Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
“What do you mean you don’t have him? Where the fuck is he?” I yell at Aleksi.
He’s currently standing across from me in my home office. I came here straight after dropping Caitlyn off, waiting for her fucking ex to be delivered to my basement. I had my night planned, a night of violence and destruction, dedicated to his pathetic ass.
Now I’m told the men failed to nab him from the airport.
“He wasn’t on the flight,” Aleksi says.
“I don’t care where he is. I want him found. Now!” I scream.
“We’re working on it, Neo,” Aleksi replies calmly, not an ounce of fear in it. “She’s safe in the Petrov building.”
I lean back in my chair. Knowing some asshole is out there looking for Caitlyn and I’m not with her sets my anxiety at an all-time high.
And I’m not an anxious person. I’ve never had anything to worry about before.
My family, my brother and sister—they can all defend themselves.
My cousins? They have the skills they need to fight off an attack.
But Caitlyn? She doesn’t. The fact she was trapped in an abusive relationship tells me she doesn’t fight back. Or if she did, the fight was beat out of her years ago. I make a mental note to take her to the gym… and the shooting range. She needs to learn self-defense.
I run a hand through my hair. I know Aleksi is right. She is safe in that building. No one can get up to her floor that hasn’t been vetted. It doesn’t set my mind at ease, though. I check the time. It’s nearly midnight. She’s probably asleep.
Fuck it. I grab my phone off the desk and send her a message.
Me: I know you’re probably asleep, but I wanted to let you know that I’ll be there at seven to pick you up.
I see the read notification. What the fuck is she still doing awake? Then a reply comes through.
Caitlyn: Thank you. I’ll be ready.
Me: Why are you awake?
The little dots come up, indicating that she’s writing a reply, and then disappear. This happens three more times before I hit the call button.
“Hello?” Her voice is soft. Uncertain.
“Caitlyn, what’s wrong? Why are you awake?”
“I’ve been trying to sleep. It’s just hard in a new place. There are noises and I… I don’t know.” She sighs.
“You’re scared,” I state.
She’s alone and knows there’s a fucking psychopath after her. Of course she’s scared. I thought giving her space to sort through her thoughts was what she needed. I was wrong.
“I’m coming back. I’ll be there in about forty minutes,” I tell her.
“No, you don’t need to do that, Neo. I’ll be fine. Really. You’ve already done more than enough for me.”
“See you soon, solnishko. Try to go to sleep. I won’t wake you if you’re asleep when I get there.” I cut the call and stand.
“You’re going back?” Aleksi asks.
“It’s not like I have anything keeping me here,” I grunt. “I need him found, Aleksi. I want her to know that he’s out of the picture.” I want to know that he’s out of the picture.
“I’m going to find him,” Aleksi says, and I have no doubt that he will.
“Thanks.” I pick up my pistol, tucking it into the holster at my back before throwing my jacket on.
I don’t know how many traffic rules I break to make it to the Petrov building in record time. Twenty-six minutes. I also don’t fucking care. Getting out of the car, I scan the underground garage, spotting three of my men by the elevators.
I walk over and show them a picture of Henry Sawyer. “If you see this fucker around, I want him restrained. Alive.” I have way too much pent-up anger I plan to take out on the fucker. He does not get a quick death. “I’m sending you the image. Share it,” I tell them.
“Will do.” They all nod and step out of my way as I enter the elevator.
My palm presses on the reader and I head up to Caitlyn’s floor. I let myself into her apartment, toeing off my shoes in the entryway. I don’t want to wake her up if she’s asleep.
Every light in the place is switched on. Fucking hell, she’s scared out of her damn mind.
I walk down the hall and push into the main bedroom. She’s not on the bed. The blankets are messed up. “Caitlyn?” I call out.
The bathroom door opens and Caitlyn appears. “Neo?” Her face is pale.
“Fuck.” I rush forward and pull her into my arms. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“It hasn’t been forty minutes,” she says quietly.
“I know.” I press my lips against the top of her head, then guide her over to the bed. “Let’s go to sleep.”
I shrug out of my jacket and throw it on the chair in the corner of the room. Caitlyn watches as I remove my pistol and put it on the bedside table. Her eyes never leave me. A faint blush creeps up her neck and cheeks once I’m down to my black briefs.
“Come on.” Pulling the blanket back, I urge her to climb on as I do the same.
“I can sleep in the other room,” she says.
“Do you not want to sleep next to me, Caitlyn?” I ask, propping myself up against the headboard.
“I don’t want you to feel like you have to sleep next to me,” she says.
I laugh. “Caitlyn, I spent all last night thinking about you in my guestroom. I didn’t sleep, because I wanted nothing more than to climb into that bed with you. I have no plans of doing the same thing tonight. Trust me when I say I want to be in this bed with you.”
Caitlyn gives me a shy smile before she climbs in next to me. As soon as she’s in reaching distance, I wrap my arm around her and pull her against my chest.
“Sleep. You’re safe here,” I tell her.
“Thank you.” Her hand lands on my abs and I inhale, thinking about anything and everything to get my dick onboard with the program of having a PG night.