I grab the phone from her and check the screen.
Eitan.
I let the call ring out without answering and grab my clothes, my erection gone and my pulse rate skyrocketing. “We need to pack up and move.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure who to trust and if they’re tracking us through the phone we could be in danger.” I shove my legs into my pants, button them, and put on my shoes as fast as I can as Annie stuffs all the contents on the floor back into the bag. No matter how hard I try to control my breathing, dread won’t release its grip over me.
The phone rings again. Eitan’s name flashes on the screen once more. I snarl and swallow past the growing lump in my throat as my finger hovers over the answer button for a second before touching the screen. I don’t say a word in case it’s not Eitan but someone who has his phone.
“Nikita? Nikita, are you there?” my advisor’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Yes.”
“Are you okay? Where are you?”
He sounds genuinely concerned but I’m not ready to give him any answers. “I’m safe. What happened?”
“Augustin. He betrayed us.” The venom in Eitan’s tone tells me all I need to know. I can trust him. I remain silent and listen as he continues speaking. “He was with the men who were tracking Gino but then communication went dead. When I sent Jimmy to check things out, he called and reported all the men were killed. But he couldn’t find Augustin’s body.”
I rake my hands through my hair, cursing under my breath. This is too familiar. Just like what happened to my father. My heart begins to pound until my head aches from the building pressure. “How did they find me?”
“Augustin must’ve given him your address and the security code to the penthouse. When we raided his apartment, we found pictures and notes. He’d been tracking you.”
Annie’s pacing in front of me like a caged tiger, her skin paling with each passing second. “And the weapons shipment?”
“Gone. Augustin sabotaged it. Gave everything to Gino.” Eitan sighs on the other end and I know there’s more. “Nikita, Gino launched an attack on all our soldiers and businesses across the city.”
“Fuck. Fucking fuck.”
How could I have been so fucking stupid? How could I have been so blind and weak? How could I have been just like my father?
God fucking damn it. I swore never to be like him. Anger boils deep in my system, as hot as lava. It churns within, hungry for destruction, and I know it’s too much for me to handle. The pressure of this raging sea of anger is the force I need to exact revenge and I allow it to fuel my darkest desires.
I allow the darkness to swallow me whole.
“Eitan, we’re at the site my father and I used to camp at. Get to the base of the mountain as fast as you can and tell no one.”
“We?”
I snort. “Yeah, Annie’s with me.”
Eitan doesn’t say a word other than to let me know he’s on his way and then hangs up. I tuck the phone into my back pocket and button my shirt, not wanting to waste another second.
Revenge is the only thing I want right now. And I will get it.
Annie timidly walks over to me and places her hand on my arm. I stare daggers at her and keep moving. She should’ve had everything put together already. She should know better than to waste time on stupid things like sympathy. We’re in a war right now.
“Nikita, what’s going on?”
“I found out who betrayed me. Now, it’s time for payback,” I sneer.
Annie’s brows furrow as she looks at me, standing there like a fucking helpless deer. I’m halfway across the clifftop before I realize she isn’t behind me. I whirl around to stare at her. “Annie, what the fuck are you doing? I told you to get everything ready.”
Her fingers curl into small fists, red coloring her cheeks. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t have time for this. Eitan is meeting us at the base of the mountain. We have to hike back down. So: let’s go.” I’m impatient, fists clenching and unclenching, running my hands through my hair over and over again. I want blood spilled and I want it now. Why can’t she understand that? Why can’t she see that it’s time to strike back?
She looks at me with an unreadable expression. Something akin to fear, sorrow, confusion, all of those and none of them. Part of me wants to hold her and make her understand. Look at what’s happened!
But I can’t—because in so many ways, she did this to me. I became too enthralled with Annie and now many of my men are dead. Others will be soon, too, if I don’t hurry. Lives were wasted because I was paying attention to the wrong thing. My businesses can be rebuilt. My soldiers can’t be brought back from the grave.
“I told you—we need to go. Now.”
Annie flings the backpack in her hands at my feet. “I understand you’re angry, but don’t take it out on me. I was shot at too, remember?”
I reach down, grab the pack, and sling it over my shoulder before grabbing the second pack and doing the same. If she’s going to throw a temper tantrum, then I won’t waste the energy on getting her to understand what’s happening. Is she sad? Hurt? I don’t give a fuck. There’s no time for sadness or pain.
She was never meant for this world; that much is obvious to me, now. I can hardly believe I didn’t see it before. My men are paying for it. I’m paying for it.
Time to turn that around.
“Are you ready or not?”
“Yeah,” she says and brushes past me without
