“You saw him?”
“Yes, partially. The room he’s being held in has a window. I caught a glimpse, I think.”
“So he’s alive?” Jessa asks.
He nods. “It looks like it. But I can’t be sure.”
“Yulian!”
He sighs. “The truth is, he was unconscious, Jessa. He’d been beaten. There was blood everywhere. I’m pretty sure he’s still alive, but we’ll have to get to him fast.”
Jessa grabs my arm immediately. “Anton! Please. We need to leave now. I’ll come with you.”
Protectiveness like a lion roars inside of me. I shake my head. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Fine,” she snaps. “Fine! I’ll stay. But you have to go now. You have to get him before it’s too late. Please, Anton.”
“I’m not leaving you here without real protection, Jessa.”
“I have real protection,” Jessa says, clasping my hand tightly. “Yulian just said he’d stay here with me.”
Yulian nods. “And I’ll keep my entire crew with me. These are all men I’ve vetted and trained myself. They’re the best. No one’s getting past them.”
I’d like to have more time to prepare, but Jessa is right—for this to work, we need to move now. And Yulian has a plan. It’s about time I trusted his instinct.
“Okay, let’s go,” I say, moving back into the room to retrieve my clothes. “Yulian, give the instructions to the men. And get Lev, too.”
He disappears instantly. Jessa just stands at the door, looking lost. I pull on my shirt and walk to her.
“You need to stay here,” I tell her. “In this room.”
She frowns. “The house is safe.”
“Stay in this room,” I repeat. “Bolt the door.”
“Won’t your brother be with me?”
“You don’t need Yulian to protect you, Jessa,” I tell her. “You’re strong enough to protect yourself.”
She smiles shyly. “You really think so?”
“I know so,” I say confidently. “And in case you need a little help, I’ll always have your back.”
I lead her to my bedside drawer and open it up. Inside sits a sleek dagger with an embellished hilt. Jessa sucks in a sharp breath.
“It looks purely decorative, but that blade is deadly. So handle it with care.”
“I won’t need to handle it at all,” she assures me.
“But you need to be ready to, just in case. I want you to feel safe.”
She smiles. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
I take her hand and bring it to my lips. Then I nod towards the knife in the drawer. “Hold it.”
She seems uncertain, but she does as I say and picks up the blade. “It really is beautiful. And I’ve never said that about a weapon before.” She turns it in her hand, and I can tell when she sees the engraving. “You had this engraved?”
I nod. “Can you read it?”