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“Alright. I’ll secure the house.”

I hang up and hurry to the kitchen to see Zoya. “Zoya, where’s Allegra?”

“She’s in the woods. She went for a walk.”

“I need to get her back and secure the house. We have a visitor.”

“Okay. Don’t worry. I’ll get her.”

Zoya rushes out the back door, and I radio the guards, putting them on standby. Roman and Konstantin are here with the rest of my team. If there is a shootout, they’ll be able to deal with it.

Five minutes later, the front door crashes open. Kieran and Aleksandr walk in with a balding, muscular man struggling against their grasp. I can’t see his face yet.

They shove him onto the floor.

“Stand down,” Kieran barks.

Just then, Zoya and Allegra walk into the hallway through the back entrance. Petr turns as I approach. Then he freezes. When his gaze lands on my wife, I look back at her and see she’s frozen, too. The basket in her hand slips and falls to the floor.

“It’s you,” she stutters.

The terror in Petr’s eyes grips me. I know there’s something more going on. Then I see the dagger tattooed on his cheek beneath his bruises, and I understand straightaway. Fuck, it’s him. The man who killed Gabrielle and tortured Allegra.

Petr gets up to run. I pull out my gun and shoot him in both legs. He drops to the ground.

“Get him to the dungeon,” I order, then I turn back to Allegra and rush to her side. She’s shaking, and she looks like she might pass out.

Aleksandr and Kieran grab Petr and haul him away. He howls in pain while blood drips from his wounds.

I keep my focus on Allegra. “Are you okay?” It feels like a stupid question, but I ask it anyway.

She doesn’t answer. She looks incapable of speaking. Zoya watches with concern.

I glance at her. “Zoya, can you make her some tea? Some of that herbal stuff?”

“Of course,” she replies, setting off for the kitchen.

I put my arm around Allegra and guide her upstairs. I take her to the bedroom and sit her on the bed. She seems to settle, but her breathing is still labored. I crouch before her and take her hands in mine.

“Breathe slowly,” I say. “Slowly, slowly.”

She listens to me and slows her breathing. Soon, the color returns to her cheeks.

“It’s him,” she rasps, her voice hoarse. “How did you find him?”

How indeed? There have been many coincidences in my lifetime. This one is right up there in the category of the truly fucked up and unexpected.

But I’m glad I got him.

“He’s a hacker. I’ve been trying to track him down for weeks. I didn’t know he was the same man who took you.”

She lets her gaze drop to her lap, then lifts her head and meets my eyes again. “All these years, part of me thought I was crazy, even though I knew what I saw. I saw him escape. I saw him escape, Lev, and now he’s here.”

I feel bad that I have to hit her with another truth. “He’s been working with your father.”

The paleness returns to her skin. She stares at me as if I’ve spoken another language, as if she can’t understand the words. “What are you saying? He... He’s been working with my father?”

“Yes.”