Jordan’s voice sounded in my head, reminding me how to fight, guiding me. He had made me practice these moves over and over again until they became instinct. Caine had pushed my body beyond endurance at the start of our training until I thought I’d break. All those long showers cursing them and thinking evil thoughts faded away as I reaped the benefit of their wisdom.
Her blade sliced across my upper arm, and I punched her nose hard and fast the way Jordan had instructed until my hand hurt. Amy cursed, stumbling back as blood spouted down her face.
“You bitch,” she screamed.
“You started it,” I said with a crazed grin. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself.”
She lunged forward again, her blade biting into the flesh of my stomach. Her frustration grew when I refused to lie down and die for her. Amy’s moves became sloppy as her anger bested her.
I grabbed her wrist with both of my hands, twisting and bring my full weight down. A sickening crack sounded followed by her howl. The knife clattered to the floor, and I rolled to jump back onto my feet.
“He doesn’t love you,” she said, scorn lacing her high-pitched tone. “He will discard you when he’s bored of you like all men.”
I deliberately stood straight and tall, my hands landing on my hips. “After five years, he’s still at my side, so I’ll take my chances.”
Her top lip curled in a sneer, and I watched in horror as she pulled another syringe from her pocket. The woman was obsessed with drugging people.
“No one resists my medications,” she taunted. “Sometimes I get the dosage a little wrong and accidents happens. Oops!” Her maniacal grin said there were no accidents involved.
She pulled the cover off the needle with her teeth and spat it across the floor. “He’ll be devastated whether you’re barely alive or dead.” Amy shrugged. “Dead suits me.”
She released a crazed scream and sprang forward, her eyes wide with the madness that infected her. I braced myself for impact, my hands coming up in front of me to try and stave of the incoming attack, my focus set on that needle she intended to plunge into me.
Everything slowed down and sped up at the same time. A gunshot rang out, and time stood still…
***
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jordan
The boat was in place as the sun dipped below the horizon. Flynn and I were dressed in black combat trousers and hooded jackets, our pockets filled with only what we needed to keep our weight down.
I’d lifted a few of our special drones in London before we left, Ash and Xavier were now in control of them remotely, carrying small backpacks with additional supplies in them. They were piggybacking them onto our locations.
“Ready?” I asked, sliding my glasses into place. They were a unique technology that allowed me to see in light and dark.
“Yup, all sorted.” Flynn patted his pockets down.
“Everything is sorted our end,” Xavier said in my earpiece. “We may lose coms over open water for a bit, but we’re monitoring everything. Caleb is crawling up their asses in through their internet connection. He may live on an island, but that doesn’t mean he’s safe from sharks.”
“I’ve called in a few favours,” Ash said. “Lucas has people standing by and ready to invade if necessary.”
Our best hope was stealth, with no one expecting us to strike so soon after her abduction. I nodded to Flynn and both of us strapped our feet into the boards and activated them. The air pushed under our feet and brought us up off the deck.
“See you on the other side,” I said.
Flynn saluted and we took off. The wind sent us off course a few times, but we’d studied the map so many times that I knew my way to this island as it was engrained in my head. The guys were watching us, the drones on the same trajectory as us. Every second counted in my head as we moved across the waves.
“Halfway,” Xavier echoed in my ear.
My jaw tightened and I kept moving forward, never once shifting my sights from the pinpricks of light that told me a building stood on that island. They got bigger, and I held my breath waiting for them to detect us.
“The drones are picking up unusual wavelengths in the water,” Ash said. “I’m trying to ascertain what they are.”
Dante’s defences were in the water. I had no doubt he had them in the air to detect helicopters. Flynn and I were in the in-between zone where Dante probably felt safe. We sped over the remaining distance, using the last of the fuel to push us up vertically toward the roof, keeping tight to the wall.
My heart thudded in my ears as we came to a stop. I disconnected my feet, my abdominal muscles screaming from trying to hold me steady on the way across.