“Surprised to see me?” he asked. I stared, giving him nothing. He sighed. “Fine. You were right about Elena. She’s a lying bitch. But don’t get the wrong idea. She was just a fuck toy.”
My jaw ticked. “What do you want?”
He pushed off the desk and stood tall, the air shifting between us. “I want to help you with the investigation. And in return, I run Florida on my terms.”
The silence dragged between us, but I didn’t mind. Dmitri only showed up when it benefited him, and if he was here, that meant something deeper was unraveling.
He watched me, expecting a response, but I gave him silence, which he hated. “There was a man who left prints all over one of my shipments,” he started. “I followed him, and it turns out he’s tied to Renat.”
“So, you came here to kill.”
His lips curled into a deep smirk. “I didn’t think I needed an invitation to come to my father’s territory.”
I studied him silently. Dmitri wasn’t here because of ashipment. If Renat had crossed into his operations, he would’ve burned the man alive and mailed his teeth without setting foot into this house. He wanted something. And I intended to find out what.
“But no, I’m not killing him yet,” Dmitri said, eyes narrowing like he was daring me to object. “He’s not working alone.”
I let out a slow breath. “If that’s news to you,” I muttered. “I have it under control.”
He tilted his head. “How so?”
“I will put a bullet right between his fucking eyes.”
Dmitri stepped closer, lowering his voice. “And then what? Let whoever he’s working with vanish into the dark? You want blood. I want answers.” He adjusted his cuffs. “Wait here. I’ll show you what I mean, and you will decide.”
He left before I could respond. I walked to the liquor cabinet and poured a drink, but I didn’t touch it. My phone buzzed, catching my attention. I expected Pavel to communicate if he found something, but it wasn’t him. It was an unregistered number that sent me a video.
I tapped on the play, and my blood stopped moving. Alessia lay in bed, unconscious, with thick cable ties locked her hands together.
They took her.
A curse tore from my lips and I spun toward the door. It burst open before I could reach it. Dmitri shoved a man forward. He tumbled and landed hard on his knees, wheezing. I didn’t need to ask who he was. I recognized that face.
He was the same bastard who leaned against the SUV window in the footage Pavel showed me earlier. I lunged, grabbing his collar and dragging him up just to slam a fist across his face. His head whipped sideways with a grunt. Blood spilled from his lips.
“Son of a bitch.” I snarled, ready to finish it.
Dmitri clicked his tongue behind me. “Easy. He still has amouth, and we need it working.”
I shoved the bastard away and stepped back. Dmitri lit a cigarette and took a drag, exhaling the smoke as he walked forward like it was just another day. He crouched in front of the man and shoved the cigarette between his lips.
“You drop that without answering,” Dmitri murmured, smoke curling from his nose, “and you’ll wish I’d let him kill you.” He stood. “Where did Renat go today?”
The man said nothing. Dmitri didn’t wait. He fired one shot straight into the guy’s knee. The scream cracked through the air, and he doubled over, gasping.
Sick of the games, I reached for my gun, but Dmitri raised his hand. “Patience. The pain loosens tongues.”
The man trembled, the cigarette still clenched between his teeth. Blood pooled beneath him.
“Again. Where did Renat go?” Dmitri asked.
The man mumbled something I didn’t catch, and neither did Dmitri, who fired another shot on the other knee. He screamed until the cigarette dropped from his mouth, rolling onto the floor.
He raised his hands, his voice ragged. “I’ll talk, please. I’ll talk.”
Dmitri exhaled. “Good. You’re learning.” He grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back to an upright position. “Then speak before I carve your tongue out.”
“Hospital,” the man choked out. “He went to the hospital but I didn’t go, he told me to stay here, to track the boss and report back.”
