Chapter 26
Leon
After another sleepless night, I’m back at my public office, sneering at the sight of my desk.
I would have already changed it if not for the desperate connection to that piece of furniture.
Even though it’s exactly what I hate about it, it’s still the place I see her the clearest. I start my day with a shot of rakia, something that has become a habit ever since I realized she played me.
Williams arrives bright and early, the hair on his upper lip trembling with nerves. He clears his throat. “Dominik told me you wanted to see me.”
“I do. Please take a seat.” He lowers into a chair. “Can I offer you a drink?”
“No, thank you. It’s still early for me.” He politely declines.
I suppress a roll of my eyes. It’s never too early when your life is falling apart. I would argue that it’s hard to start drinking early enough to forget about that minor fact. Still, I respect his decision and pour myself another glass.
“Dom must have told you about a man we need intel on. One of your own.”
He lets out a shaky breath, interlacing his fingers in his lap. “He did.”
I lean into my chair. “Tell me all about Robert Welding.”
He looks to both sides as if checking if someone’s listening before speaking, “I-I don’t know much.” My eyebrows lift. “But I know he has gotten to his position mighty fast. It’s unheard of for a man of his age to be a deputy chief.”
I give him a small nod to urge him on.
“There’s also…talks. About him being involved with some shady business. Paying people to shut their mouths, even shutting them up in other ways.”
It’s obvious he’s afraid of the guy. And Williams has worked with us for years. He has seen some shit. “There’s a file I need you to look into. Most of it is sealed. I need the full file.” From the first drawer of my desk, I extract the manila folder that caused me so much pain.
“How soon do you need it?” he asks.
“Yesterday.”
He nods profusely. “I’ll do my best. But I need to cover my tracks.” He slips the folder into his jacket and lifts from the chair.
“Speaking of covering tracks… We have a big job coming up soon. I’ll need your help on that.”
“Of course. You just let me know the details.”
We shake hands, and Williams leaves my office. I use my desk phone to order a coffee. I should probably eat, too, so I order a meal from the breakfast menu.
My fork dances around the plate as I force myself to eat. I’m about halfway done with my meal when Dom greets me with his presence. Just by the tight set of his massive shoulders, I know he’s about to tell me something I won’t like. Again.
“Spill it,” I say, taking a big gulp of coffee.
“I just spoke to Andre. He says that Alex hasn’t left the apartment in days. She also hasn’t turned on any lights.” My eyebrows raise. “In two days.”
“Jebemu mater.” Motherfucker. I finish the coffee in a single sip and button the jacket of my suit while getting up from the chair. “Let’s fucking go.”
One thing about Dom is he’s always ready for anything. He doesn’t bat an eye when I change all our plans for today and stomps to our car in the garage. He weaves through traffic like a professional driver as I try to check my emails, with my thoughts barely present.
We double-park across from the building where Alex was staying.
The same building Luka kidnapped her cousin in front of.
It takes Dom two seconds to get us inside the building.
Mailboxes line the right wall of the hallway, brown paint chipping at the corners.
I find the one marked ‘Landers’ and push the small door with my finger.
I don’t see much, but there’s obviously some mail inside.
Dom leads us to the third floor and stops outside apartment marked 301. He gets to work on the lock, while I slip my hands into my pockets, watching him work.
I used to pick locks, too. We’ve learned to do all the dirty work ourselves while growing up, but I never found much joy in it. Luka would laugh if he saw I needed Dom to pick open a lock. Fuck, no matter how much he used to annoy me, I miss the motherfucker.
The door creaks as Dom lets us inside, and immediately I know she’s not here.
I don’t know why — her clothes are strewn all around the place — but a part of me knows she’s not here.
Walking inside, I lift a red dress from the back of the couch and rub the smooth fabric between my fingers, imagining her wearing it.
The next thing that catches my eye is a fist-sized pink rock on the side table next to the couch.
I guess it’s one of the crystals she was telling me about.
Fuck, it feels like years have passed since she told me I should get one to help with productivity.
Dom does a quick sweep of the place, confirming what I already knew. She’s not here.
Taking the gemstone with me, I stumble into the kitchen, where I open the wooden box labeled bread. A small piece of bread is inside, green with mold.
“She must have left days ago.”
The tiny flames of anger that crackled under the surface bubble to the top. “How the fuck did she leave with Andre keeping an eye on her?” This isn’t his first rodeo, for fuck’s sake.
“I have no fucking clue,” he responds, getting back into the hallway and checking for other exits. “There’s a fire exit. But she would still have to pass his car in the street. She’s difficult to miss.”
I grit my teeth at Dom’s insinuation that she’s too hot not to notice, even though I’m living proof of it. Reaching him, I glance at the fire escape, calculating the possible scenarios. “Someone experienced could’ve done it.”
And that’s the truth, isn’t it? I still see Alex as a fragile, vulnerable woman, not as a career criminal.
“Yeah, probably.” Dom adds.
“It goes without saying I want her found as soon as possible. Put a word out on both of her names.” If she’s any good, she has more than one fake name and more than one fake ID.
Judging by the way she played poker, we’ll have no chance of finding her.
My fist wraps around the crystal tightly, and I hurl it at the floor.
It shatters into a thousand pieces. “Fuck,” I mutter, regretting it instantly.
My insides boil with rage. She played me again. But there’s one more emotion battling for dominance — fear. If the police are looking for her, who knows who else is? I’m the only one who can hurt her… and protect her. I can’t let anyone else get to her first.