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ANDREI
The speedboat cuts through the choppy waters of Newark Bay, as the setting sun casts a pink glow over the water. We’re waiting for the cover of dark before approaching the derelict building on the outskirts of Port Newark. This is where our meeting with Georgia’s abductor is planned for tomorrow—hence, tonight’s reconnaissance mission.
The now abandoned container terminal is exactly the kind of place where you’d expect to be ambushed. And yet, I’m willing to walk into my grave.
Hours after we discovered her missing, Georgia’s mysterious abductor sent me a message. Not asking for ransom, but asking for an in person meeting with me and my brothers. No weapons, no back-up. Without the meeting, Georgia dies.
My organs recoil at the image that was sent to me. Georgia unconscious, shackled to a bed, still wearing my white dress shirt. She appeared to be unharmed, but for how long? Whoever has her is going to want something from me, something I may or may not be able to give them. I don’t allow myself to go down that rabbit hole. It’s a dark, dark place.
When night falls, Daniil kills the engine of the boat.
“Ready to do this?” he asks, voice low.
When I nod, Yulian reaches down for a small briefcase at his feet and begins assembling a high-tech pair of night-vision binoculars. Geared up, he begins surveilling the building and its surrounding areas. “No guards in place. No vehicles in the area.” He continues to scan the location as Daniil maneuvers the boat around the port wall. “Three ground level exits,” he continues, “overall low to no security.”
Yulian lowers the binoculars and sits heavily in his seat. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but this place is a joke. Either you’re being set-up and they are going to blow it to smithereens the moment you walk in there, or this is an amateur job.”
A better man might consider his options, weighing the cost of his life, and others. But I am not a better man. “We go.”
My brothers—the loyal fucks they are—voice their agreement, willing to follow me into a situation that may very well end badly.
Yulian’s mouth snaps into a straight line. “Walking into this meeting is a death trap—no back-up, no weapons. My team will surveil with a drone, and we’ll be on standby, but we can’t do much once you enter the building. You’ll be sitting ducks. And if Oleg is behind this—”
“But he’s not.” I say decisively. “This isn’t his MO. If he took Georgia from her bed in my house, he wouldn’t hide that fact. He’d be gloating, flaunting our failure in our faces, especially after what we did to him.” On top of that, we have acquired the best intel money can buy, and all of our sources confirm Oleg is still laying low, waiting to gather his team before striking. Whoever is behind Georgia’s disappearance, they’re not a known entity.
Yulian sighs heavily, bracing his arms on his knees. “Even old dogs learn new tricks.”
He’s frustrated, and I can’t blame him. I’m leading my whole family into a dangerous situation, but I have no choice. Allowing harm to come to Georgia would destroy me in ways I can’t even fathom. Even though she’ll never be mine, knowing she is free and happy will be enough. It has to be.
I consider Yulian’s concerns. If this job was a bunch of amateurs, we would have found them by now. The only lead we have is Piper. The fact that she disappeared without a trace means she’s working for someone powerful—powerful enough to place her in our employ after passing rigorous screening tests and background checks.
“I hope she’s worth it,” Daniil says, lighting a cigarette and blowing lazy rings just to annoy me, which he’s remarkably successful at.
“You know she is,” I insist. “But this isn't about making her mine.” As much as I’d like to do that. What could I offer Georgia? A life of danger. Violence. Death at every turn.
I want to offer her more than that. I want to give her the world, just not the world I inhabit.
Leo eyes me carefully. “Seems like an awful lot of trouble for a woman that you’re not going to keep.”
“Haven’t we been through this?” I snap. “If you love someone, you keep them away from the brotherhood. Those are the rules. My rules.”
Shit, I just said love.
Chapter35
GEORGIA
The next day, I see little of Kira. I know she’s with Jake, the friend that’s helping her pull off this audacious mission, but I have no idea what they are actually doing. My only saving grace is that she’s untied me from the bed. I'm still locked in this bedroom, but at least I have space to move around, or more accurately pace the room like a madwoman.
Kira also lent me jeans and a hoodie which I’m grateful for. I couldn’t bear to wear Andrei’s dress shirt any longer. It smells like him, the scent both comforting and upsetting. I’m worried about him, about Kira, about everyone. I can only hope that everything will go smoothly, because the alternative is too much to imagine.
Goddamnit, when did Andrei get under my skin? I didn’t want to feel anything for him. I still don’t, and yet I fucking feel so much. Moments of our time together flood my mind. Our ill-fated shooting lesson when he offered me freedom and gave me the most delicious orgasm of my life, when he gifted me the studio and our picnic dinner on the beach. The way he held me. His smell, his taste. It was all so real just a minute ago, and now it’s gone.
The room echoes with the click of a lock and a moment later, Kira enters the room carrying a takeout bag in one hand and a gun in the other hand. A gun that’s pointed straight at me.
“Seriously?” I exclaim, more surprised than I ought to be.
She tosses a set of handcuffs my way. “Secure one hand to the bed frame. You can leave your other hand free.”
