“The kind where Emma got pushed into a car driven by unknown individuals,” he answers.
“FUCK!” I yell, startling my brothers who stop to look at me.
“I’m following them right now, boss. They’re headed north on Tremont Street, and it looks like they’re turning east onto Court Street.”
“I’m on my way,” I growl into the phone before cutting off the call.
“What’s going on?” Maksim asks me.
“Some soon-to-be-dead assholes just forced Emma into a car,” I tell him as I pull up a tracking app. While I was at Emma’s apartment, I put a tracking device in her phone—that’s another thing I’m sure she’ll be mad at me for when she realizes it, but it was for her own good. I select the device assigned to Emma, and I’m instantly connected to her live location.
I grab my keys and head for the garage.
“Ivan, wait!” Maksim says. “I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll go, too. I came on my bike,” Grigory offers.
“Shit. I guess this means we’re all going,” Dmitri huffs. He seems a little reluctant, and I’ll discuss that with him later.
I’m nearly at my car before my brothers catch up to me. My usual driver, Ilya, is leaning against the driver’s door. When he sees the look on my face as I approach the car, he doesn’t hesitate to hand over the keys. The app tells me they’re on State Street, and about to turn north onto I-93. My tires squeal as I rev the engine and pull out of the garage.
Maksim keeps an eye on the tracker app while I weave in and out of traffic. I know I’m breaking every traffic law known to man, but I don’t care. I will not let whoever took mylyubimayaget away with it. Traffic is light through the city, which is kind of surprising. There are a lot of tourist sites in the area where Emma was picked up, and traffic is usually far heavier. I make it to the interstate in less than ten minutes, ignoring all traffic lights and signs on the way.
Another five minutes of driving at a high speed, and I see Yuri’s car in front of me. Maksim dials his number and puts him on speaker.
“Yes, boss?” Yuri answers.
“I’m right behind you now. Which car is she in?” I ask him while maintaining control of my Mercedes.
“Black BMW X7. Three cars in front.”
“Got it.” I get over in the left lane and position myself one car in front of Yuri. I see Grigory following me on his bike. Maksim calls Dmitri from his own phone and puts him on speaker while telling him to pull into the right lane next to Yuri.
We follow the X7 and maintain our distance until the SUV exits onto Fellsway West and circles around to South Border Road. It looks like these guys are driving right through a scenic area with woods on both sides of the road. This is good for what I have planned next, and I smile. They’re doing half the work for me.
With Yuri on speaker through my phone and Dmitri on speaker through Maksim’s phone, I work out a plan. It will be dangerous, but it’s the quickest way to get access to the SUV and Emma.
“When I give the word, here’s what we’ll do. I’m going to get in front with Grigory and start slowing down. Yuri, you will stay behind Dmitri. Dmitri, you’re to stay behind the SUV and tap the bumper. The goal is to get the car to start spinning and slow down,” I instruct. “We are going to force them off the road as quickly as possible while trying to keep Emma safe.”
We’re basically doing a slightly different version of a technique used by police to stop a car. I give my brothers and Yuri the word, and we move into position. The occupants of the SUV have figured out by now that they’re being followed and have tried to speed up, but that’s not stopping my plan. I still have no idea who these assholes are, but they’re dead men walking.
I speed up to overtake the SUV, and once I see Yuri get into his position, I slam on the brakes of my Mercedes. Dmitri taps his brakes and swerves into the bumper of the X7. Yuri makes contact with the SUV so it continues to slow down and cannot get away.
There’s a ditch by the side of the road that the X7 slides into. I put my car in park and get out while pulling my gun out of its holster. Pointing it at the driver’s window I start yelling for them to get out of the car. Not wasting any more time, I fire a shot through the windshield and put a bullet through the driver’s head.
The rear passenger door opens and a guy gets out with Emma, a gun pointed at her head. His companion gets out and follows them, gun drawn and pointed at me. Maksim gets a shot off, putting a bullet through the head of the guy in the front passenger seat. Yuri pulls his gun out and moves around the back of the X7, joining Dmitri.
“Ivan!” Emma screams out.
“Emma! It’s okay, baby. You’re going to be okay,” I yell towards her in response.
“Help me!”
“Let her go!” I yell at the man with the gun pointed at her head. “You’re not getting out of this if you don’t put down your gun and hand her back to us.”
“Not an option, fucker!” the man yells back. “I have orders to bring her to my boss, and that’s where she’ll go—dead or alive.”
“Your orders are to hand her over tomebefore I put a bullet betweenyoureyes,” I correct him.
