Page 45

He enters with a pistol raised in both hands. His steps are quiet and controlled. His eyes sweep over the room, checking every corner before he approaches either fallen man. He kicks their weapons away and checks their pulses. Then he sees me.

The cold concentration vanishes from his face. “Sophie.”

He crosses the room so fast that I barely see him move.

Samuel drops to his knees in front of me. His hands frame my face, turning it from side to side as he searches for injuries. “Did he cut you?”

“No.”

“Did either of them touch you?”

“No. Samuel⁠—”

His arms close around me despite the chair between us. I press my face against his shoulder. He’s warm. Solid. Alive.

My body begins to shake. “I thought you were dead,” I sob.

“I’m here.”

“You found us.”

“I’ll always find you.”

He pulls back long enough to cut the ropes at my wrists and ankles. The instant I’m free, I fall into him. Samuel catches me and lifts me against his chest. I wrap my arms around his neck.

He buries his face against my hair. “You’re safe,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you.”

Dad groans behind us. I pull away. “My father.”

Samuel lowers me carefully and goes to him. Dad flinches when Samuel crouches in front of his chair.

“I told you not to follow us,” Dad says through his swollen lips.

Samuel cuts the rope around his wrists. “You can shoot me later.”

“I might.”

“Not with that concussion.”

Dad’s laugh turns into a groan. Samuel frees his ankles before taking out his phone. He moves toward the open doorway, finds a signal, and calls emergency services. He gives them our location in a calm, clipped voice. Two armed assailants down. One injured hostage. Possible concussion. Facial trauma. No immediate threat. When he ends the call, Dad is watching him.

“The man with the scar,” Samuel says. “Viktor Sava. He worked for Markovic.”

“I remember.”

“Markovic was released four months ago.”

Dad closes his eyes. “I didn’t know.”

“You should have.”

“I know.”

Those two words carry years of history I don’t understand.

Sirens sound faintly in the distance.

Samuel looks at me. “Can you walk?”