Michail growls from the other end. “That bastard took Josie!”
I growl back, making sure it uses the real emotion I would have if it had happened like that. The man would be dead a thousand times over if he’d actually taken her. “What do you mean he took Josie? I watched him drop her off at home before I went to wait for him at the bakery.”
“I don’t fucking know. All I know is her friend called in a panic. She said that Josie got an alert on her phone about a security problem at the bakery and went to check it out. Apparently, my little girl doesn’t listen and had cameras set up in the back. We were only able to find one in the storeroom, but it didn’t have anything to show us. The second one is gone.”
My heart hammers. It doesn’t sound like he suspects me in anything. I don’t think he would, he knows how much I care about her. “I never saw him that night or her. If I had, she would be safe right now. I waited until midnight and then left to check out the casino and strip clubs he was at earlier in the week. He’s been working closely with Petrov, I’m certain of it. I have a feeling he didn’t decide to take her on his own. He’s probably working with someone. Don’t worry. I won’t rest until I find her.”
“I knew I could trust you to find her. Be quick and, Cason, when you find the bastard and whoever else is in on this. I want you to string them up by their sacks and let them bleed out slowly as their balls turn blue. Petrov will rue the day he ever thought to mess with me like this.”
The line goes dead and I let my hand drop as I let out a sigh. He believed it, but I think I’ve caused issues for Petrov. It’s fine, the two of them have been at each other’s throats for a long time. He’s one of the red flag people, but I’ll take him out gladly if it makes it so Michail doesn’t notice my actual involvement. It’s better that way.
Leaving the kitchenette area, I head outside to my Ford Bronco and grab a duffle bag from the back. It has a full week of clothes, hair dyes, wigs, and fake facial hair if I ever need any of it, or to go into hiding for a while. I wish I kept a second one for a woman in my truck as well, but I never thought something like this would happen.
I take it back inside with me and head to the bedroom. She’s standing at the window, peering out at the trees. I frown as my gaze goes to the chain linked to her ankle. I hate it. I know she’s afraid of bears. But I don’t know if she’s serious about that fear or if she wants me to think she is. I’ll keep her on it for a few days, and only take her off it when I’m next to her.
She glances over her shoulder. “I heard you leave. I thought you were going to leave me in here alone.”
I shake my head. “I would never do that to you. I just went to go get my travel bag.”
I hold it up and she nods.
“Do you need anything before I go take my...” I grimace, “bath?”
She laughs. “Still not a fan of bathtime, huh? I’ll never forget some the stories your mother has told me about when you were younger. How you hated bathtime so much that you would get out of the water and force her to chase you across the house na?”
I clear my throat. “Let’s not relive those memories, shall we? I can’t believe she talked to you about that stuff. When did that happen?”
“Christmas two years ago, when it was at your family’s estate. She brought out the albums. You weren’t there, you were away on a... business trip. You killed someone on Christmas?”
I grimace at her tone and the fact she’s probably seen way too many polaroid photos of me naked as a child. I seriously regret those years when I hated clothes. “I didn’t kill them on Christmas, I gave them the holiday and killed them the next day while they were on a ski trip. I made it look like they hit trees while snowboarding and broke their necks.”
She winces at my detail. “Them?”
“They were twin brothers from France; they were serial rapists. One of their victims hired Bancroft I.N.K to take them out. I usually make deaths for people like them painful, but the only time I could get them before they took another victim was while they were vacationing with their family in Aspen Colorado.”
She frowns. “They were really rapists?”
I nod. “You can look them up, they were known in Russia and had been in prison for it once, but their family had money, so nothing ever sticks when people can be bought off. There’s articles warning women to not interact with them if they see them. Bancrofts don’t kill the innocent, Josie. We never have, and as long as I’m in charge, we never will. The men and women on our lists have valid reasons to die.”
She sighs. “I know. You’re the garbage men for the human race. And no, I don’t need anything before you go take your bath.”
I nod and continue on my way to the bathroom. I think about closing the door, but then I won’t be able to hear her as well. If I can talk to her while I’m in here, it won’t be as bad not being able to see her and make sure she doesn’t try anything.
Running the bath I strip down to nothing and grab a towel from under the sink. If she decides to come over to the open door, she is going to get an eyeful. My cock twitches at the thought of her seeing all of me. What would her reaction be? I shake my head. I can’t be having thoughts like that. I know she wants to stay here for a while longer, just to have a vacation, but that doesn’t mean she’s interested in me. And what I said about the promise is true, I don’t want to be the first Bancroft to break it in over a hundred years. Nor do I want her to be the first Kotov. It’s better if I treat this like how she wants it. Two people who are practically like family hanging out and having a couple of days off from work. A needed vacation. That’s all this is.
My hands shake as I lower myself into the scalding water. The sting of it helps me center myself. There’s too much riding on me needing to not act on my emotions, even though I want to. I dip my head under the water, getting it wet, it’s a bit of a challenge not to get water everywhere as this tub isn’t long enough to accommodate my legs. Most bathtubs aren’t big enough for me to fit comfortably.
The chain slides across the floor and I turn my head to listen. I already know she can’t make it out the door, and if she was able to pick the lock on the chain, she would’ve done it by now.
The squeak of the mattress springs meets my ears, and I know she’s at least sitting on the bed. My mind can’t help but keep replaying what she said about needing me in her life. My brain, or I guess better yet, my heart wants to give the meaning to her words that I’m sure she didn’t mean.
“There’s some books in the other room. After I finish up here we can go look at them. Besides cooking, it will give you something else to do other than stare out the window. We can read together if you want like we did when you were first starting to get into chapter books.”
She laughs softly. “Man, that was so long ago. I was what, seven? I did love readingNarniaand theNancy Drew serieswith you. I don’t think I would love reading as much if it weren’t for you.”
I gulp. I would rather not think about her age. I already feel strange being attracted to her now when I knew her then, but now we’re both adults, and that’s what I have to keep reminding myself of. She’s not a kid anymore, not by a long shot. She’s a grown woman and my God does it show. “I’m glad I could pass my love of reading onto you.”
“Do you still read a book a day like you used to try to do?”
