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“No.” The word sounds hollow, just like my heart.
It’s nearly two in the morning.
I’ve looked everywhere I could for Gwen. We’ve tried all the places Diego would go to in Boston and interrogated his allies. And still, we have nothing.
Jeanne looks shaken. She has a bandage on her head where she was struck, and her skin is pale.
She’s sitting at the breakfast table with a cup in front of her and her hands shaking.
I move toward her and plant a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” I say. “I never wanted to put you in that kind of danger.”
A tear runs down her cheek. “It’s not your fault. I feel awful and useless because I can’t help. I don’t even know who hit me. I went to close the fire escape door because it was open. I thought one of the guys left it that way. I didn’t think. I should have suspected that something was up, but I didn’t. Now they have her.”
“Jeanne, please don’t blame yourself. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me.”
There’s no way I could excuse my sins in this. No matter which way anyone looks at this, it’s all my fault. All of it.
Gwen shouldn’t even know me.
“How can it be your fault? You took every step necessary to make sure this didn’t happen.”
“You know I’m right. This isn’t just about last night. It’s everything.”
She shuts down because she can’t argue with that fact.
Jeanne was the first person I ever shared my plans with when I discovered Santiago had a secret daughter. I knew she didn’t agree with my evil scheme, but like always, she went along with whatever she’s told to do. All members of our staff know you never defy the Volkovas when you’ve been given an order.
Jeanne places a hand on mine. “You’ll find her. I know you will. I have faith.”
“Thank you for believing in me.”
“Always.”
“Go get some sleep. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
She dips her head and leaves.
I head to my office, where I stay until morning, doing all I can to hack every camera in the city to see if I can pick up Gwen. Desmier is contacting our allies in South America who can keep a look out for us and get information a little quicker than we can if Diego takes Gwen to Mexico.
At seven, I summon Yuri and Vladmir, whom I benched yesterday until I knew what to do with them.
I had Zakh and Leo check out their whereabouts throughout yesterday and dig deep into their correspondence over the past few weeks.
Nothing untoward came back, but that doesn’t mean shit. More and more I suspect someone screwed me over to take Gwen.
Zakh and Leo arrived with them a few minutes ago. We’re in my office now.
Zakh is sitting next to me, while Leo is standing in the corner. Yuri and Vladmir are standing before us.
I have guards outside waiting for backup in case we need it.
Yuri looks at me first. Judging from the crease in his forehead, I know he must have guessed he and Vladmir look like they’re working for the other side.
“Before you even say anything, boss, please remember who we are,” he says, but those words mean fuck all to me. “Our loyalty has always been to you and your family.”
“You know I suspect you two, don’t you?” I get straight to the point.
