Page 51 of The Payment

Jarek’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the armrest.His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached.Cold sweat trickled down his spine as he waited with dread cursing through him.

“Don’t bother coming to TAP, Boss.”Declan’s voice sounded gruff as it cut through the tense silence inside the SUV.“I just arrived.Levin Jackson is dead, shot in the chest.Tatiana isn’t here, but Robert Ward confirmed that fuckface Skull took her.Our tech team tracked the van through the traffic cams to East Boston Yacht Club.The satellite feed shows them forcing her onto a speedboat.They left five minutes ago.”

Gripping the secured tablet in one hand, Jarek watched the real-time feed from their surveillance system.Their tech team had developed proprietary software that merged multiple data streams via traffic cameras, satellite imagery, facial recognition, and thermal imaging.The AI could analyze and predict movement patterns, creating a virtual grid across the city.The drones they had launched provided additional coverage, but the growing distance between the boats and shore would soon make tracking more difficult.

“Playtime is over,” Jarek’s voice came out as a deadly whisper.“I’m going to tear that bastard apart piece by piece.”The fury coursing through his veins shocked him with its intensity.When Gregor had murdered his family, he had wanted revenge.But this all-consuming rage at the thought of Skull touching his wife threatened to shatter his carefully maintained control.His hands shook as he fought the urge to punch through the window.

“I should’ve fucking known better,” he grunted under his breath.He should have anticipated Gregor’s move after Tatiana had cut ties with him.His arrogance in thinking she was safe at TAP now crushed him with guilt.He should have assigned a security detail and had men watching her every move.The failure to protect his wife tightened around his chest like a vice.

“She watched her best friend die,” he ground out.The horror of what Tatiana endured was traumatic, something he knew firsthand.He was still haunted by the helplessness, the guilt of surviving, and the way it had changed him forever.Now, she would have to face the same recurring nightmares.

Lucky Holden, reading the situation, pushed the GMC faster and veered toward the exit, weaving through traffic with precise control.

“Keep eyes on that boat, Declan,” Jarek ordered in a raw voice.“Meet us at the marina.”

“Already moving,” Declan replied.“I’ve got two speedboats prepped and waiting.The tech team has drones in the air with thermal imaging active.We won’t lose them, Jarek.I’ve also ordered men to be positioned at every marina within fifty miles of the coast.”

Thank God for Declan’s foresight.The man anticipated needs before they arose.It was a rare quality that had saved their operation more times than Jarek could count.

“Step on it, Lucky,” Nevil growled as he checked his weapons in the backseat.The metal clicked ominously and was in tune with Jarek’s increasing concern.“Today, we are going to paint the harbor red.”

The SUV surged forward as Jarek’s mind raced through scenarios, each more violent than the last.

“I’ll find you, Tatiana, and when I do, that fucktard will learn the true meaning of suffering,” he vowed in a deep voice.

“Damn fucking right he will,” Lucky snickered, already preparing himself to be the one dishing out the pain.

Death would be a mercy long in coming...except Jarek’s anger might be the bastard’s savior.Because making him suffer paled in comparison to the desire to watch Gregor Polov die.Now that he had shown he truly had no humanity, even to a granddaughter he proclaimed to adore, Jarek coveted the final showdown in two days with Martinez.It would be the crème de la crème he had been waiting for over twenty years.

“It’ll be over soon,” he growled.“But first, we have to find my wife.”

The roar of twin Mercury engines drowned the harbor as Jarek and his men boarded the first speedboat.Declan took the helm while Lucky and Nevil secured their weapons.The second boat, filled with their tactical team, fell in behind them.

Salt spray stung Jarek’s face as they cut through the choppy waters.The ocean churned with dark waves crashing against the hull, matching the storm raging inside him.Each passing minute without visual contact of Skull’s boat twisted his gut tighter.

The tablet in his hands showed their position.A quickly moving dot that kept gaining distance.Despite Declan pushing their boat to its limits, the gap widened.Jarek’s fist slammed against the console.

“Sir,” the operational tech team’s voice crackled through their earpieces.“Thermal imaging shows their boat just made landfall.Coordinates coming through.They’re heading north toward Nahant.”

“Push the throttle to the max, Declan,” Jarek’s voice cut like steel through the wind.“They have a five-minute head start you need to shrink.Nevil, get us ground transport.”

Nevil’s fingers flew across his phone.“Team already did.Two SUVs will be waiting at Nahant Beach.”

The boat lurched as Declan opened the engines fully.Water sprayed over the bow as they carved through the waves at maximum speed.Jarek gripped the rail as rage inside him built with each passing second, threatening to override his tactical judgment.

He forced himself to take deep breaths.Losing control now would put Tatiana at risk.He had seen too many operations go wrong when emotion clouded decision-making.The memory of her voice during that brief phone call centered him.

“No matter what happens,” he said as the shoreline grew closer, “remember Tatiana’s safety comes first.I don’t want her to get hurt.”

The others nodded grimly.They all understood the message.Skull would pay for his part in her abduction, but getting Tatiana back safely was their first priority.

Tatiana

Tatiana shifted againstthe ropes binding her wrists, doing her best to ignore the sting as they bit into her flesh.The metallic taste of blood lingered in her mouth from where Skull had hit her earlier.She had stopped fighting, not from fear but strategy.Let him believe he had broken her spirit.

“You do know he’s coming for me, right?”She kept her voice steady, watching Skull pace the small space of the speedboat.“I don’t know about you, but the stories I’ve heard would make my dick shrink thinking of what’s heading your way.”

His face contorted with rage.Even without the scar covering half his face, he’d be ugly.“Do I look like the kind of man to be scared, bitch?Or have you forgotten who I am and what I’m capable of?”

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