Page 85 of Exacting Vengeance

More snorting from Deke and glares from their mother. She knew they were all keeping something from her.

Kyle’s phone vibrated, and he yanked it from his belt. FBI NY. The main switchboard. Getting a call from that number was unusual but not unheard of. “Gates,” he answered.

“Agent Gates,” the operator said, “I have a call from Tracee White. She said you know her and that she works with Victoria Kelly. She said it was urgent that she speak with you.”

He stood and headed into the kitchen for privacy, ignoring the concerned looks from his family. “Put her through.” There wasn’t a single good reason why Victoria’s friend would be calling the FBI, let alone at nine o’clock at night.

A few seconds of silence, then, “Go ahead, Ms. White. I have Agent Gates on the line.”

“Kyle? Are you there?” Her voice sounded breathy.

“Tracee, I’m here. What’s wrong?” In the background, he heard the telltale click of the switchboard operator signing off.

“Oh, thank God,” she all but screamed. “Something’s wrong with Victoria. I went to her apartment to bring her some soup. She didn’t buzz me in when I rang her bell. Someone finally let me in, but she’s gone. Her door was closed but not locked. I’m telling you, something’s wrong. There are flowers all over the floor, and when I called her cell phone, it was in the bathroom. She wouldn’t leave it behind. She wouldn’t!”

Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose, searching for his next move in a sea of dread. Normally, he’d be clear-headed, barking out orders and knowing precisely what had to be done. But this was Victoria. Victoria! Get your shit together.

Her life depended on it.

Her life depended on him.

“Does this have something to do with her ex?” Tracee asked.

“Yes.” No sense minimizing the danger or withholding now. He knew with every fiber of his being, it was true. His worst fear had just become realized.

Yuri has Victoria.

“Stay there, but don’t touch anything,” he said in a calm voice completely in contradiction to the storm brewing in his head and his heart. “I’m on my way. There are two agents outside the building, and I’m calling the police. They’ll get there before I do, so let them know about the agents stationed outside.”

“The police are already here,” Tracee said.

“In the building?”

“No. There’s a fire next door. Two police cars are already here, and fire trucks are pulling up.”

Police and fire?

Suspicion roared through him like a freight train running off the rails. There wasn’t a chance that was merely a coincidence. Whatever was going on next door had to be a distraction. To kidnap Victoria. With agents guarding the building, it would have been the only possible way Yuri could take her away without being seen. Speaking of those agents…

“Wait there for me. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” Probably less, given how he planned on pounding the pedal like an Indy 500 driver.

He ended the call, heading for the door as he cued up the agent on guard outside the front of Victoria’s building.

“Wherever you’re headed,” Deke said, “we’re going with you.”

Beside him, Jack stood.

He gave his brothers a quick nod, grateful not only for their steadfast support with no questions but for how they knew him well enough to understand the shit had hit the fan and was about to splatter on the wall. “Let’s roll.”

Kyle hit the last turn so fast his SUV took it on two wheels. He’d told Tracee he’d be there in thirty. He’d made it in eighteen. His brothers were seconds behind him.

At the police barricade, he badged the cops, then punched it and screeched to a stop in front of Victoria’s building right behind a⁠—

Whitney Florists van.

Another delivery from the same florist that had sent Yuri’s bouquet on Victoria’s birthday? And at nine o’clock at night? Doubtful. The pile of coincidence was stacking up fast.

Three fire trucks were on scene next door. Streams of water poured from two hoses into the small bodega as flames shot from the door.