Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Daniil
“Papa?”
My head snapped up from where it had been cradled in my hands to stare at my son’s sleepy face.
“Hey, Timothy. Can’t you sleep?” Pushing my chair back, I opened my arms, and he rushed into them. Sweeping him into my lap, I smoothed his hair back as he buried his face into my shirt and gave a little sob.
“When is Lily coming home?” he sobbed brokenly.
I held him gently. That was the question, wasn’t it? When was Lily coming home?
It had been over a week, and there was no sign of her. It was like she had disappeared into thin air. It didn’t matter who I asked, who I threatened, or who I took in for more persuasive questioning. No one knew. Or at least they didn’t answer.
A week with no clue on whether she was ok or what was happening to her. Although what I could guess was taking its toll on me. I just hadn’t realized how much it was taking its toll on my son as well.
“Soon,” I whispered, smoothing his tousled hair back. I hope, I added silently.
“I miss her.” He lifted his chin to meet my eyes.
I closed mine. “I do too, but she will be home soon.”
I took a deep breath. “I promise she will be home soon.”
Timothy continued to stare up at me. “And you promise you won’t send her away again?” he asked accusingly.
I felt my heart give a little pang. “I promise I won’t send her away. Now let’s get you back to bed.”
Lifting him, I took him back to his bed and sat and watched him as he fell into a deep sleep. Then I headed back down to my office to wallow in my own dark thoughts. I didn’t know what else I could do to find her. I had exhausted almost all of my contacts.
I was halfway down the stairs when my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. Glancing at the time, I frowned. It was almost midnight, so this best be important.
“What?”
“Club Evo.” The familiar voice of my second in command said as a way of greeting.
Pinching the skin between my eyebrows, I frowned. “What about it?”
I’d heard of it. It was a club in Brooklyn owned by another Bratva family. It was nothing to write home about.
“That’s where she is.”
My head snapped up with such force that I almost lost my footing and fell down the stairs. “What?”
There was a second’s pause, and then I headed back up the stairs to knock on the nanny’s door.
“I’ll be there in—are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he said in a quiet voice. “Pretty sure. Do you want us to go in?”
“No.” I ran. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
An hour later, I stood in the shadows opposite the club. Evo was a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, a dive that catered to the lower-end clientele. I hadn’t thought in a million years that the twins would hold her somewhere like this.
They didn’t own it. But I knew the people who did, and they would pay for taking her as well.
“That’s all we know.”
I tore my eyes away from the orange neon light over the Club Evo door and swept them across the men gathered around me. Twenty of them. More than enough to deal with whatever we found behind that metal door.
“Ok. So basement!” I nodded my head and took a step into the road. Cars slammed on their brakes, their horns blaring angrily. Not one of us paid them any attention.
Throwing open the door, I had my gun lifted before the burly bouncer with more muscles than brains realized what had happened. Pressing the muzzle to the middle of his forehead, I forced him backwards.
My men rushed in after me, pushing themselves into the club proper. One took my spot. His gun unwavering as he pressed it to the man’s temple.
“What’s all this about?” The doorman called out after me. Forcing me to pause.
“You know who I am.”
He nodded sharply. “Yeah, I know. Like I know you aren’t at war with—”
I stepped back into him. Lowering my voice to a whisper, I brought our faces close together. “Not at war?” I chuckled. But the sound wasn’t happy. It was sarcastic. “Your boss thought they could hide what is mine from me without repercussions?”
He didn’t say a word, but the first flicker of fear entered his eyes. And at that moment, I knew the truth. He knew she was here and who she was to me.
“You must have known I’d come for her.” And the baby she was carrying, I added silently.
More fear. He definitely knew.
“Have you hurt her?” His eyes widened into saucers.
He swallowed so hard I heard it. My heart twisted. “I see.” Nodding my head once I saw the realization hit him a second before my man stepped to the side, and I pulled the trigger. He didn’t have time to react before he hit the floor, a perfectly round circle between his eyes.
More shots rang out from the club, and the sound of screaming. But honestly, they were all music to my ears. Every single person who had known she was here, whether they had hurt her or not, deserved a bullet.
Ignoring the dead man at my feet, I turned on my heels and walked down the long hallway, heading towards the back where I was hoping I’d find the door to the cellar. That’s where she was.
The door was locked and bolted with a sign that told me to stay out. I shot the padlock out, slowly going down the worn steps into the shadowy basement.
A single uncovered lightbulb hung from the ceiling, revealing the depravity of it all. But the place was empty. The stench of human feces and despair hit my nostrils, and I lifted a hand to cover my mouth as I looked around. Empty.
Just rotten, stained mattresses pushed up against the wall, each one a stark reminder that other women had been here who no one had saved. I wondered what had happened to them, but I didn’t dwell on it for too long.
I was here for one woman and one woman only. Lily. But it didnt look like she was here. The place looked deserted.
I’d turned to head back up the stairs when I’d heard the softest, quietest sound. It sounded like my name. My head snapped back and forth, but I couldn’t see her.
“Daniil?”
There was no mistake. Lily.
Rushing forward, I found her chained to the wall. A thick collar around her throat, she lay naked on the hard concrete floor, with her arms around her knees and her eyes staring sightless ahead.
“Lily?” I whispered.
I expected her to lift her eyes to me. But she just closed them tightly. Screwing up her face.
“Boss.” The man who had followed me down stood behind my shoulder and thrust his arm out, his thick winter overcoat held in his arms. “We need to get her out of here. She needs medical attention.”
It was like I was seeing her properly for the first time. She had lost weight. Her ribs were clearly visible through the multicoloured bruises that covered her naked body. All those bruises were at different stages of healing, which meant they had been beating her continuously.
Her left arm looked swollen. Like someone had broken it. The horror of it hit me like a sledgehammer in the gut, almost doubling me over. Taking his coat, I crouched down and smoothed my hand over her tangled, matted hair.
She cried out, half in pain and half in protest.
“Please,” she begged. “Please don’t.”
My heart broke into a million sharp little pieces, which I was going to use to cut every single person who had hurt her.
“Lily,” I whispered. “Lily, my love, it’s me. It’s Daniil.”
Again, I reached for her hair, and this time, she didn’t pull away or cry out. Her eyes opened with an effort that made me feel sick. One was almost completely swollen shut.
“Daniil?” She croaked through split and cracked lips.
“I’m here.” Taking the overcoat, I covered her body.
“You came for me!”
Smiling, I took my place next to her head. Gently caressing her hair and any part of her face that didn’t look beaten.
“Of course, I came for you. I’ll always come for you.”
My voice broke. And I had to keep reminding myself that she was alive. Her body would heal. I wasn’t going to lose her like I did Claudia. I’d gotten to her in time.
“Just rest now, and then I’m going to take you home.”
She blinked her agreement and closed her eyes. Glancing behind me, I barked out an order. “Find the keys to this neck cuff. I don’t care who you have to kill to get it. Just get it.”
“Yes, boss.” He rushed off.
“It’s not real, it’s not. He’s not coming.”
It took a second for me to realize that Lily was muttering to herself, her face screwed up like a crying infant. She kept repeating it over and over again.
“Lily.” Again, I drew her attention back to me, “I’m here, my love. I’ll always come for you.”
Confusion clouded her eyes. “You came for me?” She asked again. “Or am I dreaming?”
Leaning down, I pressed my lips to her greasy, knotted hair. “Of course, I did. I love you.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t mean to say that last part, but that didn’t mean I didn’t mean it. I’d been falling in love with her from the second I had seen her. It had just taken me a while to let myself admit it. But now that I had, I was going to do everything I could to keep her with me.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, a single tear falling down her dirt-streaked face. “I’m sorry I put Timothy in danger. I didn’t mean to. Please don’t send me away again.”
“I’m never sending you away ever again, Lily. Just conserve your strength, and you will be home before you know it. Timothy misses you.”
It looked like she gave a small smile. “I miss him, too,“ she whispered. “But I’m so tired, Danill. So tired.”
“Just rest.” I soothed her. “Just close your eyes and rest. It’s all going to be ok. I promise. You’re safe now,” I promised.
Someone moved behind me, and I whirled around, the gun in my hand, but it was just one of my men.
He held out a single key, and I snatched it from his hand.
It fit the padlock perfectly, and the thick metal band around her slender throat snapped open, revealing a deep, red welt around her throat that I couldn’t even stand to look at.
As gently as I could, I lifted her into my arms, and she cried out in pain. “Get the car in front,” I ordered. “And a doctor at the house.”
It was clear her injuries were much worse than I had originally thought. She felt all wrong in my arms like a broken little doll.
“Already done, boss. I’ll make sure the way is clear.”
I nodded my thanks to him, and together we headed back up the stairs and out into the freezing New York street.
Lily didn’t say one word, and neither did I.
Not because I didn’t have anything to say but because I had too much, and I didn’t know where to even start explaining how much she meant to me.