Page 18 of Lady of Darkness
Me: Tell the pilot to land at Dubrovnik. We’ll drive across the border to Podgorica.
Dubrovnik–a Croatian city about two and a half hours away–is a better meeting point.
I don’t trust Acadia, and I certainly don’t want to get caught within their territory. Croatia is a bordering country, and they won’t think to look for us there.
Sterling: Will do. Should be another hour or two.
Me: Alaric and I will head out shortly and meet you in Dubrovnik.
I pack my computer up, placing my three external hard drives in my briefcase. Even while I’m traveling, I make sure to take everything with me. You never know when you’ll need your full setup.
Running a hand through my hair, I walk down to the car park and get into my car. Alaric will meet me at my house, and then we’ll head out to the airport.
Two hours later, Alaric and I are pulling up to the side of our second jet. I relay our destination to the pilot as we walk aboard, and then I set everything up on the mahogany table. Alaric pours us two whiskeys, handing one to me as he sits down in his perfectly ironed suit.
“Sterling and Gideon are waiting for us. We should arrive in Dubrovnik just as Harlow and Luka land in Podgorica.”
I growl, grinding my jaw. “They’re going to pay for this.”
Alaric sneers before looking out of the window, shooting his entire drink before slamming it down on the table.
“If I could intercept the plane and throw Luka out of the door, I would.”
I grunt my approval, and we take off a few minutes later.
My computer dings with new information, and as I pull up the image before me, my mouth goes dry. I had an algorithm going across all cameras in Heathrow. They’re surprisingly easy to hack. Running it in tandem with my face scanning program, it alerts me whenever a camera picks Harlow up. Low and behold…
It’s a security image of Harlow and Luka. She’s wearing sunglasses and a white sweater, and he’s somehow fastened a short, red bob on her head. But it’s her, and she looks completely out of it. His arm is around her shoulders, holding her up. Luka, on the other hand, is wearing a casual hoodie and jeans.
I nearly snap my computer in half.
Showing Alaric the image from airport security, his jaw ticks and he looks away. The night Armin touched Harlow was nothing compared to this. Acadia was going to rue the day they decided to fuck with us. Alaric wouldn’t sleep until they were all being burned alive, or whatever massacre he has planned for them.
Charles would’ve killed Acadia quickly and thoroughly, but I know Alaric is going to make it hurt.
We would get her back.
Even if it meant we had to incinerate the whole damn capital of Montenegro.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Harlow
The pieceof tape over my mouth wakes me up. It’s pulling the skin around my lips. I snap my eyes open as my heart begins to race. Thrashing against the bed I’m chained to, I scream, but the tape mutes it. I study my surroundings. A nicely decorated, ornate bedroom. A large window overlooking a city I don’t recognize–with bars, of course–so that I can’t escape. Furniture made of black wood. Thick carpets lining the tiled floors. Blinking rapidly, I try to hold back the tears.
Where the hell am I, and why am I tied up?
As I wrack my brain for clues, I only find hazy flashes. I was talking to Gemma about Luka. Then I texted the guys. Did I go inside next? What happened? Whoever did this obviously drugged me, because I can’t remember a damn thing, and my head is pounding. My mouth feels dry–almost like I’ve been asleep for a long time.
I pull against the handcuffs on my wrists and ankles. Looking down, I notice I’m not in my clothes. I have a pair of baggy jeans and a fuzzy white sweater.These aren’t my clothes.I’m also wearing white boots that aren’t mine. My scalp itches, and I can see red hair hanging down the side of my face from my peripheral. Swallowing, I attempt to quell my panic.
At least with the guys, I knew we were equals. At the end of the day, it was in their best interest to keep me alive.
A tear slips down my cheek. I take a few steadying breaths through my nose and try to remember what happened.
I was talking to Gemma.
She told me about Luka.
