Chapter 43
SILAS
The kid falls asleep in the back seat before we’re three blocks from the house.
One minute, she’s clutching a stuffed teddy to her chest and staring out the window as she chatters nonstop, and the next, she’s out like a light.
I glance in the rearview mirror. She’s tiny and curled into herself on the back seat, and something sharp and angry tightens in my chest because it’s often the innocent who pay the price for the evil men do.
Like this kid. But also, all I can think of is my niece, Alexis, and that protective edge snaps into place all the same.
I look at Leonore in the passenger seat.
Her face is turned toward the window, but she’s not looking at anything.
She’s chewing her thumbnail as if it’s the only thing keeping her from going insane right now.
It’s like I’m watching her all over again, the panic when I saw her packing her own bags.
The fierce spark was sucked out of her, which worries me, because without cool calculation, accidents happen.
And I know she will do anything to protect those she loves, which makes her dangerous to herself.
My raven is certainly the type to stand in front of raining bullets for those few she loves, and I intend to ensure she doesn’t have to put herself in danger in the meantime.
If Nessa and Larissa are her family, then they’re mine as well.
I plan on fixing this.
I have people who find people. The kind who can locate a man in under six hours using nothing but a name. And the name I’m giving them is Ben.
Ben is a good place to start asking questions.
If this is his mess, then I’ll find him, and I’ll have a conversation with him that he isn’t going to like.
But if this isn’t about Ben, then the rat is more candid about flushing himself out.
That someone else would more than likely be Konstantin fucking Lomonov.
My sources say he is still on the West Coast. But in my world, nothing is a given unless you’re staring at it with your own eyes.
Considering today I was looking at two of my men gutted in a boat shed, I’m leaning toward that information being outdated.
But it shows how clever he is at covering his tracks and how quickly he moves when he’s on the hunt.
I understand the movements and can match his pace as long as I keep a cool head and stay three steps ahead—like always.
I don’t have enough information yet to know which scenario we’re dealing with. And I only work with facts, not speculation.
So I’m going to get the facts.
Starting with Ben.
The gates to my property open, and I drive up to the house, coming to a stop at the front entrance.
Leonore looks at me, and my gut twists when I see the fear in her glassy eyes.
“I’m going to find Nessa,” I reassure her.
She nods, but her chin trembles, and she looks like she’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
I understand her fear well. It’s different when you’re facing a monster yourself.
That primal, violent thing that crawls to the surface is the same in her as it is in me.
But when it’s for someone you love, and you can no longer control the situation, it flips us into a wounded, bloody animal.
That’s how I would feel if anyone got their hands on her.
I immediately push away the thought because I fucking refuse to let that happen.
“I need you to stay here with Larissa and let me do this,” I say to her carefully, reminding her that the little girl needs her just as much as her friend.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to make some calls. And then I’m going to find Ben, and he’s going to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“What if this isn’t because of Ben?” she whispers, her brows pulling in. “What if Nessa being gone is because of me?”
“Then I’ll deal with it.” I lean across and press my lips to her forehead. “Don’t drive yourself crazy with questions we don’t have the answers to yet. I will find her and keep you all safe.”
She bites her bottom lip as I pull away, but her hand catches mine, and my heart fucking breaks for the desperate mix of hope and hate. “I love you. I just want them safe.” Her voice hitches. “But I want you to be safe too. Let me come with you.”
I shake my head and look back at Larissa. “She needs to feel safe, and that is with you. She needs you right now. Trust me.”
She seems to fight with that, but I see the resignation in her eyes because she knows I’m right. “I love you too,” I say as I brush my thumb across her cheek, wanting to breathe reassurance into her lungs.
I climb out of the car and walk around to the passenger side.
In the back seat, Larissa is still asleep, so I slide my arms beneath her and lift her out. Her head lolls against my shoulder, and the way she curls into me without waking does something to my chest, and I know without a doubt that I am going to find her mom and make things right.
I carry her inside and up the stairs to the guest room, where I lay her on the bed. Leonore climbs on beside her and pulls her into her arms.
“She’s going to need her Auntie Leo to be strong,” I say.
“I know. And I will be.”
I sit on the bed beside her. “The less she knows, the better.”
She gnaws at her lip. “I’m afraid,” she whispers.
That animal inside me tears me in two, hating that I can’t take this away from her.
I remove my gun and hand it to her. She looks at it, then back at me.
“Do you think I’m going to need to use this?” she asks.
“No. But it will make me feel better knowing you have it.”
She nods, and I cup her face in my hands again. “Remember the first time you pulled a gun to my head or the scalpel to my throat?” Her eyebrows crinkle slightly. “You know how to fight, my Little Raven. And you know how to draw blood. No one will hurt our family. Do you understand me?”
Something shifts in her then, that determined feral woman who won’t let anyone or anything close. But I can see her channeling it now, her own little psycho not too far from the edge.
“Yes,” she says, and her voice has a bit of gravel and bite to it. That’s my girl.
“Good. I’m going to call my sister, niece, and housekeeper, Lotti, to come over. They’ll be good company. You can trust them.”
I also want all the women I care about deeply in one place to better protect them.
I press a kiss to her lips. It’s a silent promise. I’m going to fix this.
I walk toward the door when she says my name, and I turn around.
“The moment you find Nessa, you’ll call me, yes?”
Not if I find Nessa but when. Her trust and faith are paramount.
I nod, then leave the room.
Walking down the stairs, I remove my phone from my pocket and make a call.
It’s answered on the second ring.
“I need you to find someone for me. When you find him, I need to know immediately. Because this asshole has some explaining to do.”