Chapter Twelve
VIKTOR
I HAD CALLED MIKHAIL to meet me in New York. I was starting to wonder who I could trust within my organization, and the only place I felt safe enough to talk with him privately was at my home. Someone here or in Detroit was helping Vincent get a supply of drugs and hiding him somewhere. I was sure he hadn’t given up on finding Gabriella and making her pay for the things she had supposedly done to him.
I had grown very fond of my malyshka . I saw her as my baby girl after everything she had been through, some of it due to my men and myself. I had vowed to Nico and Hudson that I would protect her. And I would make good on that promise, find Vincent, and wipe him off the face of the earth. I just needed Mikhail to understand why I was doing this. He knew about some of the situation, but until now, I had refrained from telling him everything. I needed him behind me now, so it was time to tell him the truth.
A knock at my office door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Come in.”
I stood as Mikhail walked into my office. I walked over to him and placed my arms around him to greet him as usual. Not many people knew that we were half-brothers who shared the same father. We kept this piece of information close to our chests because we found that our men would entrust us to information they perhaps wouldn’t if they knew the truth.
“Brother, it is good to see you. Come sit with me.”
Mikhail followed me over to the corner of the office and sat down in one of the chairs. I poured us both a whiskey. Contrary to popular belief, most Russians didn’t drink vodka, although there were still those who liked to follow the stereotype. I passed him his drink and sat down.
“It’s good to see you too, Viktor. However, why have you dragged me here? Couldn’t this have been discussed over the phone?”
“I wish it could. I think someone either here or in Detroit is getting information and drugs to Vincent. Currently, I don’t know who it is. I have my suspicions, but until I know for sure, I need to keep my cards close to my chest.”
I immediately saw his demeanor change when I mentioned that we had a traitor within our ranks. We prided ourselves on the loyalty of our men, the same as Nico did with his men, and knowing that we had someone giving information to Vincent was a worry for both of us.
“Even so, why am I here?”
“We need to find Vincent. I am certain he is going after Gabriella to make her pay for leaving him and moving in with Hudson and Nico.”
I saw him roll his eyes. He had never really gotten along well with Hudson or Nico. He didn’t think we needed them. I knew differently. I understood having friendships with other families helped us both.
“So what does that have to do with us? That’s Nico’s problem, not ours.”
I could feel my anger start to rise. Mikhail didn’t know how special she had become to me. I saw her as the daughter I lost so many years ago. Something about her made me want to protect her, with my life if I had to.
“Look, Viktor, I know that she is good in the bedroom, but that is no reason for us to get involved. We did what we had to do and now leave her to them.”
“Don’t you dare speak of Gabriella that way again! You don’t know what she has been through. Not everything.”
Mikhail almost sank into the chair as I shouted at him. I was the eldest of us, and therefore held the most respect. He would always question my motives, but once I had made a decision, he would abide by it.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost it like that, but when I tell you this, you will understand. I have seen a lot of Gabriella recently and gotten to know and care about her. I told you how Vincent treated her, but there is more to the story.”
I went on to explain everything. How he had gotten her pregnant three times and then caused the three miscarriages that she’d had. Mikhail’s face morphed from shock to horror to pure hatred and anger. I knew now that I would have him on my side no matter what.
“I was part of that pain as well, wasn’t I? I may not have treated her badly, but the men I had with me did. I’m not sure if I can forgive myself now that I know the truth.”
I knew he would blame himself for part of it, but I hoped that blame would manifest itself in finding and dealing with Vincent.
I took his hand in mine. “Neither of us can change Malyshka’s past. However, we can change her future, one where she doesn’t have to keep looking behind her to see if Vincent is there. I need your help. We need to find him before he gets to her. I will never forgive myself if anything happens to her.”
I saw him raise his eyebrows when I called Gabriella by my pet name. If he didn’t realize before, he should know now how much she meant to me.
He smiled and nodded. “I understand. I know how difficult it was for you to lose Anastasia and Katerina.”
It was still painful to hear the names of my wife and daughter. Even after all these years, I couldn’t put their death behind me. I guessed that was why I wanted to help Gabriella so much. She was around the age my daughter would have been, and she reminded me so much of her.
He squeezed my hand as I sat there, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. “I will help you any way I can, brother. In fact, I did hear a rumor just before I left Detroit. His business is failing in a big way. No one knows where he is, and the money in the company account is going down quickly.”
I knew he wasn’t in Detroit or New York, but his location was still a mystery. That was what we needed to find out.
“One of his staff members did speak to me, though,” Mikhail continued. “She had my number because I was often at the company, arranging our liaisons at the club, shall we say. She’d asked if I had called the other day, as a Russian man had been asking for him and how they could get a hold of him. She mentioned that whoever it was had said he had found a place for Vincent in Maine, and asked if he could call him.”
Maine was a vague description of where Vincent could be hiding. Nevertheless, it was a start. Also, some of the smaller towns were only a few hours away by car, so it would be possible to get to New York and back in a day, which meant my thoughts were very possible.
“I think I need to let Nico know. At least they can be vigilant. I know he is doing his own investigation, despite my requesting not to. I really don’t want anything to happen to Nico that would take him away from Gabriella. He has always been very respectful and never crossed our path unless he needed to.”
Mikhail looked at me with skepticism.
“What’s that look for? You may have had issues with him in the past, but have you ever thought that might have something to do with how your acquaintances treat women?”
His face fell again. He knew I was right. If anything else came out of this, I hoped it would be that he would make his friends treat women with more respect. I knew he did, but he allowed his associates to do whatever they wanted. If they were true subs like Gabriella, then they would do whatever their master told them.
“I know you are right. He has never caused me any problems except in the club. Do you want me to call him?”
I shook my head. “I think it is best that I do that. We just need to keep looking and find Vincent before Nico does, or before Vincent does something stupid. When we do find him, though, I will be the one to deal with it. I want to see him in pain for a long time before he leaves this world. I owe that to Gabriella.”
“I understand. I will keep the investigation going. I trust the men I am using and am sure none of them are involved. However, if I do hear of anything, I will let you know immediately. Apart from that, I assume it is business as usual?”
I nodded. Everything needed to remain the same so no one got any idea of what we were doing in the background, especially whoever was helping Vincent.
With that confirmation, Mikhail stood and we said our goodbyes. As soon as he left my office, I pulled out my personal phone. Very few people had this number, not even my own men. Mikhail did, and so did Nico. I dialed Nico’s number and waited for him to answer.
“Viktor. To what do I owe this pleasure, and on your personal phone too?”
I loved how Nico could be both nice and sarcastic in one sentence.
“I wanted to make sure that no one knew about this conversation. I’ll be honest with you, Nico. I think I have someone here helping Vincent and providing him with drugs. I’m not sure if my office or office cellphone is being bugged. No one here knows about this phone, so I don’t think anyone would be able to bug it.”
I knew what I was risking telling Nico this, but he needed to know the truth, especially as someone could have been doing the same to his phone lines.
“Fuck, that’s serious. Do you have any idea who it could be?”
“I do have some ideas, but I want to make sure before I take action. That is only one of the reasons why I am calling you.”
I went on to explain everything we knew about Vincent and the fact that he was only around five hours away from NYC. I needed him to know so he would protect Gabriella at all costs.
“Thanks for letting us know, Viktor. I really appreciate it.”
“Just make sure you look after my malyshka. If anything happens to her, I will hold you personally responsible.”
I heard him laugh at the end of the phone. He knew I was only half-joking with him. I knew he would give his own life for Gabriella, the same as Hudson. If anything did happen to her, it wouldn’t be their fault.
“You know I would die for her, Viktor. If I cause her to be hurt in any way, I give my personal permission to make me pay for it. You know we can’t thank you enough for what you have done for Rosa. You have become the father figure she has always needed in her life. Now I need to talk to Hudson and my men to make sure we have everything covered, just in case Vincent tries anything.”
“I’ll let you go and will update you as soon as I hear anything more. Send my love to my malyshka for me.”
“I will. Talk soon.”
With that, he ended the call.
I just hoped we could get to Vincent before he did anything.