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“No, need to thank me, she’s my sister too.” I mumble under my breath, my gaze moving towards Roman’s unmoving form.
His head is tilted, eyes unfocused, a faint, wrong smile pulling at his lips.
Roman’s murderous streak has dulled, though his body appears to be lifeless, it’s not entirely abnormal for his manic episodes, the violence in his is coiled inward, festering, waiting.
While they quiet their demons with blood, I quiet mine by hunting for traces of her.
And I won’t rest until I know she’s safe; until then, every breath feels stolen, it feels fucking wrong.
“The shipment is leaving in three days.” The words leave my mouth before I turn the laptop off. “I’ve found their location.”
Roman is the first to move, Alec right behind him. Their shoulders are rigid, viciousness written into every line of their bodies, their need to maim speaks volumes.
I lack Roman and Alec’s appetite for bloodshed. The damage, though, runs just as deep.
They would’ve been laughing, trading jokes as they tore through the men responsible, if they hadn’t found Alina’s file.
I found my file too, but it doesn’t matter.
I didn’t pay attention, staring at the screen with hollow eyes, unable to focus, as if the part of me that should’ve felt something had been left behind eleven years ago—in that dark place where it still hasn’t found its way out.
And I don’t think it ever will.
A part of me is still in Russia, watching Mama walk away without looking back. Another is still standing before my father, enduring years of his discipline.
And the rest…
The rest is trapped in every place, every moment Elara left me.
My phone pings, halting me in my steps.
“Sergei?” Roman pauses briefly, turning around to stare at my immovable frame. “Aren’t you coming?” He asks but all I see is my world crumbling down with loud resonances of destruction.
A photo of Elara, tears streaming down her bruised eyes. Her hands and legs are tied as she sits in the far corner of a… cage.
A cage?
“Sergei?” Alec probes but I’m already moving towards my laptop.
“I-I’ll…” I gulp, lifting my head and finding two pair of eyes scrutinising my soul. “I’ll check the layout of the place and send you the location.” I mumble as another text comes through.
UNKNOWN: Come alone, son.
Or she dies. My golden bird!
“Sergei?” They try again but I’m shaking my head.
“We could be walking straight into a trap; I’m not risking our lives.” I almost yell, but soon gain my composure back. “I’ll check the surveillance cameras around the place first.” I nod towards the door as their phone pings with a location I just shared.
It’s an empty warehouse that belongs to my father, thirty miles away from where Elara is.
“Keep in touch.” Roman growls, his gaze locking into mine. “If I don’t hear from you, I’m coming back. I don’t care about those people half as much as I care about you, Moscow princess.” He winks but I hear his voice edged with impatience and anger, perhaps suspicion too.
But I don’t let him dwell on that and nod.
“Make sure Alina never hears of it.” Alec adds, his voice leaving no room for argument and we all agree in unison before the door shuts behind them.
I wait for five minutes, spewing any bullshit my mind can conjure, to make my lies look promising, sharing useless information to Roman and Alec via text all the while I’m working the system, forcing my way into the surveillance feeds near the location pinned on my screen.
