“One!” someone yells.

My eyes dart around, and I feel panic swell in my chest. I can’t fight. I don’t know how.

“Two!”

Please, no. Don’t let this be—

“Three!”

Suddenly she lunges toward me, only seconds after the man has stopped counting. I step quickly to the left automatically, but it doesn’t save me—no, it doesn’t even deter her. She swings and her fist connects with my jaw, sending me spiraling around in a full three sixty. I don’t scream, I can’t. My jaw feels as though it’s dislocated. Tears burn in my eyelids.

I feel her hand curl around my hair and tug, nearly ripping it from my scalp. She brings her foot up and puts it against my back, pushing it so hard my spine cracks and I arch forward, going down on my knees unwillingly. I hear the people screaming and yelling for her to “beat the fuck” out of me. I’ve no hope—she’s so strong and I’m so broken.

When her foot comes down over my spine, I finally scream. Pain shoots up my back and travels right down my arms and legs. Her foot connects with my ribs and I roll, trying hard to protect myself from ending up with broken bones. It doesn’t protect my face—her foot hits my nose so hard I see stars. I can no longer hear my own screaming as blood spurts from my nose and lands on the floor. Then it travels quickly down my face and fills my mouth until I’m choking on it.

“Enough!” Roger roars.

I don’t hear anything more, because my entire world goes black.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Dimitri

We’re picking up a ship!” Luke says, shoving his finger toward the screen.

“Any idea whose it is?” I ask, tapping my fingers impatiently on the wooden desk.

“No, but we’ve been out here for days. It’s the closest thing we’ve gotten. These are his waters, we can only hope . . .”

“Get the men up on deck, get all the weapons. He’s not running from us again.”

Luke nods and disappears, and I stare at the screen with the pulsing dot that indicates another ship. I pray that it’s her—I need it to be. For days I’ve sat out here, lost in my thoughts, wondering if everything we shared was all just a big fucking lie. She let me give a piece of myself to her, and she’s gone on to crush that piece until now there is nothing left but pure hatred.

I turn and walk out of the office and up onto the deck. I can see a ship in the distance, but it’s too small for me to make out if it’s him or not. I fuckin’ hope it is. I’m tired of searching, tired of fuckin’ trying to be something I’m not. I need to sort this with her, tell her how much I hate her. I drop my head. Fuck, I don’t hate her, that’s the problem. I want to . . . but I don’t. She’s consumed me.

“Boss, it’s them.”

My head snaps up and my eyes grow hard. Face to face with two people who have fucked my world. I straighten my shoulders and walk to the side of the ship, just watching Hendrix draw closer. His ship isn’t bigger than mine, but he’s got more men. I’ve got more weapons. We all hold up our guns as the ship gets close enough that I can see the men on board. And him. Fuck.

He’s got his hands on the railings and he’s staring at me. It isn’t a glare, and it isn’t pleased. It’s just a blank stare. He’s got a pretty young girl by his side—that must be the girl Jess was talking about. I give her a casual look, and, surprisingly, she smiles at me. Why the fuck would she smile at me? I’m guessing she thinks Jess and me are something special. Surely by now she knows we’re not. Considering Jess ran back to them.

“Dimitri! And to what do I owe this visit?” Hendrix says, tilting his head and studying me.

My hands shake, I want to fucking shoot him and yet, at the same time, seeing him warms something inside me. I’m torn. It’s all her fucking fault for making me second guess everything I believed in.

“Don’t play stupid with me, Hendrix. You know exactly why I’m here.”

He shakes his head, having the fucking nerve to look confused. “Actually, I don’t.”

“I know she’s with you, so just hand her over so I can talk to her.”

Something in his face changes; he gets a look that has my skin prickling.

“What are you talkin’ about?”

I grind my jaw. “Jess, where is she?”

Hendrix straightens and his eyes narrow. “What do you mean where is she? She’s with you.”

“Don’t play fuckin’ stupid. I know you’re protectin’ her and there’s no point. Give her up and we can walk away from this unscathed.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t fucking have her, Dimitri. And you’re scaring me.”

“Stop lying and just bring her out!” I shout.

“She’s not here,” the girl by his side whispers.

I turn my eyes to her. If not for the fact that her expression is truly worried, I wouldn’t have believed her.

“What do you mean she’s not here?”

She shakes her head. “She said she was with you and—”

“She ran!” I yell, lifting my hands and clutching the sides of my head. “I thought she came to you.”

Hendrix curses loudly. “She’s not fucking here, Dimitri.”

My face hardens. If she’s not here . . . then where the hell is she?

Jess

I’m freezing cold. My entire body feels like it’s slowly turning to ice from the inside out. I’ve got no blankets, just this crappy mattress. I’m aching all over, it hasn’t stopped for days, but like Roger has told me countless times, it could have been worse. I don’t know how. How could it get worse than this? The girl beat the living hell out of me, and he let her.