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Almost immediately, she calls me back.
“Emma, where are you?” I ask urgently. “You should think about coming home. Where’s Kenney?”
Emma’s voice is barely louder than a whisper, and there’s panic in her voice. “We’re at Mom’s apartment. Kenny is looking for something, Paige. But I don’t know what. He’s ransacking the place, looking for papers.”
Alarm bells start ringing in my head.
“Looking forwhatpapers?” I demand.
“I don’t know,” she replies, “but we’ve been here for over an hour, and he’s not acting right. He’s pissed and keeps telling himself it’s here.”
The dread that has been with me all day turns into fear. “Tell him nothing, Emma. Go outside and wait for the Rover. Okay?”
But there’s a muffled scuffle before she can answer, and the call ends suddenly. I hit redial, but she doesn’t pick up.
I call again. Emma’s name lights up, and I’m desperate for her to answer. But it goes to voice mail. I call again, and this time it goes straight to voice mail.
I jump when I hear footsteps coming down the marble hallway behind me. I hold my hands against my chest as a worried Vanya approaches me.
“Paige, I got a call from one of the guards,” he says. “They’ve lost Emma.”
“Was a cop with her?” I ask.
“They saw one taking her away.” Vanya explains that a cop was seen dragging Emma to a navy SUV. She fought with him, but they were gone by the time the guards reached the spot. “She put up a real fight not to go with him.”
He says it as if I should be proud. But all I can feel is my world blacking out around the edges of my vision.Kenney took Emma because I didn’t bring her back with me.
“I want all guards on the property to meet me in the front hall.” I fight to keep my voice even.
***
There’s an edgy silence as I consider a plan while the guards stand at attention. I hide my nervousness as I gain a better understanding of my husband. The power Andrei must feel is at my fingertips, and it starts to calm me as I eye the guards surrounding me. I’m no longer helpless against the people that want to hurt me. The Bratva will protect me.
“Find my sister,” I tell them in a steady voice. “No fighting. I don’t want her hurt. Right now, I only want to know where she is.”
As they head out, I turn to Natasha. “Andrei isn’t answering his phone. Why wouldn’t he answer it?” I ask.
Natasha glances away, and then her gaze returns, cool and calm. “Try again, Paige. Perhaps he cannot hear it.”
My breathing picks up as I try Andrei again, but there’s no answer. The silence becomes sickening as I wonder what he is doing that he can’t pick up.
Chapter 42
Andrei
The panorama from the high-rise office building inspires pride as I admire a view that only money can buy. The Manhattan skyline is illuminated by the late afternoon sun, humbling me amidst its vast empire of glass and steel.
I tug at my tie.
The Bratva cannot run on crime alone. Legitimate businesses shield the shady ones, and my construction and real estate ventures also require attention if they’re to remain profitable. So, I meet with all my workers—Bratva or not—in my midtown office weekly.
Straight or not, it brings out the competitor in me. I’m a slave to my ambition, unable to escape its bonds.
A knock at the door brings me back to the present. My secretary, Greta, enters, smiling and utterly unaware of what I do late at night. “Mr. Barinov? They’re ready for you in the boardroom.”
She’s a brunette fresh out of Baruch with a business degree. She may be eager to learn, but I can’t have her knowing too much. Today, I need her out of the way so the Bratva can talk privately and discuss our next move.
“Thank you, Greta,” I reply. “Could you run an errand this afternoon? It may take a while.”
