Absolutely not. This nightmare could not be starting over, and if I thought I'd hurt the first time she went missing, it was nothing compared to now after I'd realized I loved her. Madness encroached, pushing in at the edges as our security crew swarmed the area. I clawed at the skin on the back of my neck, determined to wake myself up.

"Lochlan. Stop. Stop!" Marianna shouted, taking my hand in hers.

"Did they find her?" I demanded, hating how my hand trembled in her grasp.

"No, but we know who took her. Dmitri."

"That motherfucker."

I jumped to my feet, rage driving me toward the exit. Marianna shoved me back down, a thunderous expression pulling the scar on her face into a tight, jagged line. After weeks of playing the dutiful daughter and heiress, I'd almost forgotten beneath it all was a dangerous assassin, and I cheered to see her rise.

"I already have a plan." James crowded in as she lowered her voice. "Dmitri is a greedy bastard. If he gets his way, he will come after me next. We will be trophies. Two sisters to ruin."

"You said you had a plan," James growled. "And this isn't one unless you're trying to piss me off."

"As greedy as he is, he is smart. He knows one in the hand is better than two in the bush, and if he has to choose between us, he will want me. I am going to offer myself up."

"Absolutely not," James and I shouted in unison, drawing shocked expressions from others.

I shook my head. "Marianna, we just got you back. We're not losing you again."

"You got Nadia, not Marianna. I'm trying, but we both know I'll never be the little girl you imagined saving."

"You think that matters? You matter. Nadia. Marianna. Whatever you call yourself, you're family."

James breathed deeply, drawing air in through his mouth and exhaling through his nose. He was a man on the edge. Marianna would drive him over if she didn't leave this alone. I knew it because I'd already fallen.

"It's the only way to draw him out," Marianna insisted. "He could be on a plane to anywhere in the world by now. We will never find her if that happens."

Cold sweat broke out over my skin. Even after weeks away from those monsters, memories invaded Millie's dream. She woke thrashing and crying, and the bastard had done nothing more than kiss her. It was the knowledge of what he was capable of and what he wanted to do if he ever got his hands on her again that haunted her. And now he had her. Would she even be the same if—no, when—we found her?

"We don't actually have to make the trade," Marianna said, sitting on the couch beside me.

A strand of blonde hair fell into her face. It was just another subtle change since she escaped. No more severe ponytails. No more practical black or turtlenecks. It suited her. She had changed more than she realized. Sending her back to that bastard would break me almost as much as losing Millie to him.

James grunted, his eyes snapping like blue fire. "But you would if it came down to it. If things went south, you would go with him to save her."

Her lips pressed together, and she looked away.

"That's all the answer I need. We're not doing it."

"You—" She rose and jammed her finger into his chest, "do not tell me what I can and cannot do. You're on the payroll. Mine. Not the other way around."

James shuffled forward until their toes touched, his mouth inches away from hers. "My job is to keep you safe, even if it means keeping you safe from yourself. So when you decide to act like a grown ass woman and not a petulant child, we can discuss giving you a little more freedom."

"Enough."

I stood and jerked the bottom of my suit jacket to dislodge the wrinkles. Good god. Was that what Millie and I had been like when we first met? Anyone who wasn't blind could see the raw attraction beneath the anger, and if things weren't so serious, I might laugh at them. In fact, as soon as I had Millie in my arms again, we could tease them together.

"James, I give you leeway to do whatever you need in order to contain her."

Marianna's head snapped up. "What the fuck? Absolutely not."

James grinned, grabbing her hand while she was distracted and twisting it behind her back. A metal click sounded as he snapped handcuffs around hr wrists. "She'll be perfectly safe with me."

"You asshole. Both of you!" She screamed and flailed against his hold.

I ignored her, content she was safe, while I fished out my phone. Dialing a number, I held it to my ear, already planning the next step in my head.

"You're getting far too comfortable calling me."

"How's the hand?"

"I'm hanging up—"

"No. You're going to help me find your niece, and then we're going to make sure the Volkovs are never an issue again. You in, Melnyk?"

A heartbeat passed. Then a chuckle. "You didn't even have to ask."