40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Elise
My screams are muffled as Alexander drags me through his home with his hand over my mouth. His grip is too strong for me to break free, no matter how much I thrash and scream. I’ve never felt so desperate, not even under Luca’s roof.
Alexander drags me into his office, his hold remaining around me as he reaches for a switch near his desk. And the moment he releases my mouth, I scream.
“Luca! Luca, I’m in here! Save me—agh!” The world blacks out for a split second as Alexander hits me across the face. My feet stumble, and I am unable to hold myself up, collapsing right next to his desk as the world spins. My limbs won’t listen to me. I can’t open my mouth, I can’t even stand as the large painting behind his desk lifts, revealing the door to what appears to be a safe room.
“Ngh,” I groan as I try to crawl away, but Alexander grips me roughly around the ankle, dragging me across the floor. He roughly lifts me up, throwing me into the panic room. My stomach dips as I miss the first few steps of the stairs, and I crash to the cement floor below. I look up just as Alexander stands in the doorway, watching me with an evil glint in his eyes.
“This room is soundproof. It can only be opened from the outside if whoever is inside doesn’t know the code. Make enough noise and maybe he’ll hear you. Or maybe the six feet of concrete will make it difficult for him,” he chuckles.
“No!” I scramble up the steps, stumbling as he pulls the heavy door shut, locking me in.
“Fuck you!” I screech, banging my hands against the metal. Tears spill down my cheeks as I frantically scream for Luca, my hands burning in pain from the consistent hits. I slowly sink to the floor, sobbing at how close yet far I am from being rescued.
An electronic whirring pulls my attention.
At the bottom of the steps, deeper into the safe room, another painting slowly lifts, revealing a screen with Alexander’s study on it. Live.
My heart beats against my chest as I slowly approach to see Luca walking in the room. He isn’t alone. Romelo is with him. He looks apathetic as he glares at Alexander. And just as Alexander presses something on his desk does sound filter into the room.
“Luca Pasquino. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Luca
Alexander Volski is a miserable man. And as I step through his home, I realize I’ve never met someone who lacks so much personality. It also makes me realize how much warmth and life Elise brought to our home.
Alexander and I grew up together. And we’ve always hated each other—that’s a fact. He doesn’t work in the same circles as me. He’s in a smaller, less powerful ring. But anytime a family falls, Alexander is in the midst of it, hoping to steal whatever power is left for himself. He and the Sokolov’s have always worked in close quarters, which is why it took me taking Ivan’s eye just to get a list of the bidders from Elise’s auction.
Alexander’s name was third on the list. But I wouldn’t put it past him to have taken Elise. He’s always coveted everything that I have. And I pray he doesn’t have Elise. He is known for his brutality. And not to people, to women specifically. He has an odd obsession with it, known in worst cases for sending them to the hospital.
As I step into his office, I note that there isn’t a hair out of place, nothing signifying if Elise is here or not—all the more reason to suspect him.
“Luca Pasquino. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he asks.
I roll my eyes at his tone as I sit in the seat across from his desk to study him. His shirt is slightly wrinkled, but other than that, nothing is out of place. Even his breathing is even.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the news about my wife,” I say, studying his reaction.
He doesn’t flinch, clicking his tongue at me in disappointment. “You should be more cautious with something so precious to you, Luca. You know this is a dangerous world we live in,” he says.
I fight the urge to punch his teeth in as he smiles at me.
“As it turns out, she was at the Sokolov’s auction house at the same time you were,” I say.
Alexander shrugs.
“It isn’t a secret that I frequent the auction house… nor are my reasons,” he chuckles, standing. I watch him carefully as he moves to the small bar, pouring himself a glass of scotch.
“Nor is it a secret that you were part of the private auction she was thrown into,” I say, standing.
His unbothered facade remains as he watches me cross the room, taking a sip of his drink.
“There’s a list, you say, meaning there are others on that list?” he asks.
He takes in my silence, laughing. “This is sad, even for you, Luca. Have you bothered with the other names on this list?” he asks, chuckling.
He’s deflecting.
“Yes,” is all I say.
Silence passes between us, and I make sure to keep my eyes lined to his. It’s making him uneasy.
He laughs.
“All this paranoia is getting to you, huh? Hard to trust these days, especially with everything happening within your own ranks. Can’t say I wasn’t disappointed when Eli’s blood failed to kill you. Who knows, maybe she still can from the grave,” he says, hoping to get a rise out of me.
But I keep myself calm, focusing on his reactions.
“You know, now that I think of it, I did see your wife.” His smile grows as he speaks. “You should have seen her there with that lingerie on… she did look good enough to fuck but you and I both know I need more to get it going. I did try, to be honest. But some lucky bastard outbid me. Seems they were willing to pay a hefty price even with your name carved into her supple flesh,” he laughs, stepping away from me.
I know he is trying to get a rise out of me, but the more he speaks, the less control I have over myself.
“Too bad I couldn’t get a hold of her. I would have enjoyed beating her within an inch of her life as she begged for you to come to her rescue—”
My fist is smashing into the side this face before he can finish his sentence. As he stumbles, I grip him by his shoulder, throwing him back into the bar before pressing my forearm into his throat. I pull out my blade, plunging it into his shoulder, twisting it for good measure as he cries out in pain.
“You crazy fu—aargh!” he cries out as I twist the knife.
I lean in closer to him, my eyes lined with his as I speak.
“I’m sure I don’t have to explain how fucked you are if you are the one who won that bid, do I?” I ask.
He turns pale, his eyes widening as he finally drops his shitty facade.
“I didn’t take her, you crazy bastard,” he grits through bloody teeth.
I reach above him, grabbing the decanter of scotch, pouring it over the knife wound. He screams in pain, and I watch in pleasure.
I place my finger against the tip of the knife, and he jerks in pain.
“If you took my wife, if you laid one finger on her…I’ll fucking show you crazy,” I say.
I stand, watching him in irritation. I don’t trust that he didn’t take her. I smile, pointing to my blade as I leave.
“Keep it as a reminder,” I call to him as I make my way to the door. I yank it open, and Romelo follows closely behind.
“Keep an eye out,” I murmur as we walk through the halls.
As we pass the dining room, Alexander’s staff is cleaning. I also notice that there is more than one plate on the table.
We finally reach the front door, and I step out into the cold. The bastard lives in the mountains away from any and all civilization, making it difficult to even spy on him. If he is hiding something, this is the perfect place to do it.
“We’ll wait at the bottom of the mountain. I want eyes wherever we can get them. I don’t trust him, and we are running out of time,” I say to Romelo in irritation.
Pretty soon, I will have to leave this search to my men. I’ve been away from my duties for too long. And between this and whatever trouble is coming our way from Arianna’s involvement, I am stretched too thin. And once I return to my duties, I might as well kiss ever finding Elise goodbye.