Cursed

25

We all hop into the van and start driving. Yuri goes over the plan again during the ride. I completely ignore Zack. If he's waiting for me to apologize, it's not going to happen. He needs to be honest with me or this relationship isn't going to work.

After Yuri is done going over the plan again he gives us our roles on the mission. "My 3 men will keep watch from the outside. Hunter and Ryder, you need to stay with the car and keep watch around that area. Zack and Shay, you'll be coming inside with me to get my daughter back. The 4 people I have in there already will take care of unlocking the doors and getting us in."

We all nod as we start slowing down on a dirt road. Yuri looks nervous, I guess I would be too. What if we fail? What if we get caught and I can't get home to Eady.

We won't fail. I won't let us.

We all hop out of the car and Hunter sits on the hood of the car, Ryder leans against it, looking around. The rest of us don't say a word, trying to be as quiet as possible as we walk the rest of the distance to the Italian compound.

My legs burn by the time we get there but I ignore the pain and admire the architecture. It's built out of black bricks and looks sort of like an ancient castle. Maybe that was the point, I'm not sure. It's quite beautiful though. Even in the dark I can see how fancy it looks, I can't even imagine what it looks like during the day.

It's surrounded by trees tall enough to conceal it. We make our way quietly through the trees, following Yuri to the back entrance of the holding cell area. Yuri puts up a hand for us to halt and we do. I don't dare speak but I'm not sure why we're just waiting here. I feel so exposed. After a few minutes of waiting by the door I've finally lost my patience and I'm about to say something when I hear a quiet click of the electronic door lock.

Yuri opens the door. So this is what we were waiting for. His men keep an eye on the outdoor area and Zack and I follow Yuri inside. There's a man inside and I freeze. But he nods us along, this must be one of his inside men. If he's letting us pass, he must be on our side.

A woman in her late 30s appears in the dark hallway and motions for us to follow her. We pass what seems like hundreds of holding cells, most of them are empty, before stopping at one that's dimly lit. A young girl and woman sit in it. A man is standing outside their cell and nods ad Yuri before opening it for us.

"Thank you," I whisper to him before we walk in. Based on his smile, I don't think he's ever been thanked for something he's done.

The little girl has dark, messy hair, and is mumbling something that sounds like mommy. She sits with her knees to her chest and is rocking herself. The woman is sitting on the other side of the cell, looking sadly at the girl. She has shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She's very pretty.

Yuri's face drops when he sees her, "Where's mommy, baby girl? What did they do with her?"

Zack's eyebrows furrow, "You didn't tell us they took your wife too."

Yuri glares at him, "It wasn't important. Getting my baby back was the priority. My wife would've agreed. She loves her more than anything. Of course I want both of my girls back, but my daughter is all you had to be concerned with."

He looks at his daughter again, "Baby, where's mama?"

She doesn't look up but whispers, "Kill her. Dead. Mommy. They killed mommy. My mommy. She's gone."

Yuri's face noticeably pales at those words. "No," he whispers, sinking to the floor. I can tell he's trying not to cry in front of us.

I don't know how much time we have. We have to get the girl and this other woman out of here. I don't care if they don't know her, we can't just leave her here.

I walk over to the little girl to get her out only to walk into something entirely solid. I stumble back a few feet, confused. I don't see anything there. I slowly put my hand out and it feels like a wall. I feel around, it's a dome. A dome around the girl. Realization falls on me.

"Yuri," my head snaps to him, "When you said she was special...this is what you meant, wasn't it? She can create a forcefield around herself."

Yuri's eyes don't meet my gaze, "Please, you can't tell anyone. She could be in danger if you do."

I smile softly, "I won't tell anyone. I'm like her too. So is Zack. We thought there were others out there, now we've found another one."