Chapter 12
Aleksandr
I Know, Brother, Me Too
A Few Days Later
The jet’s plush leather seat comforted me as I sat and glanced around at my brothers, who were similarly settling in for the long flight from Seattle to London.
The house was packed up, our lives condensed into suitcases and memories, and we were finally heading home.
Everything we couldn’t take with us was due to be shipped over.
Our parents had arranged their departure at the same time as ours, and they were sitting cozy in the corner, having a chat. I leaned back, closing my eyes for a moment, trying to find a sense of calm in the chaos that had become my life.
Just as I reflected on the amount of effort I’d put into looking for Kinsley, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It startled me back to the present. Fishing it out, I saw Sebastian’s name flash on the screen. A grin tugged at my lips as I swiped to answer, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Sebastian, brother. I can’t wait to see you. It’s been too long. I promise, the minute we land, you’re free to take off for a week or two.”
“I plan to take you up on that offer. I may push it until after the opening, but we’ll work out the details when you get home. I’m glad you guys are on the way. Can you get Ivan and Nik and put me on speaker? We need to discuss something important.”
“Okay, does it need to be a private conversation?”
“Yes, that would be best. I’ve got Marcel here too. Best FaceTime us.”
“Give me a second. I’ll call you right back.”
The tension in his voice was palpable, and I prayed there wasn’t a problem with the opening. I needed something to go right at this juncture of my life. I exchanged a quick look with Nik, who was sitting close by. He straightened up, sensing something about the call was important.
Our eyes locked, and my heart squeezed as I thought about how Kinsley would say they weren’t dancing anymore. I hadn’t seen them dance in weeks. I trailed my gaze farther down the jet to Ivan, who was slouched in his seat, staring blankly out the window.
His usual energy had been replaced by a heavy, oppressive silence that he seemed to revel in, making him miserable to be around. The thought of dragging him into one of the rooms for this conversation filled me with a sense of dread, knowing how grouchy he’d become.
But there was no avoiding it. This was important.
I nodded at Nik, who rose from his seat and moved toward Ivan.
I followed, steeling myself for the confrontation.
Everything was a fight these days, and I hated seeing the weariness etched into his features.
The toll of bringing Kinsley into his life ate at me once more.
“Hey,” I breathed, resting a hand on his shoulder. “The guys need to have a conversation with us. It’s important.”
He looked up, his eyes clouded with a mix of fatigue and anxiety. He grumbled under his breath but got up, and we entered one of the private rooms on the jet before I dialed Sebastian.
“We’re here.” An unsettling feeling permeated the room.
“First and foremost, I need the three of you to keep your cool,” Marcel stated.
His words notched my nerves higher. It didn’t bode well. So much for things going right.
“You know the pact we made all those years ago to not keep things from one another? I want to remind you that there have been several times in the last few months that the four of you have disregarded that pact.”
“Marcel, could you get on with it?” Ivan asked.
His shortness with Marcel surprised us all.
I had hoped that going home would make a difference, but now I had a sinking feeling nothing would make it better.
Nik and I had tried everything we could, but nothing worked.
It was like Vanya all over again, except now he was an adult and a lot harder to manage.
Kinsley could make it better. If she were here and he’d open up to us about what happened. Lost in my thoughts, I barely registered Marcel’s next words—it was like I was dreaming.
“Kinsley’s here, at our house. She’s been here for the last two weeks.” Marcel’s voice was calm, like he didn’t just drop a bomb on us.
My heart beat out of my chest. “Excuse the fuck out of me? What the hell did you say?” I barked.
“She didn’t run away. She was kidnapped. I found her by chance when visiting one of my patients who had relapsed,” Marcel added.
“Wait, what? Kinsley’s there? Is she okay? Goddamn, how could you keep this from us?” Nik’s voice broke as his hand tore through his hair.
His gaze held mine, and every worry he’d been holding on to since she disappeared evaporated.
Each of us had been dealing with her leaving in a variety of ways.
While Ivan was perpetually angry, Nik had become emotional.
He was normally the levelheaded one, the one who analyzed everything.
He swore she never would have left on her own. Looked like he was right.
I had compartmentalized it in order to function. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being hurt, so I’d convinced myself that she left. That she had her reasons. Marcel’s news changed everything.
“As I was saying, I was at Bethlem Royal Hospital visiting a patient and heard her singing. She had been admitted a week and a half earlier. It was within forty-eight hours of her being taken.”
“Taken? By who?” I demanded, as Ivan got up to leave. I grabbed his arm to stop him. He needed to be here for this.
He shoved me. “It doesn’t change anything for me. I want nothing to do with her.” Walking out, he slammed the door behind him. How could he just walk away?
“Shit, you weren’t kidding. He’s pissed,” Sebastian said.
“Tell us everything.”
I tried to push the thought of holding Kinsley, nuzzling her sweet neck again, out of my head.
But my mind raced. I could almost feel her in my arms. One look at Nik, and he was lost in similar thoughts as well.
They filled us in on the events leading up to her being found and how she had fought off her attacker and escaped.
“She finally opened up and told me what happened from the night her parents were killed to when Owen rescued her.”
“Rescued her? I thought he was the one who took her,” Nik said.
“We were wrong. Owen really was a good guy. How he found her is still a mystery. There are some potential thoughts, but in the end, it doesn’t matter because he rescued her from hell.
I can’t tell you all the details surrounding it, confidentiality and all, but it was brutal.
” Marcel paused for a moment. “After hearing everything, I’m inclined to believe the original kidnapping and this most recent one are connected. ”
“Fuck.” I rubbed my head, wincing at the approaching migraine.
“I believe her grandfather might be behind it,” Marcel said quietly, letting the information sink in.
He told us about the similarities and the Russian connection.
And how the kidnapping coincided with his release.
“I believe he may have been behind the package she received, too. A warning of sorts.”
Marcel’s words were a chilling reminder of that night and how it was the catalyst that threw us all together to begin with. Nik and Ivan both knew. It was time to let Bash and Marcel in on what I’d found out.
I cleared my throat. “Actually, Jenna and Alisha sent the package. They thought it would be a funny joke to have Kinsley waiting in that ugly-ass outfit for me to come and collar her, knowing I wouldn’t,” I confessed.
“What?” Marcel asked, dumbfounded.
My anger simmered just beneath the surface. “The club is wired for sound, and I was going into a meeting when I overheard them talking about Kinsley.”
As I finished my confession, Bash’s reaction was immediate. His eyes widened in surprise, and a low whistle escaped his lips. “I would have loved to be a fucking fly on that wall, Brother. Crazy ass bitches,” he exclaimed. “You weren’t going into a session with one of them, were you?”
His words cut through the tension in the room, injecting a moment of levity into the heavy atmosphere. I couldn’t help but let out a rueful chuckle, his blunt honesty yet another reminder that I’d missed home.
“Fuck you, asshole. It took everything in me not to lose my shit on them both. I’m not even sure my father would have been able to get me out of that level of trouble.”
I looked at Marcel, and he nodded. His gaze was distant as he processed the information, probably wondering if I really was certifiable. According to my girl, I was.
Bash’s lighthearted demeanor shifted, replaced by a tense energy that immediately caught my attention. I stared at him, studying his expression, waiting for him to speak and tell me what the fuck was up.
“Brother?”
“Regardless of the package and the sender, she’s asked for help to disappear,” Sebastian said, calm as could be.
I narrowed my eyes as a new bout of rage ran through me. “What the fuck? You’d better have said hell no,” I bellowed.
“Alek, I know you’re probably reeling right now. This is shocking, I get it, but she has to do this,” Sebastian said.
No way this was happening. Sebastian rarely took anyone else’s side but mine. It was a bond forged through the years we’d spent together. We always had each other’s backs, no matter what. His fucking words stung of betrayal.
Was he fucking serious with this shit?
I stretched my neck, trying to ease the tension building. “Like hell she does,” I bit back, while Nik nodded in agreement.
“There’s no way you can keep her safe. You know where this leads.
The fucking Russian mob, Alek. And it’s her decision to make.
She has the means to do it, and Marcus is bringing it with him.
She has money, IDs, and bank account numbers that Owen left her.
” Sebastian’s exasperation reached new levels as he spoke.