your security you put so much money in?—”

“Ask your father,” he cuts me off.

I gape at him. “Pardon me?”

“Someone invested time and money into infiltrating our security system. I talked to Tsariuk. He said he used hackers, yes. But the blockers in Port Mrei are not his thing. He might not be telling the truth, though.”

Archer holds my gaze with that question in them that I can’t answer.

“What are you saying, Archer? That my father has something to do with the ambush on Raven?”

His silence is the answer.

“He won’t lie if I ask. That he won’t do.” But now I’m not sure.

Archer nods, but I don’t think he believes me. “The whole team is on it. We can’t go to Port Mrei. It’s like walking into a slaughterhouse. What we need is to find Tsariuk’s people there. But here’s the thing, Maddy. Tsariuk is not interested in what we want. But he is in what you want. Talk to him. About Raven. About Port Mrei. I hate to say this… Well, I never thought that I would, but…”

Archer pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers, seeming uncomfortable. “We need Tsariuk’s help right now.”