Page 36 of Dark Gambit: The Play

Toven regarded her with a sad smile. "Does he come back with new females?"

She shook her head. "As far as I can tell, there haven't been any new adult females brought into the compound during my lifetime. I might not have been aware of what was going on when I was little, but I'm sure that none were brought in over the last two decades."

Turner closed the microphone before turning to Kian. "Jade's tribe must have been one of the last to get raided. He either didn't need more females or didn't know how to find more tribes."

"What I want to know is how he found the ones he had."

"Maybe they had trackers on them," Turner suggested.

"Then why did he wait so long to raid them? He could've done it decades ago."

"Maybe he was still getting organized and didn't have the means." Turner opened the mic. "Ask her about weapons."

When Julian repeated the question, Sofia shrugged.

"I don't have a clue. The guards at the gates have rifles, but no one carries weapons inside the compound. Their training is old-fashioned. It's hand-to-hand, swords, fangs and claws."

"What about aircraft?" Marcel asked.

"None that I know of. I've never seen one take off or land near or at the compound."

24

MARCEL

It seemed that Turner and Kian had heard enough because Julian tapped the tablet, which was the signal that it was time for a break.

"I think we have all we need for now," the doctor said. "It's getting late, and Sofia needs to return to Safe Haven for the next part of our plan."

"What part?" Sofia asked.

"The part where you feed Igor false information. The first thing you need to do is convince him that you are fine and that you are continuing your investigation. That way, he will not send a rescue team for you, or if he has already done that, then he will call them back."

She snorted. "I very much doubt that. I'm the definition of collateral damage."

"Nonsense," Mia said. "He invested many years in your education. He will not want to lose you."

Sofia's expression brightened a little. "I would like to think that, but you are not going to let me be taken back, right?"

"Do you want to go back?" Mia asked, disbelief coloring her expression.

"If you're asking if I'm eager to live under Igor's rule, the answer is no. Most of my life, I’ve fantasized about a future where I was free to choose the man I wanted to spend my life with, and where I wanted to spend that life." She didn't look at Marcel, but her words cut at his heart nonetheless. "But I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye to my father and my aunts and cousins. I'm going to miss them."

"That's perfectly understandable," Mia said. "But I think they would want you to be free and live your life. They would be happy for you."

Sofia grimaced. "If I don't come back, they will assume that I'm dead."

"We might have to fake your death," Julian said. "We did that for my partner, her mother, and her brother. That was the only way to save them from a Russian oligarch who was after my mate."

Sofia looked at the doctor with a frown. "Did they have to leave family and friends behind?"

He nodded. "My mate had a very good friend who now thinks she's dead, and the same goes for her mother and brother, but they are glad to be free, and they made new friends in our community."

"Will I be welcomed in your community even though my paranormal talent is questionable?"

Toven nodded. "As long as you cooperate with us, you will be welcomed."

Marcel wanted to add that she would be welcomed regardless, but he wasn't sure what Kian's position was on that. She wasn't a random human that Igor had picked up for the job, so they couldn't thrall her to forget what she'd learned and help her settle somewhere else. They would have to invite her into the village, where she would basically live out her life as a prisoner.