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“A little over a million dollars.” He looks around, not making eye contact with me and it’s pissing me off.
Shaking my head, I start pacing. I don’t know how to respond to this. Through all the years of him putting me down, treating me like I wasn’t good enough, and using me to get ahead in business, I still held a sliver of respect for him. I shouldn’t have. But I did because, while deep down I’ve always known he’s an asshole, I thought he was at least a respectable attorney. I chalked up his behavior toward me as not knowing any better because his father treated him horribly too. Why was I so naïve?
I turn around, trying to calm my temper while gathering my scattered thoughts. When I finally stop in front of him and cross my arms over my chest, he shoves his hands in his suit jacket and looks me in the eye.
“Why are you telling me all of this, Dad? I don’t have any money. I can’t help you.”
He takes a step toward me, his eyebrows drawn together and his gaze dark and distant. “That’s where you’re wrong, honey. You can help me.”
Jerking my head back, I narrow my eyes. “What?”
Before I notice he’s pulled his hands from his pockets, something sharp pricks my thigh. When I look down, I gasp. He stabbed me with a syringe. What the fuck? My stomach twists, and I think I’m going to vomit.
“Dad, what is that? What did you just do?”
He yanks the syringe away and tosses it. “I did what I had to do.”
My head rolls back, and when I look at the sky, it looks like swirls of blue and white dancing around. It’s not supposed to move like that.
“Since you fucked up my chance to make the money back, you’re going to pay it back personally. Your body for my freedom…sweetheart.”
His angry, bitter words float through the air as my entire world fades to black.
24
BASH
Something in my gut doesn’t feel right. Maybe it’s all the coffee I’ve had today mixing with the whiskey? No. This is something else.
Several hours with Alessandro, Luciano, Andrei, Nikolai, Cage, and our men, and so far, the only thing we’ve come up with is that the asshole who calls himself Smoke seems to have disappeared. Fitting, given his name. No one knows him, no one knows what he actually looks like, and no one knows how to find him.
Cage has been in contact with his men in Russia, and they stopped the abduction of a young woman. The men who were trying to kidnap her, though, wanted some quick cash. They aren’t part of the operation. Whoever is running this thing is smart. No one seems to know anything.
“My brother Luca contacted me this morning. The Colombian Cartel reached out to The Elite Team because there’s been a sudden influx of young women going missing from Colombia. Luca and Cassian are on a plane down there to help, but as of right now, it’s assumed whoever took the women from Russia is doing the same in Colombia. The patterns are the same.” Cage taps his fingers on the tabletop, looking bored. I’m pretty sure it’s all an act, but I can never tell with him.
“Jesus, Christ! Who the fuck are these people? We’re the goddamn richest syndicates in the US with the most resources. And this is happening right under our noses?” Declan asks.
“For now, we need to secure the ports. My brothers will remain in Russia and Colombia until you give us the order to pull back,” Cage says confidently. “It won’t take long before we find someone who can give us the answers we need… Once they’re properly persuaded.”
I don’t know who his brothers are. Cage is the only person I’ve met from The Elite Team, and the fucker is secretive and paranoid as hell. Cage Black might not even be his real name. I guess when you do jobs for the CIA, the mafia, and whatever other organizations they work for, you can’t be too careful. But every time we’ve contracted with him for a job, he and his team do a better job than anyone else on the planet ever could. They’re meticulous, sneaky, and terrifyingly smart. Sometimes, I think they may be more dangerous than the mafia.
“We found out that Ronald is not only broke but also stealing from his clients. Based on my calculations, he’s in debt for millions. As you all know, politicians don’t take kindly to having their money fucked with.” Cage laces his fingers together and leans back in his chair like we’re all sitting around having a tea party. Completely relaxed. Under the chill façade is a deadly machine that’s ready to go to war at the drop of a hat. “I think Smoke might be the name of a politician Ronald stole from. And somehow, he’s forced Ronald to get port access in exchange for debt forgiveness.”
I glance at Kieran, trying to gauge his thoughts. It’s difficult, though, because right now, he looks more pissed than anything.
“I never should have trusted him to take care of Chloe,” he grinds out.
Slapping my hand on his shoulder, I give a gentle squeeze. “You didn’t know he was that much of a piece of shit.”
Kieran stands so fast his chair flies back and hits the wall with a loud crash. “I should have been paying closer attention for fuck’s sake! And now this bastard is selling women? He could have tried to sell her.”
“She’s under our protection now,” Declan says firmly.
Andrei nods. “And ours. We don’t hurt women, and it doesn’t matter which family they’re part of, we will protect them.”
Meeting the Bratva boss’s eyes, I lift my chin in a silent thank you. I won’t say I fully trust the guy, but after spending the last few hours talking things out in this room, I’m starting to see the type of man he is. It seems that Andrei and Nikolai want to do good for their families.
My phone rings, and my stomach twists before I pull it free from my suit jacket. When I see Cullen’s name on the screen, my blood runs cold.
