Page 36 of Flames of Ruin

Glancing at Shado, I notice he has been unusually quiet on the ride over.

“You ready?” I ask, concerned that my partner isn’t fully prepared.

He nods. “Head on a swivel, brother.”

He reaches over to the door handle and presses the button, unlocking the doors.

Daniil leans forward from the backseat. “You get your girl. I’ll handle my father.” Looking in Shado’s direction, he adds, “You get to the freighter, set the grenades up, and handle any surprises.”

Shado acknowledges his role with a simple nod.

Climbing out of the car, we line up against the crates, weapons drawn. The air is heavy and thick with humidity.

Peering around the edge of the crate, I observe the scene before me: three armed men dressed in dark suits standing guard by a door of a portable building, where I assume CiCi is being held. Emerging from the door are Dimitri, Demassi, and Enzo. They are deep in conversation as they walk toward the ship, docking at the end of the pier.

“We need to wait until they board the freighter so I can get to the guards and take them down quietly,” I say as I slip the balaclava over my face. Instead of grabbing the gun on my hip, I slip the knife from my boot, flipping it open.

A quick, easy, and quiet attack.

“I’ll cover you. Let’s go,” Daniil says, abandoning the idea of going after his father. “One of my men will get CiCi to safety, and then we will assist Shado on the freighter.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Shado already making his way over to the ship, crouching down and weaving between the crates.

Staying low and out of sight, we swiftly advance our position toward the door. The portable building is nestled between two shipping crates. Daniil and I crouch behind the shipping container to the left of the building, proceeding to sneak around the back side of the crate.

“I’ll go ahead of you to give you an advantage.” He nods toward the men.

Making sure our paths are clear, we walk between the portable building and the shipping crate, creeping up behind them.

Nodding to each other, we march forward, hurtling in the guards’ direction. Daniil charges ahead of me, approaching the first guard, and forcefully plunges the knife into his back. Upon impact, he crumbles to the ground, unable to arise. The second guard turns, noticing the commotion, and attempts to draw his gun at Daniil. Before he can fire off his shot, Daniil zags toward the side. I lunge forward in front of him and shove my knife upward into the guard’s sternum. Within seconds, his eyes glaze over and blood pours out of his mouth and he slouches against me. I throw his lifeless body to the ground and step toward the door.

“We don’t have a lot of time. Get in there and get her out!” He shouts. “I’ll guard the door.”

Ascending the ramp, I swing the door open. The old portable building is about the size of two shipping containers, put together with a rotted wooden floor. At the peak of the ceiling, there is one hanging light barely illuminating the space. In the middle of the room, I see a chair tipped over. Tied to the chair is CiCi, bound by thick rope, and gagged. She is laying lifeless on the ground with her eyes closed. As I get closer, I notice her shirt is ripped, and she has a deep laceration above her right temple.

Feeling like I have the breath knocked out of me by the sight of her, I kneel beside her, carefully cradling her head in my hands.

A pained moan leaves her lips at the movement.

“I’ve got you, beautiful,” I choke out as a knot forms in my chest. “No one is going to hurt you again.”

Slipping my second knife from the other boot, I carefully slice the rope, freeing her arms and hands. The mouth gag is so tight, I struggle to get it off. Sliding the knife as carefully as I can between her delicate skin and the rope, it finally slices through.

With a sigh of relief, I scoop her up in my arms and rise to my feet.

When I approach the door, I hear gunshots firing off in the distance. I know they’ve made Shado’s whereabouts on the freighter. Exiting the building, I see Daniil motioning to his guard that is approaching me.

“Take her to Edinburgh General. Now!” He orders.

Shaking my head, I argue, “I can’t leave her, Daniil.”

“We have to go after Shado!” He yells. “She will be safe. You have my word. Your friend needs help.”

The word friend strikes me like a dagger in the heart. I can’t leave him.

Hesitantly, I hand CiCi’s limp body over to Daniil’s guard. She barely whispers my name as she leaves my arms.

Quickly pressing a kiss to her forehead, I whisper, “Time to go burn the world down for you, beautiful.”

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