Chapter 23
Axel
I walk into our apartment, feet dragging a little, and find Nik slumped on the couch. Elbows on his knees. Head down. Half a bottle of whiskey gone.
“Rough day?” I ask, kicking off my boots.
“Something like that.”
He doesn’t look at me. Doesn’t move when I drop onto the couch beside him.
I rest a hand on his thigh. “Hey. What’s going on?”
He drags in a shaky breath, then finally lifts his eyes. They’re bloodshot, full of pain… and something else. Guilt?
My stomach knots. “You’re scaring me.”
He scrubs a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. “I need to tell you something, but you have to promise not to freak.”
“Okay…” I wait, but he just sits there, words stuck, while my mind races toward every worst-case scenario.
“For fuck’s sake, Nik. Just say it.”
“I found Lina,” he blurts.
The world stops.
“What?” I whisper.
He holds my gaze steady this time. “I found Lina.”
“When? Where?” I can barely get the words out.
He takes my hand. “Tonight. Volk tipped me off about a guy in Atlanta. I pulled surveillance, and there she was.”
One word in that sentence hits like a hammer.
“Volk?” My voice sharpens. “Your dad’s enforcer? Nik… what the actual fuck?”
My voice rises. I yank my hand back and stand.
“It’s not what you think,” Nik says quickly. “I cashed in one favor. For us. For you. We weren’t getting anywhere on our own. You know the connections I have.”
“But they come at a price!” I shout. “How much?”
“What?”
“How much,” I repeat, voice low. “How much of your soul did you sell this time?”
He looks away. “That doesn’t matter right now.”
“The hell it doesn’t. What good is finding Lina if I lose you in the process?”
Nik stands and grabs my hand again, pulling me in close. I want to shove him away, but I don’t. He’s taller than me, more solid. I bury my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in that familiar spiced scent. We just stand there, holding on.
“You’re not going to lose me,” he murmurs. “I promise.”
“You better keep that promise.”
We stay entwined for another minute.
“You want to see the video?”
“Yes.” Of course I want to see it. I haven’t laid eyes on her in eight years. As pissed as I am at Nik, I’m still dying to see her face.
He leads me back to the couch, grabs his laptop, and sets it between us on the coffee table. His fingers hover for a second before hitting play.
We watch as an SUV pulls up to a warehouse. A man gets out first, speaking to someone still inside the vehicle.
“That’s Marcus,” Nik says. “The guy I was tracking.”
“For what?”
“Trafficking. Know the name Walter Rutledge?”
Rutledge... why does that ring—
“Rachel Rutledge.” Fuck. Johnny’s fiancée. My high school mistake. “Walter’s her dad?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s he got to do with this?”
“I’ll explain. Keep watching.”
A minute later, the passenger door opens. A woman steps out. My heart seizes. It’s her. Lina. She looks more grown-up, but there she is. Right fucking there. My throat closes.
“I know,” Nik says quietly. “I couldn’t believe it either.”
Another man exits behind her. He’s tall and built. Watching everything. When his hand goes to her lower back, I see red.
“Who’s that?” I grind out.
“No idea. Maybe security? But they seem familiar. That’s next on my list.”
The clip ends when they enter the building.
“Play it again,” I order.
Nik does. We watch it twice more. The fourth time, I freeze it on her face. She looks so much like the girl we loved, and nothing like her, all at once. This brunette is all woman. Breathtaking features, painted lips, legs for days…
Memories slam into me. Her laugh. The feel of her skin under my hands. The way she looked at us like we hung the stars.
I force a breath in, then out. "Tell me about Walter."
Nik exhales. “It’s bad.”
“How bad?”
“Sex trafficking bad.”
I grimace. “No shit?”
“No shit.”
We sit in silence. The hum of the laptop sounds louder than it should.
“Do you think Johnny knows?” Nik asks.
I drag a hand down my face. “You think he doesn’t?”
His jaw flexes. “Exactly.”
I hesitate, the words sticking in my throat.
“Funny we’re talking about Johnny,” I say finally. “I tried to visit him today.”
Nik’s head snaps toward me. “And?”
“I was denied. My access to his building was pulled.”
He frowns. “Since when?”
I shrug. “Dunno. I haven’t tried to see him since last week. I didn’t even make it out of the lobby. Something’s changed.”
Nik sits back, eyes narrowing. The lines are connecting in both our heads now.
“That can’t be a coincidence,” he mutters.
“It’s not.”
A moment passes between us. Then, Nik leans forward, voice low and sure. “You know what we need to do?”
I meet his eyes.
“Stake out?” I half joke.
“Stake out,” he confirms, dead serious.
And just like that, we’ve got a plan. It’s reckless. It’s probably fucking stupid. But there’s no way in hell I’m sitting on my hands another damn day while Lina’s less than five hours away, wrapped up in this mess.
This time, we finish what we started. We’re going to get her back.
∞∞∞
Fuck stakeouts.
My legs are cramped. I ate all my snacks. I’m pissing in a goddamn Coke bottle.
This isn’t anything like the movies.
“Nik…” I groan.
“What?”
“It’s been six hours. Nothing’s happened.”
We’re parked in a borrowed Bratva car, courtesy of Volk — don’t even get me started on that — half a block from Johnny’s building. The windows are cracked just enough to breathe. The air’s gone stale anyway.
“Axel,” Nik says patiently, eyes still on the building. “If you need a break, go. Grab some burgers or something. I’ve got this.”
God, he’s perfect. What did I do to deserve him?
“If you’re sure...”
“I’m sure.”
Thank fuck. I reach for the door handle—
Nik’s hand clamps around my forearm.
“Someone’s coming out.”
I freeze. We both lean forward, eyes locked on the apartment entrance.
“Nik,” I breathe.
“I know.”
It’s him. The guy from the footage. Mr. tall and built. The one who had his fucking hand on Lina. The one who touched her.
My teeth grind so hard my jaw aches.
“I’ll be damned,” Nik mutters.
“You know what this means?” I rasp.
“Lina could be here,” he says, voice taut.
I’m already reaching for the door again.
“We have to get up there.”
Nik clamps my arm tighter.
“Easy,” he says. “We don’t kick in doors blind. We’ll wait for him to come back, and we’ll corner him, on our terms.”
I blow out a harsh breath, tension coiled tight.
“Fine,” I grit out. “We wait.”
Nik nods once, eyes glued to the door.
My fingers drum against my thigh.
Not if. When.
When that bastard comes back, he’s going to tell us where Lina is.