Page 56 of Saint

Front row seat? To what?Mia dreaded finding out.

At the end of a hallway, Chadwick pushed a door open. They stepped into a small room lit by a bare bulb hanging from the low ceiling, Mia’s gaze traveled straight to Nik and she gasped, hand fluttering up to cover her mouth.

He was shirtless, his hands cuffed to the wall and his head hanging between his shoulders. There were some kind of patches on his chest with wires that led to a machine that Malcolm Grendel controlled. Ice-cold fear froze her in place. She’d met The Surgeon, as he was nicknamed, once before and he’d scared the living crap out of her with his soft, eerie voice and skeletal appearance. He reminded her a little of a demented Jack Skellington fromThe Nightmare Before Christmas.

“Nik,” she whispered, tears blurring her vision. He lifted his dark head and opened his mouth to say something, but Grendelhit the switch and volts of electricity zapped him through the electrodes. “Stop! Leave him alone!”

But Grendel only turned the machine’s control up a notch and Mia watched in horror as Nik’s big body twitched and contorted in pain.

“Turn it off!” she yelled.

The moment Grendel cut the juice, Nik sagged forward. Mia ran over, cupped his stubbled jaw and lifted his face. “I’m sorry. So so sorry,” she whispered raggedly.

“Not your fault,” he forced out.

But it was and she blamed herself thoroughly. If she’d only listened to her heart over her head, they wouldn’t be there. None of this would be happening.

“Irony at its best,” Chadwick murmured. “You thought you could usemy daughteragainst me, but it looks like the tables have turned. It’s going to be so easy now, it’s almost funny.”

“I’ll tell you whatever you want,” Mia snapped over her shoulder. “Just don’t hurt him anymore.”

“Don’t say a word, Mia,” Nik warned in a low voice.

She turned her attention back to Nik. He had a mask in place, not letting Grendel or the others see how much pain he had to be in, and her heart twisted behind her ribs. “I’m going to get you out of here. No matter what it takes.”

The table of torture devices didn’t escape her attention. No way in hell would she allow her man to be tortured any further by Grendel. Absolutely no fucking way.

Spinning around to confront Chadwick, she snarled, “Tell me what you want.”

“I want Dr. Zaitsev back,” he stated simply.

“The Bratva took your chemist,” Saint said, exchanging a look with Mia, warning her to remain quiet.

They had no reason to believe otherwise, so Mia nodded, playing along. Besides, it was true. The part about Zaitsev already having been rescued from Petrov’s compound and that he was currently with Nadia was something they wouldn’t know, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell them. But sending them to Moscow on a wild goose chase would buy them time.

However, Chadwick didn’t look entirely convinced and he nodded to Grendel who immediately spun the dial. Voltage cranked through Nik’s body and Mia screamed in frustration.

“Stop!” she cried, unable to bear Nik’s thrashing. Jesus, it looked like smoke was rising off his skin in places.

After letting Nik fry a moment too long, Grendel turned the dial back down again. The bastard was enjoying it far too much and who knew what other awful ways he planned to inflict pain next.

Mia’s heart ripped apart as she wrapped her arms around Nik’s waist.

“Where is Zaitsev, Mia?” Chadwick asked.

“Near Moscow,” she lied, hoping it would buy them time. “At Petrov’s compound.”

Chadwick considered the intel then seemed to accept it.

“That’s what Cross heard,” Salinger said, backing her statement up.

Apparently Cross—whoever he was— hadn’t gotten the message that Nik had already been in and out, killed Petrov and most of his men, and temporarily handed Zaitsev off to Nadia.

“Let’s make contact with Petrov.”

Nik choked out a laugh. “We’re talking about the Bratva. They won’t just hand the scientist over because you say. He’s too valuable.”

“Maybe they’d be interested in a trade,” Chadwick said thoughtfully.

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