AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s what’s worrying me. My wife and child are in danger.” My jaw clenches. “And so help me God, if she’s hurt…”
“Trust me, whoever it is won’t hurt her,” Konstantin tells me. “They need her alive, or the messenger won’t deliver whatever it is that my mother’s sending her along with the formulae to her perfected NeuroNerve drug.” He glances out the window. “Besides, Isabella and your child are also great bargaining tools, being the heirs of three legacy crime families and a large transport company.”
“And what about the NeuroVeil and the rest of the drug formulas?” Temur adds. “Isabella should be inheriting those soon.”
“Jesus Christ!” I shove my hand through my hair. “So whoever has Isabella basically gets the mother load of information that could potentially sink large crime families, she’s carrying the super baby, she has three empires as a dowry, and the formulas to a new and improved NeuroNet and NeuroVeil.”
“That’s it in a nutshell.” Konstantin nods in confirmation. “See why she’s the key?”
“Who is the messenger?”
“For eighteen years, Marco, your parents, and a lot of other crime families that don’t want this alliance to go through, have tried to find who it is.” Konstantin purses his lips. “For eighteen years, no one has been able to find this person, and those rumored to have found out have never been heard from again.”
“I’m sure you just described the Boogeyman.”
“When Isabella was a baby, she was terrified of monsters.” He laughs. “I used to have to go through her room every night before she’d get into bed.”
My eyes widen in shock. Is that emotion I see on the iceman’s face?
“What?” Konstantin looks at me as if I’ve just offended him. “I can have nostalgic moments.”
“Yeah!’ I nod. “But it’s somehow very disturbing on you. I think it’s because to me, you’re a cyborg that’s only about one-quarter human.”
“Thanks!” Konstantin sighs and rolls his eyes.
“What happened to my brother the night I thought he’d been killed?” My brow furrows, and anger surges through me again. “How come you say my brother’s alive, but I saw you stab him? I recognize that tattoo on your risk and dagger. I think I was hit with that NeuroVeil shit, but as I was passing out, I saw you stab my brother.”
“Konstantin wasn’t stabbing your brother,” Temur tells me. “He was saving Lev’s life. Lev’s lung had been punctured.”
“What?” I blink, trying to process this.
“Konstantin performed an emergency procedure,” Temur explains. “He had to insert a chest tube to prevent Lev’s lung from collapsing completely. It looked like a stab, but it was the only way to save him on the spot.”
“You mean you did a thoracostomy?” I ask incredulously. “To save him?”
“Yes,” Temur nods. “It was a risky move, but it worked. Konstantin knew what he was doing.”
“Are you medically trained?”
“Field medic.” Konstantin does his favorite shrug movement.
Konstantin’s eyes darken as he glances at Temur. “Temur. Do you want to tell Andrey why you owe his brother your life?”
“What?”
“It was my fault Lev nearly died that night two years ago,” Temur admits. “Like the commander said, I let my emotions get in my way, left my post, distracted the commander, and …” He pauses. “Got someone very dear to us both killed.”
“No more fucking riddles,” I seethe. “What the fuck happened?”
“Lev had just finished telling your father that he’d eloped,” Konstantin explains.
“Wait!” My eyes widen in shock. “What? Eloped?”
“With Stacy Thompson!” Temur adds, making me choke on my own spit.
“No fucking way,” I say between coughs.
Chapter 6
