Chapter 13 | Katia
Katia
Consciousness crept upon me slowly; the darkness taking on a slow, pulsing energy as it seemed to spread through my body.
I slid my tongue around my mouth, craving water.
God, I was so thirsty. My eyelids weighed about a thousand pounds, but after a long, hard-fought struggle, I was able to slightly pry them open.
I couldn’t move my head yet, so my eyes darted right and then left, taking inventory of the room. The walls were painted a drab yellow but were otherwise bare. Looking down, I could see that I was seated although I could barely feel my legs.
My arms were behind me, so I concentrated and tried to pull them forward. No such luck. As I regained more feeling, I realized they were tied behind my back. Grunting, I tried to lift each leg, but those seemed to be restrained too.
I waited in the dim silence, my brain working overtime to assess the situation and figure out an escape. Eventually, a door creaked behind me and a young man with bushy eyebrows and dark eyes entered.
“Good, you’re awake,” he said, coming to stand in front of me. “We shot you full of the shit that Oskar gave us, and you slept for hours.”
Noticing his accent, I spoke in Russian. “Gde ya?”
He shot me a droll look. “I’m obviously not going to tell you where you are, and you can talk English. I’m trying to learn better, so I don’t talk Russian here.”
“Speak Russian,” I corrected.
“Huh?”
“You don’t speak Russian here.” My eyes narrowed. “Forget it. Why did you kidnap me? If you want me to help you, this isn’t the way to go about it.”
“Oskar has a plan for you,” he said, the words ominous. “He’s busy with a meeting that couldn’t be moved so he won’t be here until tomorrow morning. I’m supposed to make sure you don’t escape.”
“Can I have some water at least?”
Nodding, he walked to a small refrigerator resting along the wall to my right. Pulling out a bottle of water, he approached and unscrewed the lid. He lifted the bottle to my lips and I took several large gulps.
“Thank you,” I said, sighing. “I promise, if you untie my hands, I won’t try to leave.”
“No way, lady. Just settle in and wait. I’ll be back in a few hours with a granola bar for you. See you later.”
“Wait!” He halted and I struggled to find some reason for him to stay. The thought of being left alone in my makeshift prison was terrifying. “Are you the only one here? Do you want to sit and talk for a bit?”
“You’re not going to get any information out of me,” he said, his tone void of emotion. “I’m just a soldier who does what he’s told. See you later.”
He left the room and my shoulders tensed at the finality of the sound of the door closing. My chest rose and fell with my labored, shallow breathing, and I closed my eyes. Drawing upon my yoga knowledge, I focused on calming my energy.
Leo knew I’d been taken, and I had no doubt he’d do everything in his power to find me.
Trying to slow my raging heartbeat, I silently prayed that he would find me before it was too late...
Leo
I made it to Katia’s place in record time and found a parking spot. Rushing to the trunk, I quickly grabbed the backpack that held my crime scene tools and jogged to her building. A man exited, and I slid inside before running up the stairs to her apartment.
Whoever had taken her had been smart enough to close the door. Lowering to one knee, I pulled some tools from my backpack and began to pick the lock.
“You’re the only man I wouldn’t kill for picking the lock to Katia’s place,” a deep voice droned to my right.
Glancing over, I saw Michael, dressed in dark pants and a polo shirt instead of his usual suit, indicating he’d rushed over as well.
Chris loomed behind him, and I returned to focusing on the lock.
“I told you not to come,” I said, clicking the lock open and turning the doorknob. “You’re on the security cameras now, less than an hour after the attack.”
“Since I own the apartment, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Scowling, I rose and entered Katia’s apartment. “Let me assess first,” I said, holding up a hand to halt them from entering.
There was a large crushed brown paper bag on the floor, and I gave the kidnapper credit for being thorough in his impersonation of a delivery guy.
“I don’t see any evidence of a syringe,” I said, pulling gloves out of my back pocket and picking up the paper bag. I stuffed it in a large zip lock bag and sealed it before placing it in my backpack. “I’ll test that for DNA.”
Michael and Chris entered, closing the door behind them.
“I’m going to kill those bastards for touching her,” Michael said, crouching and inspecting the floor where the bag had been.
“Get in line,” I muttered.
We inspected the scene for a while, unable to recover any other evidence besides the fake delivery bag and Katia’s cell phone. I picked it up and placed it in a side pocket of my backpack, determined to return it to her soon.
After a thorough search, we stood, defeated; hands on our hips as the energy vibrated between us, tense and fraught with worry.
“How long will it take you to test the bag for DNA?” Michael asked.
“I’ll rush it, so hopefully sometime tomorrow. But don’t get your hopes up.” I shook my head. “The chances of getting anything helpful are low.”
Michael’s dark eyes lifted to mine. “How the fuck are we going to find her?”
“Joaquin and Enzo need to report all of Oskar’s movements to you,” I said, removing my gloves and stuffing them into a side pocket of my backpack. “If anything seems off, even Oskar stopping at a new place for coffee, call me.”
“I will, but Oskar is in South Jersey. He visits someone there occasionally on the weekends, and we think it’s a distant great aunt or something. Joaquin and Enzo tailed him down there, and they confirmed it on my way here. He usually returns early on Monday mornings.”
“He probably had one of his soldiers take her,” I said, frowning. “And they’ll hold her until he comes back. Fuck, this is messy.”
“I would prefer if you don’t get the FBI or the NYPD involved yet,” Michael said, “but it’s up to you.”
“I’m going to hold off as long as I can. Bringing them in could open up more inquiries into you, and into Katia’s management of your books. I can’t promise I can hold them off forever, but for now, I don’t want anyone else involved either.”
Facing Chris, Michael gestured with his head to the door. “Can you wait in the hallway for me?”
“Sure thing, boss,” Chris said, his gaze drifting to me. “Please find her, Leo.”
“I will,” I said, unable to accept any other outcome.
Chris stepped outside, closing the door and leaving me and Michael standing in the quiet foyer.
“I think it’s time I said something to you,” he said softly.
“I’m not a big talker,” I responded, sarcasm in my tone, “so let’s just skip the fireside chat.”
Expelling a breath, Michael crossed his arms. “We’ve known each other for a long time, Leo, and it took years to build the trust we have today.”
“Thanks for the recap.”
Smirking, Michael tilted his head. “I can see why she likes you. You’re everything she needs but wasn’t ready to accept for a very long time. It’s difficult for her to imagine that loving someone will work out. I hope you’ll change that for her.”
My spine straightened as all of the difficult, intense feelings I had for Katia swirled inside my gut. “I just want to find her and make sure those bastards never touch her again.”
Michael gave a nod. “I know. I have no doubt you will.” Closing the distance between us, he cupped my shoulder. “I respect you more than you know, Leo. You’re a good man, and I’ll do everything I can to ensure you both get the happiness you deserve.”
My lips twitched. “What the fuck has Bianca done to you? I’ve never heard you talk like this.”
Michael chuckled. “She’s turned me into a damn sap. Being married to her has changed everything. I want that for you and Katia. Our past is a distant memory. Please don’t let it fuck up what you two can build together.”
A deep breath left my lips. “I hate that you two were together.”
“I know,” Michael said with a nod. “I’d fucking hate it too. But are you going to castigate her for it forever? She deserves better.”
My shoulders deflated. “She does, so I’m going to let it go. I was already starting to.”
Michael’s eyebrows lifted.
“None of your fucking business, man.”
Michael slowly smiled. A moment of understanding passed between us and he patted my upper arm. “I want to hear from you every few hours.”
“Same,” I said, extending my hand. “We’ll find her.”
Michael gave me a firm shake and backed toward the door. With a final nod, he exited, leaving me alone in Katia’s quiet apartment.
Although Michael had confirmed that Oskar was out of town, I knew the building he lived in, and needed to stake it out for myself. Slinging my backpack on my shoulder, I headed to my car and drove to Oskar’s building in Brighton Beach.
I waited outside for hours, watching... observing... plotting. As soon as I saved Katia, I was going to make this fucking bastard pay.
I’d studied criminals for years, and I doubted that Oskar had given instructions to have Katia brought to his place. He most likely had an abandoned house or warehouse where his men were keeping her until he returned home from South Jersey.
After several hours, exhaustion crept in. I had an early meeting and needed to pretend that everything was normal at work. That would allow me to secretly work Katia’s case alongside my other cases. In order to do that, I needed to sleep.
Wanting to leave no stone unturned, I stopped by Katia’s apartment one more time in case I missed something. I returned to her foyer, hands on my hips as I slowly surveyed the scene. Frustration mingled with my exhaustion, and I emitted a soft curse at the fact that I had no tangible leads.
Something brushed against my leg, and I glanced down. Katia’s cat stared up at me, her large, green eyes almost sad as she meowed.