Chapter 20
Dmitri
Ever since Cara disappeared, I haven’t liked being back in my office.
Even with Andrei here with me now, the space feels too quiet and lonely without her.
She’s not bringing in two coffees and that overly sweet cherry pastry. She’s not working on the other side of my desk with her brow creased in concentration. And she’s not strutting around in those sexy skirts or dresses that she knew were driving me insane.
I don’t want to be here without her.
“Dmitri,” Andrei says, lifting his chin from where he’s posted in Cara’s chair.
I drag my focus back to him. “What?” I ask him as I grab my glass of vodka and take a sip.
“I had one of my guys canvass a town about thirty miles from the crash site,” Andrei replies, his brow furrowing in concern. He needs to stop looking at me like that.
“Anything?” I ask him, already knowing the answer. He would’ve blown up my phone immediately if so.
Andrei shakes his head as he slumps back in his seat. “He asked around about a girl who looked like Cara, and no one had seen anyone like her.”
“Whoever hit her wouldn’t risk stopping that close to the scene,” I say as I stand from my chair to slowly pace around the office.
It doesn’t matter how many places I go or what all I do every single day to try to find her. It feels like I’m stuck in one place, not doing a damn thing.
“If we at least knew what the car that hit her looked like, we would have somewhat of a lead.” Andrei sighs, leaning his head against his palm.
“We have nothing to go on,” I mutter as I drag my fingers through my hair, resisting the urge to rip out the strands. “She could be gone.”
“If so, wouldn’t you still want to find out who killed her and why?” Andrei points out.
I pause, my eyes shifting to his. Anyone else would tense up thinking they crossed a line, but Andrei just stares back. He knows my answer.
“The only semblance of hope that I have of her not already being dead is that they would’ve paraded it in front of me. Or Sean,” I tell him as I continue pacing around behind my desk. “What’s the point of killing her without making it known to us? Wouldn’t that be the point?”
The sound of my cell phone ringing cuts me off abruptly, my eyes darting to it as it sits on my desk. Most of the time, it’s something to do with business or a frustrated family member, but an unexplainable feeling deep inside of me doesn’t think that’s the case this time.
“No Caller ID,” Andrei tells me as he glances at the screen, his expression tight.
I stride over to my desk to answer and put the call on speaker, but I remain silent as the call goes live.
At first, there’s only silence. Then, a deep, raspy breath shudders out of the speaker. “Hello, Dmitri.”
My blood runs cold as the distorted voice greets me. This isn’t someone from the Council or my family.
“Who is this?” I demand as I lean closer to the phone.
“That’s none of your concern for now. I think you’d rather talk about Cara.”
I inhale sharply, anger already flooding my veins. This call isn’t going to bring me relief. It’s only going to piss me off. “Where is she?”
“With us,” the voice replies. “For now.”
I slam my fist against the desk next to the phone. “If you hurt her, I swear I’ll rip every single one of you to shreds!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Relax, Dmitri. Let me get to the point of this call. We’re willing to hand her back over to you alive. In a trade,” the voice tells me, amusement still lingering in his voice.
I clench my teeth. They’re playing with me. “Give me proof! Put her on the phone right now,” I demand.
“No,” he says simply.
“Fuck you. She’s not a goddamn bargaining chip! Let me speak to her!”
Another low laugh. “You don’t make demands of us.”
The call suddenly ends, making my eyes widen in panic. “Fuck!”
I snatch my phone off the desk and call the number back as quickly as I can, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. An automated recording comes out.
“Fuck!”
“Got any smart tech guys? Maybe they can trace the call,” Andrei suggests as I tighten my grip on my phone and consider throwing it through the window.
“You’re right,” I say, scrambling to gather myself. I’m so pissed off that I can barely think straight! Who does that bastard think he is? “Karly!”
She appears in the door almost immediately, her hand pressed to her stomach as she catches her breath. “Yes, sir?”
“Call Dex and have him report here immediately. It’s an emergency,” I tell her.
Karly nods and hurries out of my office at the same speed as before, her heels tapping against the floor.
Andrei turns back to me. “Your tech guy?”
“He has a background in it,” I reply before looking back down at my phone, the man’s words circulating in my mind. “She’s alive. I think he was telling the truth about that.”
Andrei stands from his seat and leans closer, drawing my eyes to his. “She is. And we’ll find her before anything happens to her.”
“Who the fuck are these people?” I say, my voice coming out like a whisper. “And trade what for her? Why didn’t he just say?”
“They want to fuck with you,” Andrei replies as his face hardens. “We’re dealing with people who think they’re smart. You know what happens to people who think too highly of their intelligence?”
“What?”
“They screw up and get outsmarted,” Andrei tells me. “They’ll do the same, and we’ll be ready.”
I can only hope that he’s right.
“I couldn’t trace the call.”
I drop my head in defeat as Dex walks back into my office with my phone in his hand. “You couldn’t get anything?”
Dex shakes his head and hands my phone back to me. “It’s tricky uncovering a private number. Even trickier to trace it. It would be easier to trace it if we were prepared for it.”
I toss my phone onto my desk with a clatter, my hand moving up to pinch the bridge of my nose. “Well, let’s hope this guy calls again.”
Dex nods and quietly leaves my office.
“Damn it.” I sigh as I drop down into my chair, torn between feeling hopeless and angry.
I’m glad that Cara is alive, but I’ve been in this world long enough to know that there are some situations so bad that death feels like relief. What if they’re hurting her? What if she’s suffering right this second?
Bile rises up my throat, making me swallow hard. I need to find her. Before she’s either dead or wants to be.
“What now?” Andrei asks me as he pours us both another glass of vodka. “I’m sure this asshole will call again. They want something from you.”
“Maybe they’ve called Sean too. And I need to see if he has an update on the Albanians,” I say before grabbing my phone and pulling up Sean’s contact. I never thought I would have that in my phone.
Andrei frowns, but he doesn’t say anything as I press the phone against my ear.
“What?” Sean snaps on the third ring.
“Someone called me saying they have Cara and want to initiate a trade for her,” I tell him, making him fall silent for a few moments.
“What do they want?” Sean questions me.
“I don’t fucking know! The asshole hung up before he told me. He’s toying with me,” I mutter as I lean forward at my desk, resting my elbows on the wooden surface.
“Do you have a number? Anything?”
“No, I have nothing,” I grit out. “I have no clue who he is or who he works for. But I don’t think he’s part of the Council or hired by them. He called from a private number and used a voice manipulator.”
“Damn it,” Sean grunts. “So, she is alive.”
“That’s what he said. But I have no way of confirming it.”
Sean sighs sharply. “Feels like we still have nothing.”
“Did you find out anything about the Albanians? Everyone is still a suspect,” I say, my eyes meeting Andrei, who nods in agreement. No one is ruled out yet.
“I had some of my men do a little digging, and they found a name for the Albanian boss and where to find him,” Sean replies. “You want me to follow up on that, or do you want to do it?”
“I’ll do it. Get the information sent over to me ASAP,” I tell him, feeling a spark of determination ignite in my chest. It might not be anything, but this lead could be something.
“Will do. Good luck, yeah?” Sean replies before hanging up.
I put my phone down and pull out my laptop from one of my desk drawers. It’s the most secure piece of technology that I have. Not even Cara saw me use it because it’s only for my most sensitive files and information sharing.
“Are you sure about this, Dmitri?”
I pause and look up at Andrei. “About what? Ambushing the Albanian boss?”
“About all of this. Working with Sean O’Malley of all people,” Andrei replies as he shakes his head in disbelief. “The Irish can’t be trusted. This could all be a set up too to take out his enemy for him. Don’t forget that they placed a spy in your life to try and ruin it!”
“And I fell in love with her,” I respond sharply, making his bitter expression fade. “I know that I can’t trust the Irish, but Sean is Cara’s father. I just have to hope that deep down he gives a shit about her and wants her home safe.”
I’m probably the person who is most suspicious of Sean in the first place. I swear that he has something to do with Mikhail’s death. I don’t care that he keeps denying it.
He knows something. He has to.
But for Cara’s sake, I’m willing to put that aside for now. I’ll never forget, though. Not until I finally figure out the truth.
Andrei nods in understanding. “I’m just worried that he’s going to use this situation against you. What if this whole Albanian boss is a trap? What if he’s setting you up for an ambush?”
“I’m not saying that won’t happen,” I say. “But I have to follow every potential lead. That’s the only way that I’ll be able to find her, Andrei. I have to find her.”
Andrei knocks back his drink before setting the empty glass down. “And if the Albanians turn out to be innocent?”
I drum my fingertips against the desk, my mind splitting in a million different directions. There are a lot of suspects to consider, and they all have their own possible motives to kidnap Cara. But what would any of them try to trade for her?
What do I have that they want?
“Them and the Italians were already established here with the Irish before we showed up, but I can’t figure out their involvement,” I reply with a shrug. “The Bratva or Artur Suyunov make the most sense.”
“The Council is pretty pissed at you,” Andrei agrees before a crooked smile forms on his lips. “Good boy Dmitri pissed off the Council. What has happened to you, my friend?”
The corner of my mouth turns up as I pick up my drink. “I fell in love.”
Andrei grabs the bottle of vodka and pours himself another drink before lifting his glass to me. “I haven’t found the woman who’ll make me blow my life up from the inside out yet, but you’re making me a little jealous that I haven’t.”
I clink my glass against his, a chuckle rumbling in my chest. “As if the Sin City Savage would ever settle for one woman.”
I don’t think he has ever truly dated someone before.
Andrei shrugs. “Maybe I’ll find someone who matches my pace. Or even outruns me. If you don’t get me killed first.”
We share an amused look with each other, but I can’t help but feel a sinking weight in my chest. We’re heading down a dangerous path. I’m glad to have my friend by my side, but I don’t want to lose him to whatever enemy has decided to fuck with me and Cara.
Even if I told Andrei to stand down and let me handle things, he would laugh in my face, tell me to fuck off, and ask what we’re doing next.
We’re in this together, and even if the Bratva end up being the ones behind all of this, I don’t see him saving himself. He’s too good of a friend to abandon me, even if it costs him everything.
We’ve been through enough for me to do the same for him.
A ding sounds from my laptop, making me look over to see a new message waiting from Sean.
“There’s our info,” I say as I click on the message to bring up all the information that Sean sent my way.
Andrei nods to me, his expression turning more serious.
“Grab your gun,” I tell him. “We’re going hunting.”