Page 85 of Caged

She deserves every ounce of pain I am about to inflict on her. I warned her. Hurt my daughter I hurt you.

I don’t make empty threats.

“It’s just me and you against the world, princess. We don’t need anyone else when we have each other, right?” I whisper.

She sniffles and I hug her tighter. She’s the only thing keeping the fire inside me at bay.

“Love you, daddy. Will you be home soon?”

I pull away and cup her face, pressing a kiss on her cheek.

“I will. I will always come home to you. I love you too much. Now be good for Auntie Lara, she needs cheering up, okay?”

I tap her nose and she giggles.

“I always make Lar-Lar smile. She loves me,” she says proudly.

“She does. We all do. Because you are the most special girl in the world to all of us.”

And because of that, I need to right my recent wrongs and ensure no one ever harms her again.

Even Mila.

THIRTY-FIVE

MILA

“In and out, Mila. We aren’t safe anywhere now.” Tyler doesn’t hide his irritation with me through the earpiece.

I’m doing the right thing.

I’ve never had to heal a broken heart before. The memory of Nikolai’s furious gaze as I walked away still haunts my thoughts.

If I were him, I’d want me dead too. He’s probably thinking the worst, I would in his shoes. He allowed me in his safe space, around the one thing that means anything to him in the world, his little girl.

I betrayed his trust, and stabbed his heart.

He deserves better than me.

I just need to retrieve the drive I hid in this creepy cemetery and get the hell out of here.

I’m fucked either way. My life will end at the hands of either Ivan, Tatiana, or Nikolai. I’m kind of hoping it is Niki.

I just have to save my brother first before he catches me. There is absolutely no way Nikolai will let this go. And, I shouldn’t have a thrill running through me that he will be after me.

As I hunt down the grave I’m searching for, the ice crunches loudly under my boots.

Taking a sharp left, I count down the next six headstones.

The seventh is the one I’m looking for.

Wiping the snow away from the stone, I double check the name. Yep, there he is. I better pray to someone that the drive is still there. If it isn’t, I might as well dig myself a hole.

Brushing the debris out of the way, the chill makes my fingers tingle. I dig down and relief washes over me when I feel the plastic baggy.

Thank fuck.

Pulling it out, I wipe the dirt from it. The freezing air whips through my hair and leaves rustle behind me. Sliding my blade from my boot, I flick my head around and stand.