Page 118 of Wicked Savage

I can keep fighting it, keep denying it, or I can finally admit what I couldn’t say before: that I’m ready to go all in. Ready to love her.

Because I wanna try. I have to.

Grabbing my jacket, I head out, calling Grant again to see if he has any new leads.

Right now, finding her is the only thing that matters. And this time, I won’t let her slip away.

* * *

SIX MONTHS LATER

I shouldn’t be here.

The thought drums in my head as I step out of the car, but I don’t let it stop me. Konstantin’s estate looms ahead, its iron gates swinging open before I pull into the driveway and step out. The doors open, and his guards don’t even try to stop me, though their eyes track me like they’re waiting for the moment they’ll have to step in.

“I need to see him.”

“Come,” one says as he leads me to a sitting room.

Konstantin is already there, swirling a glass of something dark and expensive. He barely spares me a glance as I stop a few feet away, tension hanging thick between us.

“Cillian,” he says, drawing out the syllables like he’s savoring them. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

I promised myself I wouldn’t ask. Told myself I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me beg. But the words burn on my tongue, and before I can swallow them down, they escape.

“Where is she?”

Konstantin exhales slowly, the sound almost amused. “Dinara doesn’t want you to know.”

The sentence slams into my chest, knocking the air out of me. I clench my fists, nails digging into my palms to keep myself grounded.

“You’re lying.”

He takes a deliberate sip of his drink, watching me over the rim. “Am I?”

I move before I can think, my body acting on pure instinct. My fist is halfway to his jaw when something in his expression stops me cold. He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t tense. Just watches me. A slow smirk pulls at his lips as he sets his drink down.

“I understand you’re angry,” he says, his voice measured, calm. “But try that again, and you’ll be the next one I feed to my pigs.”

The words are quiet, but they land with the weight of a death sentence. I force myself to take a step back, my pulse hammering against my ribs. I let out a sharp breath, hands still clenched at my sides.

I should never have come here. I knew it the second I walked through the door, but now it’s too late. Konstantin has seen my desperation. Worse, he’s confirmed my worst fear.

She doesn’t want me to find her.

I turn and leave without another word. By the time I’m back in my car, my body tenses with frustration and anger.

Not at Konstantin. Not at Dinara. At myself. I had her, and I ruined it.

Now she’s gone, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get her back.

CHAPTER31

DINARA

TWO YEARS LATER

I’ve spentfour and a half years in this villa deep in the heart of Italy, surrounded by vineyards, sun-dappled hills, and new friends. But I haven’t spent them all basking in the sunshine. Some of that time I’ve spent sharpening my aim, firing at targets and pretending they were Cillian’s face.

---