Page 89 of Damaged

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?”

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