Page 39 of Claimed By my Ex’s Uncle

"So, what do you know about Petar’s case?” I ask Marcus, raising my eyebrows pointedly. I don’t have time to fuck around here, not after the threat made against Rose’s life. Hers and the baby’s, for that matter. I have been turning the language used in the note over and over in my head, the way it talked about her unborn child as though they were nothing more than an irritation, something standing in the way of an end goal. Even the thought of it is enough to get my hackles rising, and I have to steady myself in my seat.

"God knows how he made bail," Marcus sighs. "It was major money we’re talking here. He must have put something away, probably figured that he would be caught eventually and would need a contingency plan for him and his little girlfriend when he did."

"And he’s out now?”

He nods. "Gone," he replies. "He was meant to stick around in the city till his first hearing, but he went straight to the bus station, caught a ride out of state. Haven’t seen him since. We’re been in touch with precincts in a few places, got them looking out for him so he’s not going to get far, but there’s no way to confirm exactly where he got to."

"Did he take the fiancée with him?”

He nods again. "Seems that way," he replies. "Can’t imagine they’re going to go through with the marriage they had planned--not on the books, at least. But he took her as well. Probably didn’t want her to talk and knew she would be a liability if he left her behind."

I smirk mirthlessly. Hardly the most romantic thing in the world, but I would have expected no different from that bastard nephew of mine. But the thing is, if he was out of state when the note was left, who broke into the house to leave it there? Had he worked with someone to deposit it on Rose’s bed? Someone sneaking around under the cover of darkness, spending time there under my nose, making sure that they weren’t busted or exposed...

It doesn’t make any sense to me. I had assumed Petar was doing all of this himself, some desperate attempt to punish Rose and me for whatever betrayal he decided we had committed against him. But now it sounds like he is somewhere else entirely. And if it wasn’t him...

Then there’s someone else I need to shake out of my home. Someone who has been working against me for longer than I would care to think.

"Any information comes through on where he is, I want to hear about it," I tell Marcus, keeping my voice as steady as I can. No matter how long we have known each other, I am not going to forget that the man sitting before me is a cop, and I refuse to show an inch of weakness, give him any reason to think there might be a crack in my facade.

He nods. "Trust me, we’re as interested in getting our hands on him as you are," he mutters, shaking his head. "Should never have given him bail in the first place. If it had been up to me⁠—"

I rise to my feet. I don’t need to hear his griping about the way his people handled this case. No, I need to get the hell out of here. Back home, to the very place that has caused me all this trouble in the first place.

"Thanks for your time," I tell him, and before he can say another word, I head for the door. A creeping sense of dread nags at the back of my mind, and I do my best to put it aside. I can’t act on emotion right now, not if I want to stay in control, but there’s part of me that is too furious to do anything but think about the betrayal that must be taking place right under my nose, in the house that I’m planning to make a home for my first child.

Someone is working with Petar. They must be. And if not, even if they are somehow doing this on their own terms, then they are working against me. Out to hurt me and the woman I claimed in front of all of my men. That bastard, whoever he is, he doesn’t know what kind of hell he’s in for the moment I get my hands on him.

As I climb back into the car and tear off from the precinct, closing the distance between myself and my home as fast as the engine will allow, something else forces itself into my mind. Something I hardly know how to make sense of. My mind drifts to what Rose said to me yesterday about Sergei, what he told her about the nursery and what happens to women in her position when things didn’t go to plan. I don’t want to believe that the man I have placed so much trust in over the years, the man who helped me build my business from the ground up, would turn against me like that.

Sergei. For so long, he’s been the one I turned to when I needed advice, the one I have trusted the most, the one who has helped me protect my businesses from the threats that might have been levied against them by my enemies. But now...

Now, something else is happening, something I can’t ignore. Rose’s instincts, his actions, the strange way all of this has come together… something is missing, and I need another piece to make it all fit before I start pointing fingers.

Because if Sergei has turned against me, then I need to be ready to handle him in any way I can. And if I know one thing about Sergei, he’s not going to let anything go easily.

I flex my hands on the wheel and set my eyes on the road ahead. Whatever happens next, I have to be ready to protect Rose and our child.

And I will do anything in my power to never let them slip through my fingers.

Chapter 22

Rose

"I’m telling you, I need to speak to Ilya right the fuck now!”

I hold my phone up, glaring at the guard on the bedroom door. Didn’t Ilya tell them that I had a direct line to him from here on out, that he wasn’t going to keep his distance if there was something I needed to tell him? Well, this seems pretty goddamn important. And I am not going to just slink off and pretend I don’t need to speak to him when I might have something that could shed some more light on whatever the hell has been going on with Petar.

The guard tenses his jaw slightly, clearly not appreciative of my tone. I glare at him, tapping the phone screen once more.

"I just got a call from my— " I start, but think better of it, reminding myself that I don’t have to lay any of this out for him. Ilya is the only one who needs to hear this, and I’m not going to back off until he does.

"He must have told you that I’m meant to have access to him whenever I need it," I remind the guard. "So let me see him. Unless you want to be the one who went against his orders, hmm?"

At last, the guard seems to think better of pushing me aside. He sighs, jerking his head towards the end of the corridor.

"Come on," he grunts.

I stride out in front of him, ignoring my aching feet and the slight swell of nausea that threatens to overwhelm me at any moment. It’s still early, and I haven’t had anything to eat yet, but when I got the call from Becky a half hour ago, I knew I needed to take action as soon as I got the chance.