Chapter 14 | Katia
Katia
My eyes slowly opened and I glanced toward the room’s only window.
It was covered by a thick shade, but I could see a faint outline of sunlight.
Blinking rapidly, I felt the crusty remnants of sleep in my eyes.
God, what I wouldn’t give for a shower. My entire body felt grimy, and I needed to pee again.
Maxim walked in and held up the two pairs of handcuffs. “Ready for the bathroom again?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice raspy from my dry throat. “And some water.”
“We’ll do the bathroom first. Let’s go.”
He untied me and chained me in the cuffs like last time. When he escorted me back, he tied me up and held a cold bottle of water to my mouth.
“Thank you,” I said, sighing as the cool liquid slid down my throat. “Can I have more?”
He gave me another sip before backing away and setting the bottle on the table.
“Oskar will be here in a few minutes,” he said, crossing his arms. “He’s going to ask you to turn on Michael. I’d say yes if you want to live.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Well, I do like living, but I’ll never turn on Michael, so we’re going to be at an impasse.”
“Stubborn woman,” he muttered. “Just do it so you can get out of here. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He wants Michael.”
“Then, I’ll trust him not to hurt me.” I lifted my chin in defiance.
Maxim rolled his eyes and checked his phone.
A few minutes later, a tall man with broad shoulders and light brown hair appeared. Two men followed behind him, and I realized one was Dmitry.
“Hello, Katia. Ma usun, et Maxim hoolitses sinu eest?”
“Yes, he’s taken good care of me, and I prefer English to Estonian.”
Oskar arched a brow. “So, you shun your heritage?”
“Estonia gave me nothing but pain. Sadly, the trend continues.”
“I can do without the dramatics,” Oskar muttered.
“You’re a very smart woman, Katia. That’s evidenced by the fact that you’ve skillfully hidden all of Michael’s illegal transactions over the years.
Now, it’s time for you to turn against him and go on the record about his dealings.
That’s all we ask. If you commit to doing that, you can go home. ”
I batted my eyelashes. “I don’t need flattery about my intelligence from a man who has none. And I’ll never turn on Michael, so what happens next? Will you kill me?”
“Oh, I assure you I’m intelligent, and don’t need confirmation from a two-bit mafia whore.” He spat on the dirty carpet.
“Calling me a whore isn’t going to help your cause—”
He stepped toward me and roughly grabbed my chin.
Squeezing it, he forced me to look in his eyes.
“Michael started this war. We were content to co-exist, but now, things are in motion. I won’t kill you, but my new partner will.
He’ll defile every part of your pretty little body and make you scream until he cuts out your throat.
My loyalty to your Estonian heritage prevents me from wanting to torture you, but Marco Nunez will in a heartbeat. ”
Jerking my chin from his hand, I swallowed thickly. “Is he here in New York?”
Oskar gave a nod. “You have two hours to think it over. When I come back, it will be with Marco. Think wisely.”
My eyes lifted to Dmitry, who was standing a few feet behind Oskar. His eyes were downcast; his hands clenched in front of his waist. He looked extremely uncomfortable, which caused hope to swell in my chest.
“Dima, you don’t have to be a part of this. Tell Leo or Alexis where I am—”
Oskar backhanded me, splitting my lip open as I tasted blood. Another blow hit the top of my cheek, catching the bottom of my eye socket, and I closed my eyes from the intense pain. He landed one last blow directly against my eye, and I groaned as I felt it begin to swell shut.
“Jesus Christ!” I screamed. “I thought you weren’t going to torture me.”
“I’m not, but I never said I was above hurting you. Dmitry did the right thing by telling me that you and your FBI boyfriend approached him. He’s loyal to me and will never turn.”
I squinted at Dmitry through the one eye that wasn’t rapidly swelling closed. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and I knew that if I had just a bit more time with him, I could get him to see reason...
“Two hours, Katia. I want your commitment to turn on Michael. Dmitry will send some deposits this afternoon, and we’ll begin the process of reporting Michael to the feds.”
I stayed quiet, wondering how in the hell I was going to get myself out of this terrible situation.
“Don’t be a stupid bitch,” Oskar spat. “Your life isn’t worth protecting him.”
He stalked out of the room, Dmitry and the other soldier quickly following.
Maxim approached me and crouched. “Jesus, lady. Just give him what he wants.”
“I need some ice,” I said, licking the blood at the corner of my lip. “And a fucking band-aid.”
“I have a first aid kit,” he said, rising. “I’ll clean what I can.”
Maxim retrieved the kit and tenderly cleaned my wounds. I could tell he was shaken up at the violence, but sadly, I didn’t think it was enough to turn him to my side.
A silent timer ticked in my head, and I wondered if I should just lie to Oskar to save my life. That would only buy me a small amount of time, though, if Dmitry was going to make more deposits to implicate Michael.
Lost in the clusterfuck, the wheels chugged in my brain as I tried to think of a solution.
Leo
I struggled through my meeting the next morning, my mind on Katia as I waited for it to end.
As soon as it did, I hightailed it out of the office and headed to the Nassau County Medical Examiner’s office.
My dad had a friend who worked there, and I hoped he’d do an off-the-books test for the delivery bag.
I arrived and showed my credentials before being buzzed into the elevator to the second floor. There, I was greeted by Dr. Marty Shoemaker.
“Well, well,” Marty said, arching a brow above his white lab coat. “You never show up here unless you need something I can’t talk to anyone else about.”
“I need you to test this,” I said, lifting the zip lock bag that held the evidence. “It’s going to be a long shot, but if it has any traceable DNA, I need it.”
Concern entered Marty’s brown eyes. “Your dad was the best cop I knew, so I’m always happy to help you, Leo.” He began walking down the hallway toward his lab, urging me to follow. “But I have one year left until retirement. This isn’t going to get me in trouble or fuck up my pension, is it?”
“I hope not,” I said as we entered the lab. “But if it does, I’ll pay for your whole goddamned pension. It’s that important.”
Marty donned a pair of gloves and took the evidence. As he examined it, his eyes lifted to me occasionally, studying me.
“I’ve never seen you this frazzled. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re the most emotionless guy I know. What’s so important about this evidence?”
“The less you know, the better. I don’t want to get you involved any more than you already are.”
“Fair enough. This is going to take me a half an hour at least. Go down to the vending machine and have a soda while I work. The silence will help me go faster.”
I nodded and stalked downstairs, my skin prickling with the knowledge that Katia was still in captivity. Fear caused my veins to turn to ice as I prayed for the thousandth time that she was safe and unharmed.
Eventually, I headed back upstairs to get the results.
Marty pressed his palms to the table and pointed to the evidence.
“I tried my best, son, but there’s nothing salvageable. I’m very sorry.”
“Shit,” I whispered, harshly rubbing my eyebrows. “I appreciate you trying.”
“The bag does have a manufacturer’s name on the bottom, but it’s a large company that supplies many restaurants.”
“I don’t know what I was hoping to find,” I said, shaking my head. “I just want to find her. I need to find her...”
Comprehension entered Marty’s eyes and he approached me. Gently patting my shoulder, he formed a sympathetic smile. “Then, you’ll find her son. And once she’s safe, I hope to meet her.”
My throat bobbed as I swallowed. “I hope so too. Come to the bar one weekend, okay? Dad and I miss you.”
“I will. Things have been tough since Miriam passed away.”
“I get that,” I said, squeezing his shoulder. “Text me anytime.”
Marty nodded and I patted his arm before leaving the lab. There was no need for me to hold onto the evidence, and I knew Marty would dispose of it surreptitiously.
Once back in my car, I texted Alexis and Michael to see if they had any updates.
Michael informed me that Oskar was back, but he’d headed into the city early this morning.
Joaquin and Enzo had lost his SUV in the busy rush hour traffic, so they were now parked in front of his apartment building, waiting for him to return.
Feeling helpless, I headed to the office to complete some reports so Daniel wouldn’t suspect anything. Once I finished, I would head out and resume the search for Katia. By God, I wouldn’t stop until I found her, no matter how long it took.