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“How the hell did Igor figure out we were there?” I ask.
Dmitri grips the wheel tight. “We had no cell service. Our routine is rarely the same. Our men would never tell. Maybe luck?”
I shake my head. “He’s been very lucky lately.”
Thankfully, we’re heading home. No one in the picturesque homes that we pass knows what we’ve just been through. On a perfect lawn, kids run through a sprinkler, screaming with happiness, not fear. I can appreciate why Paige thinks this life is safer and better. But anything can happen anywhere, and it’s best to be prepared for it.
I’m startled by the list of missed calls from Paige on my phone. “How far are we from the house?” I ask.
“Less than ten minutes,” replies Dmitri. “What’s going on?”
I scan through the texts. “She doesn’t say.” I decide to wait. A cell phone can be a deadly thing when you’re trying to hide. My fist clenches hard as one vivid and deadly scenario after another plays through my head.
Igor has only shown an interest in me, not my family. I hold onto that thought. He’s smart enough to leave them alone, or it means I will show him no mercy.
We enter the gate, and nothing seems amiss. There are no vehicles in the drive and no people hurrying about. The house looks as still as the ones we passed by on the suburban street. My mother’s window blinds are open.
That’s odd. They’re usually closed, but we never discussed using them as a signal.
I jump out of the Rover before it comes to a full stop, and the door swings open before I touch it. Paige flings herself into my arms. I hold her tight, feeling her body tremble. My hand strokes her hair as Paige’s warm tears wet my shirt. I’ll kill the person who made her cry.
“Paige?” I whisper.
“I tried to call you,” she sniffs. “Andrei, where have you been?” Her next words are choked off by a sob.
Natasha steps into the doorway, and her wide eyes send a spike of panic through me. Natasha never shows fear, but she’s frightened now.
I lean in close. “Paige, I didn’t hear you. Say it again. What happened?”
She takes a deep breath and speaks clearly. “Kenney took Emma.”
Chapter 43
Andrei
Paige’s words hit me like a brick to the head. My mind tumbles as I try to comprehend a situation I never expected or imagined. Why would Kenney take Emma? “None of this makes any sense,” I whisper to myself.
Paige is dressed down in jeans and resembles the woman I first met instead of the Bratva wife she’s become. Her face is clean of makeup but flushed from crying. Motionless, I stare at her, recalling the way it felt when I first saw her at the wedding. A woman I couldn’t have because she was too good for me. I tried anyway, a little relieved when she turned me down. I thought we were wrong together until Paige patched up my arm.
She wasn’t the innocent angel I thought she was. It turned out the wholesome surface concealed a darker story.
Paige doesn’t run away from me now. She leans heavily on my arm as I help her back into the house.
Eva races down the stairs, and her voice trembles with each step. “It’s horrible, Andrei. Emma knows nothing. Why would anyone do that to her? She’s not involved.”
Paige wasn’t involved at first either. Butsomeone’slies changed that. I glance upstairs, thinking about that selfish man lying, unaware of the hurt and distrust rippling outward in his wake.
Eva hurries over to Paige and grabs hold of her other arm. Her tight grip turns Paige’s skin red. “They took her, Andrei,” she continues. “Youhaveto get the girl back.” Deep creases line her forehead, and her eyes stare intently at me as if I can snap my fingers, and Emma will appear.
“Let’s get her into the office,” I reply sternly.
We both help Paige to the couch as Natasha and Dmitri enter the room.
A low whimper escapes Paige’s mouth. “Kenney kidnapped Emma,” she repeats to herself. Paige stares off into the distance, and then her eyes focus on me. “Where were you, Andrei?”
I’m too stunned to respond, as if she’s twisted a knife in my gut. I brought her family here for my own purposes, but I also promised them safety and protection. Now, that promise means nothing, and her sad eyes accuse me of betrayal.
She’s right: I wasn’t here.
