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Pain racked through my face, and it took resilience not to double over and cry my eyes out.
I steadied myself, ready to launch a counterattack, but the ground beneath me swayed, and spots formed in my vision. “What the....”
My breath faltered.
I staggered backward, and the shadow of black baggy clothes passed from behind me, grunting, “Podnimi ee,Arlo.”
My feet left the ground, a blanket of darkness covered me, and a husky voice ushered me into subconsciousness.
“Lights out, Detective.”
Chapter 7 – Egor
Six Days Later
Russia
The ergonomic chair creaked under my weight when I leaned in and pulled myself closer to the desk. Setting the steaming mug beside the laptop, I stared at the glowing screen, lifted the mug to my lips, scanned through some messages, and still...nothing.
Anatoly sat across me with an open newspaper in his lap, his silent eyes trained on me. He picked on his nails and made funny movements with his mouth; his expression was smug, like he was fighting an internal war to not laugh. “He hasn’t joined in yet?”
“No. Not yet.”
The laughter came out anyway, jolly and loud, as if it had been evoked from the depths of his belly, and he scratched his scruffy jaw with tattooed fingers, skulls and bones and daggers intricately inked like dark rings around his digits. “That’s Niko. Probably forgot to set the alarm again.”
My groan filled the icy silence in the dimly lit room, and I rubbed between my eyes. My fingers drummed a staccato beat on the armrest as I waited for what felt like an eternity, staring at the empty video screen.
I was about to send a text to prod him when the screen flickered to life, and his naked shoulders appeared on the shaking camera before his face did. His infectious laughter followed after he steadied the cam, and a crazy brightness settled in his brown eyes when he cursed under his breath.
“Klyanus, ya zabyl.” I swear, I forgot.“I know I set the alarm, but somehow, it didn’t ring.”
I caught movement over his shoulders. A naked blonde doll was parading the room, picking clothing off the bed frame and the floor. I rolled my eyes and raised a brow. “Or it didn’t ring loud enough.” I sighed. “Niko, you’ve only been there for a day, and you’re already fucking around. The matter at hand is important.”
“Come on,brother.You think I don’t know that? That asshole got you thrown behind bars. I know how fucking important this is. The second I see his face, I’m going to disfigure it. Trust me,Korol,I have eyes everywhere, planted even in the slums of LA. Everything’s going well. If it weren’t, you’d be the first to know. Ronan’s definitely laying low, but a fox doesn’t stay hidden in its hole forever.”
I agreed. Sooner or later, the Irish heir was going to pop up on our radar. But Niko had to focus on the mission.
“I need your head deep in the game and not buried between pussies.”
Niko cleared his throat and waited until the doll was out of the room to continue the conversation. He must have seen the doubt on my face because he piped up with a cheesy grin, “When have I ever let you down?”
“Never?” Anatoly offered, flipping through the newspaper like he wasn’t listening to the conversation. “And maybe that’s the problem?”
That wasn’t a lie.
Nikolai Yezhov was as loyal and faithful as the words itself. It was the reason he was also one of the best men to recruit for any task.
My brother glared, even if my second-in-command couldn’t see him. His fingers went through his hair. “I’ve got this, okay? I will not jeopardize it.”
I laughed. “Your fucking ego might be the end of you. Just don’t mess this up. Arlo secured bail for a few weeks, so I’m notreturning to the United States anytime soon. I need you to take full charge and keep me updated with the minutest of details. Nothing should be overlooked.”
“Understood.”
Besides trying to evade the law, I had some unfinished business to take care of here in Moscow. We talked more about pending matters—a few unresolved conflicts with some new factions and unpaid debts from some local businesses. Nikolai proposed considering expansion plans after the court issues watered down and suggested names for possible future alliances. But that idea was going to have to be on a long pause. Arlo had yet to give me the names of thoseresourcesthat didn’t want to associate.
Abruptly, Anatoly dropped the newspaper and interrupted the conversation. “And the girl,Korol? What part does she play in any of this?”
“You kidnapped a girl?”
