Page 68 of Taming a Ruthless Heart

“Okay, okay!”he wheezes, voice cracking.“Igor’s holding up in an old compound near the docks.He’s got an army guarding the place.You won’t get in that easily.”

For a moment, the world stops, each word falling like hot stones in my heart.I exhale slowly, steadying the chaos inside.Relief and rage intertwine, a volatile combination that quickens my pulse.

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” I grunt, my words dripping with mockery.“Who else is there?”I press on, folding my arms over my chest, watching the sweat drip from his temples.“Who’s guarding the compound?”

His throat bobs with a hard swallow as his eyes dart to the door before bouncing back to mine.“R-Rory and Andrei.They came from New York.But Igor’s paranoid—he trusts no one.But I can help you get in.”

“Nice try,” I scoff.Then, turning to my father, I add, “Andrei’s reputation dates back many years.”

Jack nods.“He’s a known killer, a sadist who enjoys leaving his mark.”

A new wave of acid burns my stomach at the thought of this monster anywhere near Alexia and Rose.My vision blurs with fury, making me literally see red.

Shelby steps closer, his gaze scanning the thug’s face.“What about the people he’s going to sell at the auction.Where are they?”

He screws up his face when more blood gushes from the wounds.“He moves them around to different locations.But the woman and the kids he snatched today are there.Igor needs them.I don’t know why.”

Finding out they are alive gives me brief relief.But it’s a faint whisper, gone as the rage returns.When I recall Alexia’s fear and her scars, blazes ignite behind my eyes.I won’t stop until she’s safe, until they’re all safe.

I cast one last look at the broken man before me.“I know why.He wants me to go get them,” I explain, gripping my gun and aiming at Illya.

With a bullet carving the middle of his forehead, I fulfill my promise of a quick death.

Ray appears at the edge of my vision, arms crossed, expression set in stone.“I’ve already called the clean-up crew.”

“Let’s move,” I tell the men.The faces of Alexia and Rose flicker behind my eyes, fanning the raging flames burning in my gut.“We have a war to win.”

27

Alexia

My eyelids flutter open, and the dim light cuts through the haze in my mind, harsh and uninviting.I’m lying on a stiff bed in a windowless room, the air heavy with the damp chill of concrete.The walls are raw stone, cold and unyielding, like a prison carved from the earth itself.Shadows cast by a single overhead bulb dance over the craggy walls, reminding me of the darkness surrounding me here.Igor’s stronghold—a place that reeks of control, oppression, and the suffocating chill of his presence.

As I push myself upright, the first sting of awareness strikes my wrists.The steel cuffs bite into my skin, chaining me to the thick concrete column by the bed.My arms ache, muscles stiff from who knows how many hours of confinement, and I fight the urge to let despair creep in.Panic prickles at the edges of my mind, but I shove it back, swallowing it down, refusing to let it grow.

This is what Igor wants.He wants me broken, helpless.The way I was years ago, back when I thought surrendering to him was the only way to protect my family.Back when I was naive enough to believe he’d keep his word.

But things are different now.I’m different.I’m not the woman I was when I left Dave.And I’m not the woman who once obeyed Igor out of fear.Now, I know what he is.I know what he’s capable of—and what he intends to do with my daughter if I don’t fight.

The memory of Dave’s face flickers in my mind, the way he looked at me when he saw the scars Igor left behind, a mixture of fury and heartbreak etched into his eyes.He’d tried to mask it, but I saw through him, felt his protectiveness like a warm blanket wrapping around me on a chilly night.He’s out there, probably tearing the world apart to find me, but I can’t wait for him.I won’t be a victim anymore.

I clench my fingers into fists, nails digging into my palms, the sharp bite of pain snapping me into focus.I scan the room, cataloging the details, every possible advantage I can seize.The bed is bolted to the floor—a prison tactic, no doubt.The door is heavy steel, likely locked from the outside, and I can hear faint murmurs beyond it.Igor’s guards.Loyal, brutish, and just as cruel as he is.

There’s a nightstand to my right with a small, dim lamp on it.Beside it, a half-full glass of water.My throat aches with thirst, but I ignore it out of fear that Igor’s added some drug to it.That’s a common MO for him.So I shift my focus back to the immediate task: survival.Escape.I’m mentally listing everything I know about Igor’s habits, his men, the weaknesses I’ve observed in his fortress over the years.He never realized I was watching, that I was waiting for an opportunity, for any chink in the armor of his precious empire.He has always seen me as weak because I’m a woman.That’s his first mistake.

The heavy metal door groans open, and my body stiffens instinctively.I know who it is before I even look.There’s a chill that spreads through the room, like a gust of icy wind snaking its way through the cracks in my resolve.Igor steps in, his silhouette casting a long shadow that seems to swallow everything in its path.He stands there, backlit, his eyes two pits of darkness set deep into his weathered face.The scar running down his cheek always gives me the creeps.His lips curl in a way that makes my stomach twist.

“You’re finally up, dear wife.”His voice is a slow drawl that’s both mocking and venomous.He steps forward, and the dim light highlights the sharp planes of his face, his gaze drilling into me like he’s dissecting my very soul.

I force myself to hold his onyx-like eyes, to keep my expression blank, unyielding.Inside, I’m shaking.My heart hammers against my ribcage, but I’ll be damned if I show him even a flicker of the terror I’m feeling.I’m not afraid of myself, though.I’m terrified because I know what he’s planning to do to Pete and Rose.

“Enjoying your new digs?”he taunts, circling me slowly, his footsteps echoing in the silence.He chuckles, a cruel sound that scrapes like nails dragging across a chalkboard.“You know, you put yourself here,” he sneers, his voice coaxing.“Running to Dave like that.Did you really think he could protect you from me?Or protect your dear daughter?”

I clench my jaw, fighting the cold prickle of doubt he’s planted.But he sees the flicker of hesitation.He seizes it with a grin, stepping closer.“Think about it,” he whispers, his tone venomous.“Every time you defied me, every time you thought you were stronger than me, you left cracks wide open.You thought you were running away to safety, but look where it led you… right back to where you belong.”

“You think you’re powerful because you can trap people, Igor?Because you can intimidate them?That’s not strength.It’s coercion.”

He laughs, low and taunting.“Isn’t it, though?You’re here, chained, helpless—proof that every choice you made was a mistake.”His gaze drops, following the line of the chains at my wrists.“You couldn’t protect yourself.What makes you think you can protect others?”He gestures around the room.“In any case, look what I’ve had made just for you: your favorite room back home.I thought you’d appreciate the nostalgia.”

---