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Which was probably a blessing considering the lack of urgency Morozov was giving off regarding having his wife found and returned to him.
Casper put aside his frustration with the thought of having his own team of bodyguards, and instead sat back and listened to the Russian tell them how his wife had been kidnapped while she was out shopping yesterday afternoon. He stated that the three bodyguards who had accompanied her had later been found dead. They had all been shot in the head.
As usual, Casper had been listening to the chatter on the police scanners yesterday evening when two officers reported having found three dead men in an alley. The execution style of the shootings and the men all having identified as being Russian born had led the police to conclude it was a gang-related crime.
There had been no mention in any of that chatter or in the media reports since that Vadim Morozov’s wife had initially been with those three men, but was now missing.
Casper glanced again at the two silent bodyguards Morozov had brought with him. They both looked to be in their mid-thirties, their features Slavic, and they were obviously carrying guns beneath their suit jackets. Probably illegally, because the English police weren’t known for giving out licenses to just anyone to allow them to carry a concealed weapon.
Casper couldn’t help but wonder if either of these men had been involved in shooting Martyna’s bodyguards after those men had allowed their charge to disappear. Voluntarily or involuntarily.
Casper tuned back in to the conversation to hear Morozov explaining that he’d received a phone call an hour after his wife was taken. That the voice on the other end was obviously disguised so that he hadn’t even been able to tell if the kidnapper was male or female.
He said the caller had stated he was not to involve the police, or his wife died. They told him they wanted ten million pounds for his wife’s release. They also said they would call back in three days’ time with directions for where that money was to be dropped off.
Morozov claimed that when he had demanded proof his wife was still alive, the kidnapper had abruptly ended the call.
The Russian freely admitted that he possessed far more than the requested ten million pounds. He also acknowledged he could have that amount of money in his possession in cash within the time limit given.
But, he had continued firmly, he had no intention of just handing ten million pounds of his money over to someone who claimed they had kidnapped his wife but refused to give him proof of life. Instead, he wanted Kingston Security to locate and rescue his wife before the three-day deadline was up.
“I have heard good things of your company,” the Russian added in his strongly accented voice.
“From whom?” Max demanded to know.
Piercing and pale blue eyes turned in his direction. “Your reputation is well known.”
“For what?” Adam bit out.
The Russian gave a smile that was all teeth and didn’t go anywhere near his cold blue eyes. “For returning missing wives to their concerned husbands, of course.”
Casper couldn’t see any of that concern in Morozov’s face or demeanor. There was also something about the way the Russian made that last comment which caused the hairs on the back of Casper’s neck to rise.
He glanced about the room at his brothers and cousin and saw that same wariness in all their expressions. The faces of Morozov’s two bodyguards remained expressionless.
Once Morozov and the other two men had left, with the promise from Sinclair they would look into the situation and get back to the Russian later today, the family was able to discuss the situation more fully.
At the moment, they only had Morozov’s word that his wife hadn’t left him voluntarily. Or, as Casper had already surmised, that the Russian was responsible for ordering the deaths of her bodyguards when they failed to bring his wife back from her shopping trip.
If their investigation confirmed it was a kidnapping situation after all, then they would affect a rescue and exact retribution on the people responsible without the necessity of being employed by a man they all despised for being the criminal he was.
Once free, Mrs. Morozova could decide for herself if she wished to be returned to the husband who, although he had the money, had balked at paying the necessary ransom for her release.
Casper frowned. “Have you asked Nikolai about him?” he prompted.
Sinclair nodded. “Nasty piece of work.”
“Nikolai or Morozov?” Casper drawled.
Nikolai Volkov was friend and second-in-command to the pakhan who was head of the Russian bratva in London. As Nikolai liked to claim, “Nothing and no one escapes my notice in my city.” If they wanted to know anything more about Vadim Morozov, then Nikolai was the one to ask for that information.
If anyone were to ask Nikolai if he was a friend of the Kingston family, he would no doubt deny it. But they all now considered him to be exactly that. The help he had given them during several difficult and life-threatening situations involving their family this past year had been invaluable.
Just months earlier, he had helped them rescue their brother Felix’s future wife, Brianna, from where she was being held captive in the home of the ruthless criminal Anthony Bart.
Nikolai had also arranged for that man’s savagely violent son to be killed in prison.
Terry Bart had been found guilty of beating his girlfriend to death. But the Bart lawyer had been working on having the conviction overturned on a technicality. Once Bart Junior was released, Brianna’s brother Connor, the head of the Irish Mob, had arranged for her to marry Terry, and so form an alliance between the London and Irish Mobs.
