Chapter 83
The hum of the yacht’s engine was the only sound that filled the tense air. Dimitri stood on deck, his gaze fixed on the horizon, his brow furrowed in concentration. Celestina could see the weight of their situation bearing down on him, and it only added to her growing anxiety.
“Dimitri,” she said softly, approaching him. “Do you really think Kael will find us?”
“He won’t stop until he does,” Dimitri replied, his voice grim. He turned to one of his crew members. “How far are we from the diversion point?”
“About 15 minutes, sir,” the man replied.
Dimitri nodded and turned back to Celestina. “We can’t stay on the yacht. It’s too big, too easy to track. We’re switching to a smaller boat to throw him off.”
Her chest tightened at his words. “You think he’s already following us?”
Dimitri’s jaw tightened. “I know he is. Kael doesn’t leave anything to chance.”
Celestina wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady her nerves. The realization that Kael’s reach extended even to the open sea was suffocating. “He always seems to be one step ahead,” she whispered.
“Not this time,” Dimitri said firmly. “We’ll stay ahead of him, no matter what it takes.”
Fifteen minutes later, the crew docked the yacht near a secluded inlet. Dimitri’s men worked quickly, lowering a smaller, faster boat into the water.
“Grab only what you need,” Dimitri told Celestina as he handed her a bag. “We’re leaving the rest behind.”
Celestina glanced back at the yacht, her heart heavy with the thought of abandoning it. “What if they find it?”
“They will,” Dimitri said simply. “That’s the point. It’ll slow them down while we disappear.”
She climbed into the smaller boat with Dimitri, and they set off, the cool spray of the sea hitting her face as the boat sped through the water. The night was dark, the stars above providing little comfort.
Hours later, with the adrenaline beginning to fade, Celestina sat quietly beside Dimitri as one of his men steered the boat. The chaos of their escape had left little room for reflection, but now, in the stillness, the weight of everything crashed down on her.
“I don’t know how you do this,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Dimitri looked at her, his expression softening. “Do what?”
“Live like this,” she said, gesturing to the sea around them. “Constantly running, never knowing who to trust.”
Dimitri leaned back, his gaze thoughtful. “It wasn’t always like this. Before Kael, before all of this… I thought I had a future that made sense.” He paused, his eyes locking onto hers. “That future included you.”
Celestina’s breath caught, and for a moment, she couldn’t look away. “Dimitri…”
“I never stopped caring about you,” he continued, his voice raw. “Even when I was forced to disappear, even when I knew it would hurt you. Every decision I made was to protect you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I thought you were gone. I thought I lost you forever. And then Kael… he was there, and I—” She broke off, her voice cracking.
“You don’t have to explain,” Dimitri said gently. “Kael played his cards well. He made you believe he was the answer when he was the problem all along.”
Celestina nodded, wiping her tears. “I don’t trust him anymore. Not even a little. Every word he says feels like a lie, and I hate that I didn’t see it sooner.”
“You see it now,” Dimitri said, his voice steady. “And that’s all that matters.”
As the night wore on, one of Dimitri’s crew members approached him with a grim expression.
“We have a problem,” the man said quietly.
“What is it?” Dimitri asked, standing up.
“There’s chatter from my contacts,” the man explained. “Kael’s men are closing in. They’re tracking us somehow.”
Dimitri frowned, his jaw tightening. “How close?”
“Too close for comfort,” the man admitted.
Celestina’s stomach dropped. “How are they finding us? We destroyed the tracking device.”
Dimitri didn’t respond immediately. His eyes swept over the crew, his expression hardening. “It’s possible someone here is feeding him information.”
Celestina’s heart sank. “You think someone on the boat is working for Kael?”
“It’s possible,” Dimitri said, his voice low. “We can’t rule it out.”
The thought made her skin crawl. If Kael had infiltrated even Dimitri’s trusted crew, it meant they were more vulnerable than she realized.
“We have to keep moving,” Dimitri said later as they huddled over a map of the Adriatic Sea. He pointed to a small mark near Montenegro. “There’s a safe house here. An ally of mine can help us regroup and plan our next move.”
Celestina nodded, her hands clenched into fists. “How far is it?”
“About eight hours,” Dimitri replied. “But we’re running out of time. If Kael finds us before we reach it…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
“We’ll make it,” Celestina said, her voice stronger than she felt. “We have to.”
As the first light of dawn began to creep over the horizon, Celestina stood at the edge of the boat, staring out at the open water. The air was crisp, the sound of the waves lulling her into a brief moment of calm.
But then she saw it.
A bright red flare shot into the sky, its glow stark against the soft hues of morning.
“What is that?” she asked, her voice sharp.
Dimitri joined her, his face darkening as he followed her gaze. “It’s Kael.”
Celestina’s heart sank. “A signal?”
Dimitri nodded. “It means he’s found us.”
