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“The woman I came home with last night. There’s a note in the private log,” I snap when the idiot doesn’t put it together. I’ve already left the condo and am at the elevator, waiting for the damn doors to open.
“Yes, of course sir.” The sound of pages flipping fills the otherwise silence. “She, uh…”
“Is that Mr. Ivanov?” I hear another voice in the background, some shuffling, then the voice is directly on the line. “Mr. Ivanov, this is Don.”
Finally, someone not entirely incompetent. Don has gone above and beyond for me since I first met him. Still, I don’t ease the sharpness in my tone. “Where is Raina?” The elevator doors whoosh open and I hurry inside, punching the button for the lobby.
“She was here to use the house phone thirty minutes ago, made two calls. I’m afraid I listened in.”
“Good.” The man already knows me exceptionally well, and he’s well rewarded for it.
“The first confirmed the hotel didn’t have her briefcase, the second was to a—”
Shit!Elevators need to have reception. I will see to it that this building does after this. The doors open and I stride out, marching straight for the front desk. Don is already rushing out to greet me. “Tell me about this second call.”
“It was to a Mr. Donatelli. Whatever the man said truly upset her.”
I’m sure it did. Donatelli must know I’m searching for him. He will pay for what he’s done. “Do you remember anything else about the call?”
“She said he was talking too fast and mentioned something about trouble and rings. That’s all I picked up. She then handed me the receiver and hurried off toward the elevators. I assumed she was heading back up to the penthouse. It was a busy time, with more residents arriving, so I didn’t see her go up.”
“She didn’t go up. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be looking for her, now would I?” I don’t care that none of this is his fault. I only care that he doesn’t have any answers to help me find my Raina.
No, that’s not true. He said she went back to the elevators. That means she’s still in this building. It also means she now knows about the fake jewels in Natasha’s rings. Only a few people understand the reason why I’m after Donatelli aside from the jeweler himself, and they’re all in New York, not Chicago.
Or are they?
Oh no.Oh please no. The dread pumping through my veins races to my brain, sounding every alarm. There is one man who’d go out of his way to make sure the job is done—the one who delivered the assignment.
My little brother, Vlad. If he harms one hair on Raina’s beautiful, innocent head, I will have no choice but to return that harm tenfold.
I stare around the empty lobby, thinking hard. It’s always empty—always. I’ve never once even seen my neighbors, like some sort of unwritten rule among the millionaire residents to not enter the building at the same time. And yet, Don said it had been busy when Raina finished her call—so busy he didn’t notice her stepping into the elevator?
Nyet.I don’t believe it. Something else must have been happening here, a deliberate ploy to distract the faithful doorman.
I turn back to the front desk, and start shouting.
