Chapter 254. In Pursuit

Lucien

Miles away in Europe.

Broodingly, Lucien studied the photo he carried on his phone. It showed his family, his lovely wife and the six children. It was not a formal snap; Schwartz had taken the picture soon after Proserpina had been rescued. Proserpina looked exhausted but so achingly lovely that he swore he just wanted to get back and hold her in his arms, see his beloved children. her long hair unbound, those full breasts with their dark-hued peaks, barely visible through the fine material of her lace blouse, dimpling as she held their triplets in her arms, leaning back in their bed. Ria, Piers, and Claude were also beside her.

He swore again, as he knew it was a distant dream.

It had been a month, and he was still counting. The slippery, elusive Dmitri Rudenko had given him the slip and disappeared into the mountains, yet again.

***

Schwartz entered the small bedroom where Lucien stood, staring out at the white, snow-cove