Page 66 of The Pakhan’s Hidden Heir

How could she get past the security?

Where would she have gone?

Why did she take my son?

We work our way down the hall from her end of the floor searching every room. Akim enlists the help of every guard we have, but she’s nowhere.

I don’t hold out hope we’ll find her in this house anyway. She’s taken her clothing and shoes, and the boy is gone. That tells me this was coordinated and she probably had help.

By the time we reach the ground floor my shirt is clinging to my sweat-slicked skin, and there’s a pressure riding behind my ribs like my chest may explode.

We come round the corner toward the east stairwell and find Ilya slumped in a chair sleeping. His chin has dropped to his chest and he’s snoring, probably very restful sleep. His rifle sits propped an arm’s length out of reach.

“Wake up,” I bark, pulling my pistol and aiming it at his head. He was on night watch, supposed to be guarding the door down here against intrusion. If he had been doing his job, he would’ve seen her. Instead he was sleeping.

His eyes come open and he blinks a few times, locking his gaze on the barrel. Then he shoves back in the chair with his hands flying up. “Boss, I only closed my eyes a second, I swear it to you, I only⁠—”

“Raina is gone!” I snarl, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Boss, come on,” Akim grumbles. He didn’t do this.”

“Where is she?” I am not playing games. Ilya may not be guilty of helping her leave, but he didn’t do his job. He failed, and right now I’m in no mood to be merciful.

“Bastian, I swear I just nodded off, I⁠—”

“You didn’t do your job. Where is she! Who helped her!” The gun shakes and I lean in, pressing the barrel to his forehead.

“Boss, let it go,” Akim urges. He goes so far as to push my shoulder back and he’s lucky I don’t turn this gun on him.

“Where!” I snap, pressing harder on Ilya’s forehead.

“I swear, boss, I don’t kno⁠—”

The shot cuts him off mid-word, snapping his head back hard as blood splatters on the wall behind him.

The chair rocks and settles, and he doesn’t move again.

The resounding boom of the gunshot stops every man dead in his tracks where he stands, and I watch Ilya’s body slump over, and his blood run down the walls.

Brain and bone clings to the plaster and I turn and wipe a drop of blood from my lip where I feel the warm moisture, then glare at my other men.

“Somebody walked into my house and took my son.” I holster the pistol and drag my palm down my slacks. “Pull the footage from tonight, all of it, every camera, and get me the face.”

“Boss, take a breath⁠—”

Akim starts in on me and I turn on him like a feral beast. My hands wrap around his throat, squeezing so tight he gasps and gurgles for air as I lift him off the floor and pin him to the wall.

His hands clutch at my wrists, eyes going wide as the others around me shift restlessly.

“I said, I want the security feeds and I want them now. And I want every member of this organization in my war room in ten minutes. Do you understand?”

Akim lets out a choked gasp and nods at me, so I let him go, dropping him back to the ground. Then I turn on the others. “And if I find out one of you did this, I’ll kill you all, one by one.”

26

RAINA

I sit on the bench in the post office lobby in Asino, opening Lada’s letter while Felix demolishes a cookie. Crumbs pepper his coat and he’s got chocolate smeared on both cheeks, swinging his legs because they don’t reach the floor yet. I grin at him and sigh softly, content with how peaceful life is right now.