Page 126 of Emperor of Havoc

We should wait for backup. But the thought of Katarina in Jin’s hands makes the idea of delaying unbearable. Kolya’s driver, Mitsugi, steps forward, his hand resting on his sidearm. Kolya nods to him, then to me.

“Ready?” he asks, his voice steady despite the tension radiating off him.

I draw my gun and check the chamber. “Let’s go.”

The three of us slowly approach the front door. As we get closer, I stop abruptly and hold up a hand.

Something’s wrong.

The front door is wide open.I glance at Kolya. Just then, a voice roars from the shadows behind us, deep, rasping, and filled with madness.

“Marianna!”

The three of us whirl, guns lifted. My pulse spikes and Kolya’s expression hardens as he turns in the direction of the voice.

“Through there,” I murmur, nodding to an opening in the hedge. The faint rustle of leaves carries on the wind, almost lost in the stillness. Kolya nods grimly.

“Be warned,” he mutters. “This isn’t just a hedge. It’s an old garden maze.” His jaw grinds. “My grandfather had this whole place built to mimic a sprawlingchateauin France.”

Fuck.

Picking our way through a dark, overgrown maze looking for the crazy motherfucker who thinks Kat is his old crush and in all likelihood kidnapped her sounds like a terrible idea.

But right now, I’d crawl over broken glass and through hellfire to save her.

The maze rises before us, dark and foreboding. The towering walls twist and writhe above us in the dim moonlight. My gut churns as we step inside: almost immediately the path splits, forcing a decision. Just then, Jin’s voice roars out from the night around us.

"Marianna!" he calls again. "Don't run, my love! We can be together now!"

Rage sinks into me when I hear him call her that.

My love.

It makes me want to kill. At the same time, it sparks something akin to hope within me.

He said “don’t run”. I turn and glance back through the maze entrance across the stone driveway, to where the front door of the house is standing wide open.

Kolya and I exchange a look.

“She got away from him,” he growls quietly.

I nod grimly. Yeah, that’s what it looks like. But that means she’s in a fucking maze, running through the dark from a fucking psychopath.

Kolya starts to step forward. But then he grimaces, raw agony rippling over his features. The pain from his surgery is slowing him down, even if he’ll never admit it.

“You shouldn’t even be walking around,” I growl. “Your stitches?—”

“This ismy daughter,” Kolya snaps, his eyes blazing. “If you think I’ll sit by like an invalid, you’re a fucking idiot.”

I nod, looking at the maze. “Fair enough. Are there any other exits?”

“No,” Kolya shakes his head. “Not that I can remember.”

“Good.” I glance at him. “Stay here and guard the entrance. If either of them tries to get out, you’ll see them first.”

Kolya hesitates, then nods decisively. “Be careful.”

Without another word, Mitsugi and I head into the maze. I go left, he turns right.

---