Page 102 of Scorch

“And why should I trust you, ‘princesa loca’?”

Isabella’s eyes shutter, and her voice turns to ice. “Because I want him dead as much as you do. He’s a fool, a fool who’s betrayed my family and our better interests one too many times.”

Viktor studies her. “When?”

She shakes her head. “Now, now, where’s the fun in this if I give you all the details? I don’t want you to annihilate him immediately. It has to be a real, bonafide battle, you know.”

She’s crazy. This woman is insane. And yet… she came here to warn us, didn’t she?

“I can tell you this. When he attacks, it will be swift and it will be violent. You’ll want all of your brothers and associates near. I wouldn’t let them travel all over the world like you have been. None of this gallivanting to Moscow or Barcelona.”

She’s been watching us.

What else does she know?

“Go. Tell your brothers you’ve been warned, but why don’t you keep my visit a secret?” she says with a wink. She turns and sprints into the night.

“Wait!” Viktor shouts, running after her, but it’s too late. She’s already disappeared as suddenly as she came.

I feel oddly bereft.

“My God,” I whisper, clutching his arm when he returns to me. “She was terrifying and yet… I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone more beautiful in my life.”

Viktor only shakes his head and pulls out his phone.

“We need to alert the others. We cannot fuck around when it comes to Javier Morales. She came here with a purpose, and I don’t know if we can trust her, but there’s no fucking way we can ignore her warning either.”

I nod. “Absolutely.”

Viktor leans in and kisses my cheek. “We’ve got this. Whatever this is, we’ll weather it like we do every other challenge we’ve ever faced.”

With my heart still pounding, I turn my head so our lips meet. The world fades away as I sigh into the kiss, and his warm, large hand rests at the small of my back. When we pull away, dawn breaks, casting a shimmer of gold over us.

We stand side by side, our fingers entwined. We’ve survived far more than this. We’ll survive anything that comes our way because together… we are invincible.

THE END

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