God Of Desire

empty gaze

Madden:

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I could feel the pressure in my chest, the heavy beat of my heart like a countdown ticking toward disaster. Four hours. Four fucking hours since she vanished, and not a single goddamn clue about where they took her.

Sweat dripped down my back, my hand clutching the seat like it might somehow stop the panic rising in my throat.

I glanced at Ivarsen in the rearview mirror. The guy was on his phone, his face like stone, eyes darting between his conversation and the dark road ahead.

He looked calm, but I could feel the tension radiating off of him. The kind of tension that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Behind us, I could hear the engines of the other G-Wagons, the sound of Jeremy’s vehicle close on our tail. Volkov. The same man who’d shoved a gun in my face an hour ago. The same man whose daughter I’d fucked up trying to protect. His fury was still fresh in my bones.

Tolya’s gonna pay for that, I thought, wiping the metallic taste of blood from my lips. Tolya had landed enough punches to remind me of who the real boss in this family was, but that didn’t mean I was gonna sit here and take it. I didn’t take shit from anyone.

"Lev, can this fucking car go any faster?" I snapped, gripping the door handle so tight my knuckles ached.

Lev didn’t answer at first. He just kept his eyes on the road, his jaw set like a man who’d seen this shit too many times. But when I glanced at him again, I saw the tension in his shoulders, the white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

"We're almost there," he muttered.

Almost there. The words barely registered in my mind before we screeched to a halt in front of an abandoned cabin, nestled in the trees like some dark secret waiting to be uncovered.

The car came to a sudden stop, the engine growling into silence, and with a quick motion, I slammed the door shut behind me. I didn’t wait for any orders; I didn’t need them. My focus was locked on one thing, one person.

I glanced to my side, where Ivarsen and Lev were already ready, guns tucked in their waistbands, their hands poised for the chaos ahead. At my right, the Volkovs were gathering. Jeremy Volkov shot me a glare sharp enough to cut glass, but I didn’t give a damn.

I wasn’t here to prove myself to anyone. I wasn’t here to play their games. I was here for one thing, and one thing only.

To save her.

All the noise around me faded into the background as my thoughts consumed me. Anastasia.

Every minute without her felt like a thousand years. I could already feel my chest tightening, my blood boiling with the need to get her back. If they had even laid a finger on her, I would...

No. Not yet. Don’t lose your head now.

But the more I thought about it, the more the images burned into my mind. If she was hurt, if anything had happened to her... I’d make them regret it in the most excruciating ways possible. I’d make them beg for mercy, and then I’d tear everything they loved apart. Slowly. Relentlessly.

They’d feel every ounce of pain, every inch of fear.

I’d make them pay for what they did to her.

No one touches what's mine and gets away with it.

I knew my anger was a dangerous thing, but at that moment, it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting inside, finding her, and bringing her back to me.