Page 26 of Ace of Shadows
I nod once. “I need to find Ivy.”
Both of us lock onto the knife man and he swallows loudly. “I can take you to her, but she’s with someone and he’s?—”
“Don’t care,” I snarl, taking the handgun Valentina passes to me. “Take me there.”
After collecting my wallet and card, the last remaining man leads us through two dark corridors and as we get closer, I hear her.
Through the air, screams of pain and fear waft toward us and I no longer need his guidance. Breaking into a sprint, I race down the corridor and follow the sounds of her cries, my heart pounding so fast that it becomes a blur of sensation in my chest. Around the next corner, the only thing between me and her is a wooden door that splinters from its hinges when I throw my entire body into it.
Inside, Ivy’s wrists are bound together and held above her head while she dangles from a rope hooked up to pipes above her head. A blindfold covers her eyes and she sways back and forth as the man in the room punches her hard in the gut.
I see red.
White-hot rage takes over and as the man hears my arrival, he turns just in time to get my fist to his face and then several bullets to the chest. He crumples down to the floor, dead, while Ivy screams at each shot and then sobs, whimpering while trying to keep her balance on her good leg.
“Ivy?”
“R-Ruslan?” she gasps wetly. “Oh, my God.”
“I’m going to touch you now, okay?” It’s the only warning I give her before I wrap one arm around her waist. Lifting the gun, I press it to the rope and open fire once more. Ivy squeals and her bound hands fall down around my neck as I take on her weight. Then I drop the gun and remove her blindfold.
As our eyes meet, I scoop her up into my arms bridal style while she gasps at me, less than an inch from her face.
“It’s you,” she gasps, choking slightly. “It’s really you.”
“It’s me.”
“I—” She breaks off, coughing violently. “He t-told me they killed you and I was going to be next if I didn’t tell them what family I worked for, b-but I couldn’t. I couldn’t.”
“I know,” I soothe softly. “I’m sorry, Ivy.”
“You came.” Her face crumples but before she gives in to tears, her eyes dart all over my face. “Oh, my God, look at you. What did they do to you?”
“That’s not important,” I say, carrying her out of the room to where Valentina and her men wait outside. “What’s important is that I’m getting you out of here.”
“Is this when you tell meI told you so?” Ivy whispers.
“Would I do that?”
“I think you would.”
“You’re right. But I won’t say it.”
Not yet. As terrifying as it was, there’s no better way to show Ivy the danger she’s in. Out in the hallway, Valentina steps forward and cuts through the rope around Ivy’s wrists, but once free, she keeps her arms around me.
“Who… who are you?” Ivy gasps, tears still leaking down her cheeks.
“Later,” Valentina says. “Ace, get her out of here. And you?” She turns to the man behind her. “You and I are going to have a little chat.”
“Ace?” Ivy asks as I carry her down the corridor.
“Let’s get you somewhere safe first,” I say. “Then I’ll tell you everything.”
9
IVY
“Tell me where they hurt you.”
