Page 85 of Mafia King’s Dangerous Vow

“Then what else is there?”

“Kalinin is still watching the household.”

The words cut through me. “How closely?”

“A vehicle connected to one of his companies passed the school twice this week. Not enough for them to notice. Enough to move them if he believes someone is getting close.”

The chair is the only reason I’m still standing.

“We can secure the roads and reach the house before Kalinin reacts,” Aleksander says.

“Then do it.”

“We can.”

He doesn’t raise his voice, and somehow that’s what makes me listen.

“But Mark will see armed strangers enter his home. He’ll see us take him from the woman he believes is his mother.”

I consider that. “He doesn’t know me.”

“No.”

The answer is soft. Still brutal. “He’ll think I’m going to hurt him.”

“Yes.”

I hate Aleksander for saying it. I hate him more because he is right.

“And if we approach Anna first?”

“We risk Kalinin learning about it before we know whether she’ll cooperate. If she panics, calls someone, or confronts anyone connected to Pavel, he could move them before we reach the house again.”

“So I do nothing?”

“No.” Aleksander steps closer but doesn’t touch me. “I’m not asking you to do nothing. I’m giving you the facts before you decide.”

I stare at the address. I could leave now. I could be outside that house tonight. I could stand across the road and watch my son through a window. The thought nearly pulls me apart. Then I look at Anna’s hand on his shoulder.

Not gripping. Guiding.

“She loves him.”

“Yes.”

“And he loves her.”

“Yes.”

I don’t cry. That feels almost worse. “She didn’t steal him.”

“No.”

“She thought it was legal.”

“That’s what the facts indicate.”

I sink into the chair because my legs no longer feel reliable. “I want my son back.”