Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
CADE
Her cries stop as I pick myself off the ground, wiping the blood from my face.
My gun wasn’t loaded, so I don’t know what I was thinking.
Buying time, that’s what I was thinking. Time I didn’t have. Time I don’t have.
I don’t give a fuck about the gun that went off. I look at the man who hit me.
The fucker is pointing his weapon at me, and I dodge and run at him, right as the room fills with more men.
Fuck. Fuck.
Vi.
Where the fuck is Vi?
Not even my blackbelt is going to get me out of this one, and I’m more help to Violet alive than dead.
Because, whoever they are, if they wanted me dead, they’d have come in guns blasting.
They want something.
From me.
Violet’s their weapon against me. Obey, and she lives. Defy them, and she’s—
I shut that down.
Terror isn’t my friend, it clouds everything, and I’m already riddled with it. I can’t breathe, and I can’t afford to not be able to think.
But blood roars through my ears, and I look wildly at the men.
There are four.
No, three. One is on the phone.
Though they outnumber me, there’s only one with a gun on me. Sort of.
Somewhere, deep in my marrow, I’m freaking the fuck out. And I keep it there.
Think…think…
But it’s too much to hold back.
I have to get to Vi.
Even one second more of her under threat is too much.
I run at the man with the gun, taking him out with a move.
Snatching up the gun, I smash another in the face with it.
The man reels, knocking the gun from me.
I let it fall. Guns aren’t my forte. Instead, I use the man’s body weight to take him down.
He crashes.
I slam the heel of my hand into his throat. Then I race for the door.
Vi’s going to be downstairs.
I have to save her.
I have to.
I promised I’d keep her safe.
Protect her.
But two other men rush in. They must have been in the main room, looking for something, I don’t know what.
One punches me in the face. It stuns me for a second, cracking my head back.
I go with it, fight him, then the next, but there are too many.
As I’m about to give the second guy an uppercut, I’m grabbed from behind, a gun pointed right in my face.
Then I’m marched out of my loft, past the shattered hinges and the destruction of my door.
On the street, I’m shoved into a car, and the doors slam shut.
It’s so fast I don’t even think people around take note and if they do, I’m willing to fucking bet there are no plates.
“Where the fuck is Vi?”
The man next to me grunts, and the engine guns as we take off.
I need to protect my girl. “She’s innocent. Let her go.”
A heavily accented voice comes from the front. “Shut the fuck up. She comes with us. In another car. Insurance.”
They’re Russian. The thought floods me with dread.
“Who are you? What the fuck do you want?”
The man in the front laughs, and the one next to me punches me in the side of the head.
“Shut your mouth. You’ll find out soon enough. Do not make me punch you again. Because next time, I might just shoot you.”
As his fist connects with my temple again, my world goes black.
I’m not sure how long I’m out for, but I don’t think it’s that long. I come to with a start, panic bubbling up about Vi.
She must be frightened. And it’s all my fault. Somehow it’s my fault.
We are still driving but the windows in the back of the car are blacked out, and the partition is up, so I can’t see if we’re in Manhattan or not.
I’m pretty sure at some point we hit a bridge. Which one, I couldn’t fucking say. I’m too busy trying to work out who took us.
My first thought is someone recognized me from whatever photos might have ended up on Insta or something similar. But putting me together with The Syndicate is almost impossible. A great deal of our clients have never met us face to face.
So…
Dark dread pools inside me, leaden.
I’ve done something wrong somewhere. I’ve put Vi in danger. Maybe Enzo and my brother.
Fuck.
Try as I might, I can’t work out who’s got it in for me. We’ve crossed all the Ts and dotted all the Is.
We even took care of Isaac in such a way that it helped others.
When we pull up, we’re out in the outer edges of one of the boroughs. Brooklyn, maybe, very possibly Queens, but Russians tend to lean toward Brooklyn.
I’m dragged from the car into an underground garage, and next to us is another car, the driver is just getting out.
I look wildly around for Vi, but she’s not here.
“Where—”
The henchman who beat me in the car snarls. “Shut the fuck up. Or someone will take it out on your sweet girl, and it won’t be pretty.”
I shut my mouth.
They’ve taken her away already.
What did they call her? Insurance?
I want to hold her, turn back time and leave her the fuck alone. If I could do that, then she’d be safe. Fuck, I’d even urge her to stay with Jack if it meant a choice between her misery and her life in danger…misery and safety every damn time.
They drag me through the garage, not caring I stumble and hit the concrete, before I force myself to go with their brutal flow into an elevator.
When it opens, I’m tossed to a waxed hardwood floor, skittering.
“This is not how you greet me.” The voice is in perfect English, Russian accent.
I don’t recognize it.
Most of these bratva henchmen have visible tattoos to denote who they’re aligned with. But the more I look, the more I realize these either don’t have them or the ink is hidden under their clothes.
And their suits are dark, impeccable…
They’re big, all taking the demeanor of high-end bodyguards.
My blood is running colder and colder by the second.
My gaze moves over them as I push myself to my feet, looking around at the opulent and large study, before coming to rest on a man sitting in a leather armchair, sipping vodka.
He’s wearing too much jewelry, rings on each finger in heavy gold and precious stones, and there are chains on his wrists, around his neck.
He looks like he’d be at home in a perfect suit, but this is what he likes. Dressed like a king in dress pants, satin red shirt, unbuttoned to reveal a V of hairy chest, and salt peppers his hair heavily.
His beard is neatly trimmed, and there’s cruelty behind the urbane light in his eyes.
Definitely pure Russian. Down to the fucking vodka.
He cocks his head, studying me. “Forgive me. Normally, I’d put on a suit, but I had an event. One I cut short for you and our other…guest.”
I don’t say a word.
He’s expecting something from me. And I don’t know what the fuck he wants.
It’s taking everything I am to focus on this and not Vi.
I’m not expecting him to pick up his gun and shoot me. I’m pretty fucking sure the gun is there to scare me and not to kill. Unless I refuse to do whatever he wants.
Because he wants something.
That’s in those cruel eyes, too.
The man takes a sip of his vodka. “You are not going to beg for her to be released? You aren’t going to try and make a deal?”
“Should I?”
“You can try.” He grins slowly, and it sends shivers down my spine.
It takes all I have to answer him. “No, thank you.”
“Wise.” He cocks his head the other way. “Do you recognize me?”
I shrug. “Should I?”
The man chuckles and reaches for the gun, and I almost flinch. But he’s not going to use it.
This is theatrics. He wants me.
And my skills.
He’s willing to kidnap and hold hostage an innocent to do it. To make me.
He pulls out his wallet that’s beneath the gun, and he opens it, pulling out a photo.
One of his henchmen gets it and brings it to me.
She looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place her.
I know I haven’t fucked her.
For a brief moment, I think this might be his wife, and Enzo—
But no. I’d be dead if that were the case. Even if this was mistaken identity, I’d be dead.
And I don’t think this man makes mistakes.
Horrific fashion sense aside, I think he’s as meticulous as I am.
“Still no? Ah, well. She isn’t dressed like you last saw her.” He pauses. “Impressive how you destroyed my daughter’s wedding.”
Oh. Shit.
Fuck.
I go ice cold. A band locks tight around my chest.
I know who I’m talking to.
That fucking wedding for Svetlana Andronski.
This is Ivan Andronski, the Russian diplomat and Pakhan of the notorious Andronski bratva.
And we…
“It’s equally as impressive as the way you managed to infiltrate my security system and steal millions of dollars from me. No trail. And I have the best computer people.” He continues to smile and takes another sip.
He definitely doesn’t have the best. We’re the best.
“To think I had no idea of who you were until Isaac led you to me.”
“Isaac’s dead.”
“I know.” Andronski’s smile slips. “Your fault. After I posted his bail, Svetlana saw your photo, and Isaac said you were his ‘bitch of an intern’s jealous boyfriend.’ But my Svetlana placed you at the party when my money went missing, and since you weren’t on the guest list…
It doesn’t take a genius to put it together. ”
“Isaac’s dead. Whatever beef you have with him has nothing to do with me. And I was downstairs the entire time. I wanted to crash an engagement party. That one seemed fine.”
“Do not lie to me. You got Isaac killed—”
“Isaac’s death is a matter of the—”
“I know who’s taking credit. But that doesn’t matter. You somehow caused his downfall. He owed me money. More than that, he owed me secrets. So now, you owe me. It must be fate.”
I think about lying to him again, but he clearly isn’t an idiot. He knows someone was upstairs, physically hacked the computer, they just don’t know how.
I’m sure they have no evidence, but everything was setup that any hacking had to be done in person.
And I’m not throwing Enzo under a bus.
I also know better than to poke a hungry, angry bear. But I still do. “The money was stolen in the first place. I merely helped to return it to the rightful owner. You may take it up with them.”
His eyes marrow.
I shrug. “As for Svetlana, the way I see it is I saved her from marrying a cheating asshole. You should be thanking me.”
But Ivan glares, and he growls. “What you did was jeopardize an alliance that was years in the making.”
“You need to release the girl.”
Andronski laughs. “You’re not in a bargaining position. I don’t have to do a thing. But you have a debt to pay now.”
Something snaps inside. “What the fuck do you want, Andronski?”
Another smile splits his face. “All will be revealed in good time. But you should understand not many people get a second chance from me. If you want to keep your pretty little girlfriend safe, you need to think very carefully about your next move.”