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“I still don’t understand why,” I said, though I knew that he didn’t care.
“You’re just going to be the pigeon that delivers the message,” he replied cryptically.
“What the fuck does that mean?” I bit out. “Quit with the verbal acrobatics.”
“I plan on writing the most beautiful message to Kotov and Barychev on your body, and when I dump what’s left of you on their doorstep, it’ll be a nice reminder that they’re not as untouchable as they’d like to think.”
Hope was close to leaving my soul as I said, “You can’t win. I mean…you can’t possibly believe that you can win against the Russian Bratva. That’s…you’re on a suicide mission, Mr. Manziel.”
“Maybe,” he conceded. “However, I also have my honor, Ms. Andreev. I also have people that I owe, and if I die repaying that debt, then I’m fine with that.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No, I’m not,” he replied with determination in his voice. “Nevertheless, trust me when I tell you that you’re getting the sweet end of the deal. I’m merely doing this out of duty, not revenge. If I had been, you’d be meeting a fate far worse than what I’m about to do to you.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” I scoffed.
Louie grinned at me. “God, I’m going to love breaking that attitude of yours.”
“You can try,” I taunted, needing him to make just one mistake.
Chapter 31
Avgust~
I pounded on the door, and as soon as Gosha answered it, I was pushing past him. “Where’s Masha?”
“She’s in the bedroom,” he answered before adding, “I will go get her.”
A minute later, Masha and Gosha were walking into the living room, and I could see why Samara had been so upset to discover that they were involved. The way that she leaned into him, and the way that he stood at her back, both actions were very telling. Granted, I didn’t overly care where my guards stuck their dicks, but I could see this becoming an issue if it got any more serious than it already was. After everything was settled with Samara, I was going to have to speak with Gosha about Masha.
“What’s wrong?” she rushed out. “What…is Samara okay?”
“No, she’s not,” I answered truthfully. “So, I need you to tell me what you know about her plans for today. Where was she going, why, and anything else that you can think of.”
Tears immediately began to fill her eyes. “I…she…she didn’t tell me anything,” she admitted. “She’s…she’s upset with me about…about Gosha, so…we haven’t spoken much since she’s been home.”
It took everything in me not to throttle Masha Andreev. “I need you to think, Masha,” I told her as kindly as I could. “Did she say anything?”
Masha shook her head. “No,” she muttered dejectedly. “I…I caught her…she was going to order an Uber to meet someone, and when I’d told her that our car was fixed, she just walked over to the table over there…” She pointed to a decorative table next to their television. “…then grabbed the keys out of the bowl. She didn’t tell me where she was going, but she looked dressed for a job interview.”
“Ublyudok,” I bit out, angry at her ignorance.
“What’s going on?” she cried out. “What’s happened?”
Not seeing any need to sugarcoat anything, I told Masha the truth. “We believe that Samara has been kidnapped, though we have no idea why or by whom.”
Masha’s eyes widened with fear as she covered her gasp with her hand. “Oh, God.”
“We found her purse and car at a deserted building on Westchester, but we found nothing else,” I went on. “There was nothing to give us a hint of where she is or who has taken her.”
“I…” She started shaking her head as the tears finally started falling down her cheeks. “I…I don’t know…she has no enemies. I mean, except for you.” My chin went up as her words pierced my heart with their truth. “She…Samara keeps to herself, so she doesn’t have…I can’t think of anyone that would want to harm her. It makes no sense, Avgust.”
That last sentence had the lightbulb finally going off. “Now, while she might not have any, I have plenty,” I replied. “This has to be about me, not her.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, either.” I turned to look at Maksim. “Outside the bratva, who would know Samara’s significance to you? Even without the truce, the Sartoris and O’Briens do not use women for the purpose of revenge, so it cannot be either of them.”
“What about Klive Simpson?” Gosha asked, not being privy to what we knew.
