Chapter 4 #2
“Bright side,” I laugh a little. “No risk of pregnancy. ”
He doesn’t laugh back and I tense, worried that I made some jump, like he’d even want to have real sex with me. I open my mouth to tell him to forget it, when he answers. “You’d make the most beautiful babies, Ava.”
The words I’d been about to say die on my tongue, as I picture myself holding a baby of my own. Suddenly this deep longing fills me that I didn’t even know existed. It chokes me with emotion. “I don’t know if I could ever…”
“Be kind to yourself and take it one experience at a time.”
Does that mean we might do this again? I don’t ask, I don’t want to put any pressure on him. But all at once, I realize, I am going to have to see him again. “Thank you.” But I can hear the hesitation in my own voice and he hears it too.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… is this going to make working together weird?” I ask, wincing.
“Not at all,” he answers easily, confidence making his tone smooth.
We talk for a few more minutes, until I’ve relaxed again, stopped worrying that I’ve made a terrible mistake and then we hang up the phone.
I lay there, half asleep after the amazing orgasm, knowing that I should get up, brush my teeth, and go to bed.
If Dimitri were here, would he pick me up and carry me? The fantasy doesn’t frighten me.
He looks so strong, I bet he could do it easily. And in my fantasy, instead of being afraid, I feel so safe and protected in his arms.
My eyes slide closed, I’m so relaxed, I know I’m going to fall asleep right here on the couch.
That’s when my phone rings again.
I jolt awake, a smile playing at my lips. It’s Dimitri. I know it.
But when I pick up my phone, it isn’t Dimitri’s name I see on the screen but Steve Imperian’s. My investigator.
My brow furrows as I quickly pick up the phone. “Steve?”
“Hey, Ava,” he says but he doesn’t sound happy. I can already tell something is wrong.
“Did you find something? ”
“Yeah,” his voice drops low, a wince lacing the single word. “I was able to track Cadence to a last known location.”
“What does that mean?”
He lets out a long breath of resignation. “Three days ago, she stepped into a Bratva whorehouse. Well technically, it’s a sex club, but that’s kind of the same thing. Crazy state we live in.”
“What?” I cry weakly. Those words don’t even make sense.
“She wasn’t struggling. I know that. She walked in of her own free will. But while several people saw her go in, no one saw her come out.”
“A whorehouse? But why?” A lead brick sits in my stomach as I sit up. “She wouldn’t…”
Did Cadence sell herself? Was she in trouble? Is she still? Is she alive?
“I can’t find any record of debt. And no drug dealer she owed, so I can’t tell you why.
But what I do know is the place is owned by a high-up Bratva captain, his father rumored to be the leader of a major Russian family.
If she’s still there, I won’t be able to touch her, Ava, and neither will the police. ”
I try to breathe but the air is ragged as it passes my throat to fill my lungs. “No.” I shake my head. There has to be some way. This is Cadence. My friend. My sister. My savior. I can’t lose her, I have too… “I know someone. A Russian. Maybe he has some information.”
“Unless he’s connected, I doubt he can help. Dimitri Ivanov is untouchable to anyone who isn’t Bratva.”
Steve’s words are like cold water being dumped over my head. “What did you just say?”
“He’d have to be connected, your friend.”
My heart is racing in my chest as I try to organize the chaos of my thoughts into words. “You mentioned Dimitri Ivanov.”
“Yeah. That’s the guy who has Cadence. Or, at least, he owns the club. Trust me when I say, tangling with him will be the last thing you do, Ava. I’m sorry, but this time, you can’t save her.”
Tears start tracking down my cheeks. It can’t be…
Cadence is my sister.
And Dimitri…it must be someone else. It can’t be the man who just made me feel safe.
The man who holds his daughter like she’s the most precious thing in the world and plays the piano beautifully.
Then again, he’s also the man with creepy tattoos all over his hands.
I shake my head, focusing on Steve. I have no idea how common the name is. Maybe… “Dimitri Ivanov, what do you know about him?”
“Ava. I just said, leave it.”
“Tell me anyway.”
He lets out a heavy sigh, like’s he’s not happy with my question. I hear him run a hand through his hair. “I don’t know much about him, other than he’s connected, and he has a monopoly on the sex trade here in Vegas.”
I choke back a sob. Dimitri lives like a king. That penthouse, the artwork…but it can’t be the same man. The Dimitri I know is…
“He’s around forty, a widow, with a young daughter. Who the fuck knows what happened to the wife.”
I let out a squeak, unable to control it because this is all sounding so familiar.
Steve misunderstands. “Sorry. I don’t mean to scare you. This guy is bad news.”
I don’t answer as a soft sob breaks from my lips.
“Sweetheart, where Cadence went, you can’t follow.”
I look down at the phone. Me and Cadence, we’re family. And it turns out, that in fact, if Dimitri really is the man who has her, I actually can.