Capture Me: The Complete Trilogy

Chapter 25

25Lucas

I have a shitload to do before we depart tomorrow morning, but I go to the gym because I can’t focus on anything, my thoughts occupied by Yulia and the agony in her gaze.

As I pummel the sandbag, I try to push away images of her sitting there, so distant and wounded. She looked at me like I betrayed her—like I hurt her beyond belief.

The bag sways from side to side as I ram my fists into it, landing one hard blow after another. The idea of her feeling betrayed by me makes me want to beat someone to a pulp. What the f**k did she expect? That she’d give me a couple of blow jobs and I’d happily save her lover? That I wouldn’t question her desire to spare this Misha’s life?

An innocent, she called him, as if that would matter to me. As far as I’m concerned, the man deserves to die for nothing more than touching her. Add to that his being part of UUR, and he’ll be lucky if I kill him quickly.

“Lucas. Hey, man. Are you almost done?”

Diego’s question interrupts my mindless punching spree. Wiping sweat from my forehead, I turn to see the young Mexican standing there, his gloves already prepped. Behind him are a couple more guards waiting their turn.

Judging by the looks on their faces and the soreness in my knuckles, I must’ve been working off my anger for quite some time.

“It’s all yours,” I say, forcing myself to step away from the sandbag. “Go ahead.”

As I leave the gym, I debate going back to my house to take a shower, but I’m not calm enough to face Yulia yet. So instead, I make my way to Esguerra’s mansion to use the shower by the pool. He keeps a stash of T-shirts there in case of any unexpected bloody business, and I grab one of them to change into when I’m clean.

I rinse quickly, and as I’m pulling on my shorts and a fresh T-shirt, I catch a glimpse of a familiar dark-haired figure hurrying into the house.

Rosa.

I’d all but forgotten about the maid. She must’ve taken my words to heart, as I haven’t seen her since our talk in Esguerra’s kitchen. Hopefully, I didn’t hurt the girl too badly, but it couldn’t be helped. I didn’t want her lurking anywhere near Yulia.

Feeling marginally calmer after my hard workout, I head to Esguerra’s office for a call with the Israeli intelligence agency.

We spend the next two hours talking with the Mossad about the recent developments in Syria and the rest of the Middle East. As the call wraps up, I consider telling Esguerra what I’ve uncovered about UUR so far, but decide it’s not the right time. I’ll speak to him about Yulia and her agency when we return from Chicago. By then, I should have more concrete information, as the hackers are finally having some success sifting through the coded data in the Ukrainian government’s files.

After the call is done, Esguerra and I go over last-minute logistics for tomorrow’s trip.

“When we land, we’re going to go straight to Nora’s parents’ house,” Esguerra says. “They want to see her right away, even if it means a late dinner.”

I’m long past wondering about the insanity of this trip, so I just say, “All right. I’ll be with the guard detail tomorrow night to make sure everyone knows what they’re doing.”

“Good.” Esguerra pauses for a second. “You know Rosa is coming with us, right?”

I actually didn’t know that. “She is? Why?”

“Nora wants her company.”

“Okay.” I don’t see how that changes anything. Unless… “Do I need to bring extra men to look out for her, or will she be with you and Nora most of the time?”

“She’ll be with us.” Esguerra seems vaguely amused. “All right, then, sounds like we’re all set. I’ll see you on the plane tomorrow.”

“See you,” I say, and head over to the guards’ barracks for my meeting with Diego and Eduardo—the two guards I’m appointing as Yulia’s jailers in my absence.

“Walk me through it again,” I tell Eduardo after I give him and Diego the full list of instructions concerning my captive. “How many times will you visit my house to let her use the bathroom and stretch her legs?”

The Colombian rolls his eyes. “Three times in addition to releasing her during meals. We got it, Kent, I promise.”

“And what will you do if she attempts to escape?”

“We’ll restrain her, but not harm her in any way,” Diego says, his lips twitching with amusement. “You’ve got to chill out, man. We understand. We’re not going to touch a hair on her head other than to make sure she doesn’t go anywhere. She’s going to have her books, her TV shows, and yes, I’ll take her out for a walk once a day.”

“And we’ll keep our mouths shut about the whole thing,” Eduardo adds, parroting my exact words. “Nobody will hear a peep about your spy princess from us.”

“Good.” I give them a hard look. “And food?”

“We’ll bring her products from the main house and let her cook them,” Diego says, openly grinning now. “She’ll be the most well-fed, well-entertained prisoner in existence.”

I ignore his ribbing. “And at night?”

“I will shackle her wrist to the metal post you installed by the bed,” Eduardo says. “And I will not lay a hand on her. It’ll be as if she’s a sack of potatoes—but a really important one,” he adds quickly when my hand tightens into a fist. “Seriously, Kent, I’m just kidding. We’re going to take good care of your girl, I promise. You know you can trust us.”

I do know that. That’s why I chose them for this task. Both guards have been working here for the past two years, and they’ve proven their loyalty. They might find my orders amusing, but they’ll do as I say.

Yulia will be safe with them.

“Okay,” I say, nodding at them. “In that case, I will see you both tomorrow morning. Be at my house at nine sharp.”

And leaving the guards’ barracks, I go to the training field to check on our new recruits.