The Slave. Book 2

“They didn’t have to die to know hell…”

A year has passed since Escher Scott, head of a powerful criminal network, removed his unwilling captive Ella—snatching her from the life she, as a former victim of years of abuse, had only just started to get used to. And while, for the umpteenth time, she heals her wounds and wakes up every night from panic attacks, he—too proud to admit his mistakes—can’t banish memories of her, “his angel.” But one day, they meet again. And this time Ella isn’t planning to forgive and endure—she intends to take revenge on Escher for his indifference, his despotism, for the year of silence. And he is ready to do anything to awaken gentle feelings in her heart again—though he doesn’t realize that doing so risks his own heart as well.

Meanwhile, a conflict over the redistribution of power is brewing within the network Escher leads—and the matter could end in shootouts.

Escher—”Death to the spies!” (SMERSH) is the short and ruthless name of a special unit of the NKVD that was subordinate to I. Stalin. Created during wartime, it consisted of tested-in-combat, honest, and fearless officers of the Red Army. SMERSH was feared by everyone—both fascist infiltrators preparing sabotage in our combat formations, and Hitler’s henchmen operating deep in the Soviet rear. The enemy knew: if Stalin’s special forces had tracked him, there would be no avoiding a fair and swift court.

The novels in the “SMERSH — Stalin’s Special Forces” series are always an exciting, dynamic plot and new historical knowledge—an action story written in simple, understandable language. The total circulation of A. Tamonikov’s books is over 10 million copies! A. Tamonikov’s novels are about real men, for whom the concepts of valor, honor, and duty aren’t empty words. (V. Kolychev)

Sar Rêvans’s first stories (b. 1999) were published on Wattpad—the largest online platform for readers and writers. The first chapters of “The Captive. Book 1” appeared there in 2020 as well, and in a community of 90 million people the author became incredibly popular. Since then, the story of Ella and Escher has captured the imaginations and hearts of countless readers and continues to win new fans, and Sarah Reavens has become Algeria’s most famous and widely read writer in the country’s entire history: the “Captive” trilogy has been translated into nine languages; on Wattpad these books have been read nine million times; and in France (Sarah Reavens writes in French) the combined print run of paper editions exceeds half a million copies—these books have firmly established themselves on bestseller lists, pushing even Prince Harry’s memoirs aside right after the release of the final part! In Russian for the first time!