Page 33 of Unholy Tsar

At any point during her escapade, things could’ve gotten out of hand. What if he had a gun and shot her? What if she rolled into an oncoming vehicle when she jumped out of the van?

I try to push the what-ifs out of my mind and focus on the important part. She made it out safely. “Who was it? Did you get a name? Did you see his face?”

She shakes her head slowly, “It was dark in the van, so I couldn’t see his face. I only heard his voice.”

His voice? “What did he say? Did he tell you what he wanted?”

She hesitates briefly, then nods. “I-I guess they noticed my guards and assumed I was a rich heiress or something. They must’ve wanted a ransom payout.”

Finishing up her bandage, I sit up. “Roy and the rest of my men weren’t discreet enough...”

Her eyes widen in dismay. “It’s not their fault. You can’t blame them, I–”

“Enough, Cecilia. You’re not going to talk me out of punishing them properly. Not this time.”

To my shock, her bottom lip trembles and tears start welling up in her eyes again. “P–please, Maksim. I feel safe with Roy. He’s been doing his best to protect me and—”

“Too bad his best wasn’t good enough.” I turn away from her as I return the first aid kit, feeling a pang of guilt at the sight of her tears. Fucking hell. I hate seeing her cry. But even her tears aren't strong enough to sway me this time.

When I get back into the bedroom, she’s pacing. “You need to rest, Myshka. Get into bed. You have nothing to worry about anymore.”

“What about you? Are you leaving me?” Her eyes widen. “Are you going to punish Roy?”

“You keep talking about him, and I’ll start to think maybe there’s something going on between you two.” It’s not a serious threat, but still, I watch her like a hawk, searching her gaze for any hint of dishonesty.

She pales at my words, “No, of course not, but—”

“No buts. He and the rest of my men knew what they signed up for when they joined my crew. I’ve been more than lenient with them. If I had taken swift action when you slipped out of their hands this morning, this might not have happened.”

She sighs, dropping her head in defeat. “I’ll support anything you do to them. Anything except killing them. Please, Maksim. I can’t have that on my conscience.”

“You’ve had a long day, get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

With that, I turn around again and walk out of the room.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“To find and kill the man who did this to you,” I promise savagely. According to her, he fell from the Brooklyn bridge into the river. We’ll go from there.

When I get into the elevator, I call Roy and give him the update. I’ll deal with him later, after we catch the culprit. Right now, I need all hands on deck.

Once I’m done with Roy, I dial Dante’s number. “Any progress with that plate number?”

“It’s from a sedan that was reported missing a week ago,” he answers. Fuck, so that’s a dead end.

“What about the van? Did you follow its route through the cameras?”

“Yes, Miss Lombardi somehow escaped her captor. I’m trying to follow her trail and–”

“Don’t. Stay on the van.” I command as the elevator opens into the basement parking lot.

“Sir?”

“Miss Lombardi,” I start, since Dante doesn’t know that’s not her real name yet, “is safe with me. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to catch those fuckers who tried to take her.”

Rage building, I direct him to track down the van and its driver. I get into my car and turn the ignition. I’ll meet Roy and the rest of my men at the river. The fucker who jumped from the bridge couldn’t have gotten far.

Soon enough, I’ll have him. Then he’ll regret ever being born.