She inched ever closer to the path in the woods. When she reached the hillside, her shouts might carry across the water. George might hear her.

But first, she had to make it through the woods to the open hillside.

Movement caught her eye as a man emerged from behind a tree. Without hesitation, she turned and ran for the path.

But the man was faster than she’d imagined possible, and he was on her in seconds.

She screamed as loud as she could as he overtook her and slammed her to the ground.

She landed on her belly and fear shot through her. The fetus was larger now. She was ever so slightly showing. Had it been hurt by the impact with the ground?

She screamed until a hand slammed over her mouth.

“Shut up,” the man said in a heavy Russian accent, confirming her worst fear.

She bit his hand as hard as she could, determined to take a finger off if possible.

This wasn’t a time for squeamishness. Not if she wanted to live.

He howled with pain and pulled his hand away. She felt a blow to the back of her head—a backhanded slap. He cursed and said, “Cooperate, bitch, or I’ll make this more painful.”

She bucked against him and he backhanded her again. Harder this time.

Her head swam.

She stopped fighting. She needed to think. Needed time.

Xavier would be here soon.

She cleared her throat and said, “Mikhail, I presume.” She tried to sound confident, but her voice came out shaky.

“Good. You know who I am.” He stood and yanked her to her feet, twisting her around to face him. “But do you know why I plan to kill you?”

Her head swam again at being forced to her feet so quickly. Her knees wobbled. “Because you’re a mercenary and are being paid?”

“Oh no. I kill you for free.”

“Oh goody. I’m flattered. Usually, mercenaries are so discriminating.”

He slapped her, but she didn’t care. Slapping wasn’t shooting. Slapping her face didn’t hurt the baby.

“At the start of the siege, I told my men to let you live. Women weren’t to be part of our conflict. We never kill women or children.”

“How moral of you.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

“But then I read your letter and realized you were the answer to my prayers. I was hired by Katerina’s father to exact revenge on the SEALs who botched her rescue. Your letter told me I could exact revenge of my own. You see, Katerina was pregnant with my child when your lover killed her. Shot her in the belly.”

Another wave of dizziness hit her, and this time, she wasn’t even sure why.

She gathered her wits and asked the crucial question. “How could you even know that?”

Behind her, she heard Xavier say, “Because he was there.”