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“Around this time, your boss has realized you’re no longer at the hospital.” He held up the PCA’s cell phone he must’ve taken. “Let’s make a phone call, shall we?”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Alex

How. In. The. Fuck! Danny wasn’t here. Raff wasn’t here. When Lewis had arrived, he’d called us saying they found a PCA with a bump on the head passed out by the elevators. After it had been confirmed that it was the PCA who’d transported Danny, I’d known. Hospital cameras had confirmed it.

We arrived at the safe house and Vladimir was still out cold, so we carried him to the bed Maksim had been chained to at one point. He didn’t seem to be tied up anymore but instead helped us make sure the bindings we put on his father were tight enough. According to Toni, he’d proved he didn’t need to be shackled anymore.

I’d have stayed and had my fun with the pakhan right then and there, and a few months ago there wouldn’t have been anything in this world that would have stopped me, but Danny needed me, and that was the most important thing right now.

However, I hadn’t expected him not to be here, and once again the motherfucking Russians had swooped in and taken him, right under my nose.

Gideon and Penn were questioning everyone and going over the footage too. No license plate came up on the vehicle; it was too fuzzy, and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. It wouldn’t have led us to Danny.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I answered absently, “Yeah.”

“Is this Gideon Hendrix?” A deep, thick Russian accent invaded my ear.

“Are you the piece of shit who took Danny?”

He tsked. “Answer my question first.”

“No, I work for him.”

“Then, yes, I’m the piece of shit who took Danny. Could you pass the phone off to your boss, please? This doesn’t concern you.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” I shouted, drawing the attention of others.

“Alex?” Gideon was at my side.

“Oh, is this Alex Walker, Mila Popov’s…well, widower, I suppose would be the right word.”

I gritted my teeth and was squeezing my phone so tightly, the plastic began to protest. Gideon swiped it away from me and put it on speaker.

“Who is this?”

“Is this Gideon Hendrix?”

“It is.”

“Very good. I am Sergey Ivanov, and I believe we each have something the other wants.”

Gideon met my gaze with angry eyes. “Is that so?”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m aware you’ve taken my father and while I’d rather have taken someone more important to you than this guard, you didn’t leave me a lot of time to plan.”

“Do you expect an apology?” Gideon moved into one of the private rooms in the hospital with Penn and me and shut the door. “Your father, your family, invaded my territory and started a war. Did you think I was going to sit on my hands and let you disrespect me like that?” This was Gideon the boss. He didn’t want Sergey knowing that Danny meant a lot to him, so he was using disrespect as the reason he was angry. I understood that, but I also wanted to threaten Sergey that if he touched a hair on Danny’s head, I’d skin him alive.

“It was an unfortunate situation. I was explaining that to Danny, actually. A tragedy born from a broken promise.” Sergey’s tone was calm, almost bored.

“Listen carefully, Sergey. You will return Danny to the hospital within the hour, or you’ll be picking up pieces of your father all the way back to Russia.”

Sergey laughed. “I believe you, Mr. Hendrix.”

“Then make it happen.”

“There’s one problem with your plan, however.”