Chapter 11 Finding Her
Finding Her
Nikolai
I enter the hotel floor with Sasha on my heels, and I’m floored by the bloodshed. My men are dead. Every one of them.
“What the fuck?” Sasha whispers, running his hands through his hair.
“Mira!” I shout, breaking into a run. I arrive at our suite, and there’s a body outside the door and two more in the suite. “Mira!” I don’t find her, but I see blood in the bedroom, but not a body. “Fuck!” I roared. “This has Dmitri written all over it!”
“I don’t think it’s the Pakhan,” Sasha says, texting rapidly.
“Then who?”
“Someone with low-level intelligence. Kidnapping your wife not even 24 hours after your wedding is not smart. And I know the Pakhan is up there in age, but he’s smarter than this. He’d be your number one suspect. My vote would be Irina.”
“Send someone to—” I pause when my cell phone vibrates. It’s a call from an unknown number. “Speak.”
“I have something for you,” a taunting voice replies.
Dr. Alexander Petrov…better known as “The Butcher.”
“Dr. Petrov…do you have my wife?”
“I do.”
“Is she intact?”
“She is.”
“How did she end up with you?”
“She was brought to me. I was told she was a gift, and it was understood that this gift should be unwrapped and the contents removed. Fortunately for her, I recognized her tattoos before I got her onto my slab.”
“Who ordered you to hack up my wife and sell her organs on the Black Market?” I growl.
“Nikolai…come on. You know how this goes—quid pro quo. If you want information and your wife back, you must give me something in exchange.”
“I can wire you—”
“Don’t be boring, Nikolai. I’m sure you can come up with something better than that.”
“May I speak with her?”
Dr. Petrov sighs. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Here, darling. Your husband’s on the phone.”
My heart stops pounding in my chest when I hear my wife’s soft voice. “Are you okay, Mira?”
“Yes and no.”
“Did Dr. Petrov hurt you?”
“No. He extracted the bullet from my shoulder and stitched me up. I’m in a sling for the next week.”
“Two weeks, darling,” Dr. Petrov chimes in from the background.
“Two weeks,” Mira confirms. “Dr. Petrov let me get cleaned up, and he fed me. We’re now engaged in a heated game of Monopoly, and I believe he’s been cheating.”
“Cheating?” Dr. Petrov exclaims.
“That’s right. I think you’ve been slipping money from the bank when I haven’t been looking.”
I can’t help but laugh. I laugh until my abdomen contracts so hard that I have to sit down. Tears stream down my face at the absurdity of the situation.
My wife is dining and playing Monopoly with Dr. Alexander “The Butcher” Petrov—the infamous black market organ harvester. I can’t make this shit up!
“I can assure you everything has been above board,” Dr. Petrov says.
“Mhmmm. That’s fine. Do you have Uno?”
“I do.”
“I don’t want to hear shit when I start stacking,” Mira threatens.
“What’s stacking?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll show you.”
“You will not show him because I’ll be retrieving you shortly,” I say, interrupting their banter. The next voice I hear is Dr. Petrov’s.
“Listen, cowboy. Your wife is safe and will remain that way, but like I said, I need something from you.”
What the fuck can I give this man that’ll satisfy him?
A bulb goes off in my head.
“Dr. Petrov, I have something arriving in Moscow in two weeks. However, before I give it to you, I need to know who arranged the kidnapping and eventual death of my wife.”
“I—”
“It’s that bitch Irina!” Mira shouts from the background.
“You know what? You only need one kidney to survive,” Dr. Petrov mutters.
“Petrov, don’t fuck around,” I say, snarling into the receiver.
“Relax. As your lovely wife confirmed, Irina Anistov arranged the harvesting.”
“Thank you. In two weeks, US counterfeit plates will arrive in Moscow. I’ll deliver them to you myself.”
“I think that’ll make for a beautiful exchange and lifelong friendship. Deliver the plates in two weeks, and you can have your wife back.”
I want to protest. I want to beg for leniency and ask that he release her immediately, but I know I’m not in any position to negotiate. He’s doing me a fucking favor.
“Fine. But under the condition that I can speak to my wife three times a day.”
“Agreed.”
I spend a few more minutes speaking with Mira and explaining the game plan. She confirms once more that she hasn’t been harmed in any way while under Dr. Petrov’s care, and we agree to speak again later in the evening.
“So…what’s the plan?” Sasha asks.
“We get even.”
Two Weeks Later
“You look anxious.”
“What would make you say such a thing like that, Sasha?”
“You won’t stop squirming in your seat. When you see Mira again, try not to pee down her leg.”
I snort. “I’ll try my best.”
“Do you love her?”
“I do,” I admit without hesitation. “I still can’t wrap my head around it, and I might sound crazy, but the distance made me realize that I love her. I was in lust with her as soon as I saw her, but after spending time apart and talking daily, I can recognize the difference between lust and love.”
“What’s next for you two after this? Are you going to take her on a honeymoon?”
“I’ll take her anywhere her heart desires,” I reply, pausing our conversation to check an incoming text message.
“Good news?” Sasha presses.
“The decoy ship with the ‘plates’ has been sunk.”
“Sometimes, you’re too smart for your own damn good, Nikolai. How in the world did you know to send two ships?”
“It’s called planning ahead and having a fail-safe.”
“I call it fucking genius.”
Minutes later, Sasha pulls the SUV into Dr. Petrov’s compound. I smile when I see Mira outside, looking like she’s the one who’ll be pissing down my leg.
The vehicle is barely in park when I launch myself out of the truck. She collides into my arms, and I swing her around in a tight bear hug.
“Be careful. She’s still recovering from her injury,” Dr. Petrov warns.
“The plates?” Sasha rushes forward with the briefcase and hands it to him.
He cracks it open and inspects the hardware.
“Very nice. Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you, Pakhan Solkov. Don’t be a stranger; please bring the lovely wife around sometime.
If you’ll excuse me, I must erase the last of the Anistovs.
I’m excited. I’ve never had a father-and-daughter duo on my slab before. Take care.”
I grab Mira’s hand and assist her into the back of the SUV; she straddles me before I can get my seat belt on.
I smile as she rains kisses all over my face until she finally blesses me with a taste of her lovely mouth.
My arms wrap around her waist, and the backseat quickly turns into a furnace. Somehow, I will myself away.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I just want to get a good look at you. I love you, Mira,” I confess, rubbing her back soothingly. She kisses me again—this time more sensually.
“I love you, too, Niko.” She raises her right hand. “Thank you for these marks and for protecting me.”
“No thanks needed. Have you decided where we will honeymoon?”
Mira claps her hands together and slides off my lap. “I’m so glad you asked. How do you feel about the Maldives? I know you said I’ll get used to the Russian winters, but I need fun in the sun for now.”
I nod and smile warmly. “The Maldives, it is.”