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“We head back tomorrow. I’m going to talk to Nicolai and let him handle Larcovian. I’m personally going to handle Cruz tomorrow.”
“I’ll keep my ears open and keep watch over both of them and maybe catch this Russian dude. Star, so you know, our guys after they talked with Cruz’s men, they said this guy was bad ass and big. A real mean son of a bitch. They never saw him before, but they were scared of him.”
“Keep me posted on everything. We’ll meet up when we get back tomorrow afternoon.” Star disconnected the call and told Border all about it.
“Fuck, do you think it could be Vlladim?” Border asked.
Star held his gaze and felt his blood pressure boil.
“I think it is him. Malayna is going to panic.”
* * * *
Malayna was so excited, she couldn’t have asked for a better turnout or for more positive remarks and kudos for her work. In fact, she was thinking about adding some additional photo scenes to the gallery in Chicago and the show scheduled for next week. She wanted to talk to Ellington about it and saw him heading down the hallway toward the offices. She followed when she felt the hand at her waist and Krane accompany her. “Where are you sneaking off to?” he asked.
She chuckled. “Not sneaking. I’m looking for Ellington and saw him head to the offices. I want to talk to him about the gallery next week and an idea I had. Could you let me talk to him alone?” she asked.
He squinted his eyes at her. “Alone? What are you up to?”
She laughed. “Come on, Krane, I’m not up to anything. Ellington knows that we’re engaged. I’ll be back shortly.”
He hesitated and then pulled her close and kissed her. He gave her ass a slap. “Hurry,” he said and she smiled then headed down the hallway.
As she got to the office she knocked and heard Ellington’s voice.
“It’s Malayna, can we talk? I have an idea and I want to run it by you.”
As she turned the knob to enter, she felt the gun against her back. She gasped as a strong arm pulled her to the right and out the side door.
She struggled to get free, kicking and screaming, hoping to alert someone to her being taken. The gun pressed harder against her and the back door swung open. She saw Krane and he reached for his gun when the man holding her shot him. Krane went down.
Malayna screamed and kicked but couldn’t get free. She heard the sounds of tires squealing and then a van approached and the man pulled her into it. He threw her onto the floor of the van, ripping the dress she wore and making her cheek hit the metal flooring. The gun was pressed to the back of her head.
“Cooperate. He said he didn’t care what we did to make you cooperate, just keep you alive.”
She cried as she felt the pain to her cheek and the realization that Krane had been shot. Who were these people? Were they part of Cruz’s crew? Oh God. Krane? Krane, please be alive. Oh God. She cried. “Who are you? What do you want with me?” she demanded to know.
“Are you part of Cruz’s gang? He can’t get away with this,” she carried on, rolling over and getting up. The guy struck her in the face then shoved her down. She was so scared. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Where was the security? How did they get this close? Was Krane alive? She cried as she listened to the man driving talk on the phone. He was speaking in Russian and she understood it. The moment he said Vlladim’s name she gasped and felt her entire body begin to shake. Vlladim was alive and in Texas? He came for her. He didn’t give up finding her. He said he wouldn’t, and that he would come back and make her his. Oh God, no. No.
* * * *
The gallery was in total chaos. Police were arriving on the scene. Border was by Krane, who had taken a gunshot to his shoulder. He was pissed off and carrying on about not going to the hospital but trying to find Malayna.
“I’m not going. I’ll be fucking fine. Where are the guards? How the fuck did this happen?” Krane yelled at them.
“They were killed. We found their bodies by the back and in the other office,” Lucca told him. The paramedics arrived. “Let them take you to the hospital. You won’t be any good to us like this. We’ll find her. We have everyone on top of this and a make of the van. Let us do what we do best, Krane. You need this bullet removed.”
“I’ll go with him. My men will be helping you anyway,” Nalia said to them as she knelt next to Krane.
“Fuck. Find her, Lucca. She can’t go through something like this. She can’t,” Krane said to him as the paramedics made him get onto the gurney with his brothers’ help.
Lucca watched as Nalia went with him and then he looked at Boian and Viktor.
“What did you find out?” he asked them.
“Star is on the phone with someone, but Nicolai called. It’s Vlladim, Lucca. He made a threat to Nicolai and told him he would have Malayna in his possession in less than a few hours,” Viktor said to him.
Lucca felt the color leave his face and then the anger hit him hard.
