Page 111 of Savage Reign

The Bugatti tearsthrough the night, headlights illuminating nothing but an empty road and darkness ahead. I grip the wheel, and press down on the accelerator as I near my estate.

The second I got off the phone with Eva, I opened the tracker linked to Sofiya’s ankle monitor, but it showed nothing. My heart dropped when I remembered why: I disabled it earlier so she could leave the estate for the party without setting off an alarm.

Fuck!

I’ve called Emil repeatedly since leaving the warehouse, but each time, there’s no answer.

The worst possibilities claw at me. Were they ambushed? Attacked on their way back to the estate? I can’t prove it yet but all signs point to Igor being behind her disappearance.

I slam the wheel with my fist. I should’ve seen this coming. I should’ve known something was off with him. And now I’m paying the price.

I pull up in front of my house, barely stopping the car before I’m out and sprinting up the front steps.

Vadim and Eva are in the front hall. They turn toward me, their faces grim.

“What is it?” I demand.

Vadim’s cheek twitches before he says, “It’s Emil. He’s compromised.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. “What do you mean?”

“When I reviewed the security footage, I noticed Emil having a tense phone conversation. Turns out, he was standing near a bug I planted in the hall. I pieced together parts of what he was saying—he was talking with Igor about taking Sofiya.”

The room spins. Emil. The man I trusted to protect Sofiya has turned on me. The betrayal cuts deeper than I ever imagined, dredging up old wounds.

Eva paces the foyer. “There’s also footage of Emil leading Sofiya into a car—one that doesn’t belong to the Zhukov Bratva.” All of my vehicles have trackers, so this was a calculated move.

I grip the back of a chair, my knuckles white as I try to steady myself. “Igor,” I say through clenched teeth. “Tural claimed Igor’s been working against me, plotting something bigger. I didn’t know how deep it went, but it sounds like he turned Emil.”

Vadim curses under his breath. “What the hell does Igor want with Sofiya?”

“I don’t know,” I admit, my voice breaking with frustration. “Apparently, Igor’s working with someone powerful. Tural passed out before I could get more information. I can’t focus on that right now. Getting Sofiya back is the only thing that matters.”

The tension in the room shatters with a rumbling sound, like thunder rolling over the estate.

“What the fuck is that?” Vadim mutters, reaching for his gun.

Eva draws hers as well, her gaze snapping toward the front doors. “Outside.”

The three of us race out, bursting onto the lawn just as a helicopter descends. The deafening roar drowns out everything else.

If they were here to attack, we’d already be under fire. Still, I don’t trust it. I keep my gun locked on the chopper, my finger hovering over the trigger, prepared for anything.

Eva and Vadim flank me, their weapons raised. The chopper touches down, and two figures step out into the night: Roman Vasiliev and Pavel Fedorov. Their hands are up, palms forward in a gesture of surrender.

“Don’t shoot!” Pavel shouts, his voice cutting through the noise as they step onto the lawn.

Eva and Vadim glance at me for direction. I give a small shake of my head. We don’t lower our guns, but we don’t fire either. The two men, followed by a small contingent of their guards, make their way toward us.

They stop a few feet away. Roman’s unflinching stare locks onto mine, his expression twisting when he takes in my blood-soaked shirt. “Sofiya asked for this meeting. If it were up to me, there’d be a bullet in your head right now.”

It takes a moment for the pieces to fall into place: the phone call earlier today to her sister. Sofiya was trying to fix this, to negotiate peace between me and the Syndicate.

But peace might be impossible once he finds out what happened.

I lower my gun, dread settling in my chest.

“Let’s go inside. We need to talk.”

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