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Finally, he gets back onto another roadway, driving with caution. “I don’t know how we did that, but they’re gone.” The relief is evident on his face as we slow down to the actual speed limit. “Thank god you made me wear this ridiculous hat and glasses. We don’t want to lose the element of surprise.” He gestures to himself, cracking a laugh at his appearance. The adrenaline from the situation still rolls through me, yet I still smile at his stupidness.
“Let’s continue to the warehouse. I’ll call Eric to meet us there so he can patch up my arm. I just hope this doesn’t trigger anything.” I pull my phone out and dial his number. He answers hesitantly, but finally starts chewing me out as I tell him I’ve been grazed.
After promising to explain how I’ve already gotten myself shot, Eric finally relents and agrees to meet us at the warehouse. As we pull in, I notice there are other cars here and groan internally. Dmitri doesn’t say a word, waiting for me to make the first move.
Getting out, I glance at Dmitri who stays a few paces behind me, ensuring his identity remains hidden. When I open the door, instead of being met by gunfire, I’m met with utter silence. Gazing at the stock-still people, they are all too stunned to speak. Raising my hand, I wave sarcastically at them to get them to come out of their zone.
After a few seconds, one of the men, Liam, speaks as he pops out of his stupor. “Natalia, you’re back.”
“Miss me, boys?” I ask as I look around at the familiar faces. Shocks turn to smiles as they spread across the room, and I feel myself smiling as well. What felt like forever was only a year, reuniting with the men that I once knew extremely well.
“Where’s Declan?” Liam asks, looking around my shoulder to Dmitri, brows furrowing. “And who’s this?” His tone turning territorial.
“This is a friend. He’s helping me find Declan,” I quickly say before Dmitri can speak. I know that this crew is some of Declan’s most trusted men aside from Finn, but I can’t risk anyone running to Rian.
“What do you mean,findDeclan?” Liam asks, setting down the brick of cocaine he had in his hand before crossing his arms in anger.
“Rian took him.” I launch into an explanation of the phone call and how I have been searching all of our warehouses.
When I finish, the men before me all wear the same expression.Rage.
Perfect. I can use this to my advantage.
“I need your help.” I turn to Dmitri with my hand out and he steps forward, handing me the map. I walk over to the table, laying out the map and pointing to the X’s. “These are the warehouses and safe houses that we have already checked. We have two of each left to search. I have less than two hours to search them all.” They nod in understanding, checking the covered paper thoroughly.
Liam steps forward, pointing to two properties that were once mine. “These are no longer safe houses,” he informs me. Moving back and resting his hand on the gun poised at his side.
“What do you mean?” I ask, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Rian got rid of them. I remember Declan complaining about it one day right after it happened. They’re no longer your property, I believe he sold the properties in exchange for weapons, but I could be wrong,” he replies as he looks back down at the map.
“Okay, that narrows the search a little.” I go to cross the two safe houses off, just as Dmitri reaches out to grab my wrist. Liam immediately gets defensive and moves closer to us, preparing to put his body between us. Glancing up at the burly man beside me, I shake my head with a smile. “It’s fine, Liam. He’s not going to hurt me.” He doesn’t respond, but he nods in understanding before taking a cautious step backward.
Turning to Dmitri, I raise an eyebrow. “Unless you want Liam here to kick your ass, I probably wouldn’t touch me like that until they get used to you,” I whisper to him. He nods, stepping to the side slightly and pointing to the map.
“I was just going to say that if I were going to keep someone hostage, I would do it where someone wouldn’t think to look,” he points out and I cross my arms, thinking of a strategy. I understand what he means, but I want to minimize exposure as much as possible…
The door opens and I look over my shoulder to see Eric walking in.
“Thank God,” I mumble, throwing the marker down on the table and moving to a chair. I hear the quiet thump where it rolled to the floor, but I’m zoned in on getting fixed.
Eric nods to Dmitri and makes his way over to me. “What have you gotten yourself into now, Natalia?” He questions with a shake of his head, almost disapprovingly.
“Well, it appears I have gotten shot, Eric.” I snap sarcastically. Guilt immediately rushes over me, and I sigh, slumping down. “I’m sorry, Eric. I’m just really on edge right now.”
"Understandably so." His face solemn as he starts tending to my arm. “It looks like it needs stitches, but I’m aware you’re going to tell me no. I’m going to put some glue on it, let it dry, then wrap it with some gauze to help prevent it reopening. Knowing you, it’ll reopen before you leave here.” I chuckle softly at his insinuation since he’s pretty spot on.
Looking over at Dmitri, I take a deep inhale and exhale, still lost. “What should we do?” I ask him. The exhaustion is starting to take a toll on me now that I’ve sat down and relaxed, but I can’t stop.Not yet. Not until he’s safe.
“We could split up?” He suggests, gesturing to Liam. “They can take one building and a safe house, then we can take the other two? He’s pretty trustworthy from what I’ve seen.”
“That could work,” I mumble, thinking it over as I watch Eric finish the work on my wound. He puts the final strap on the bandage down, patting my shoulder. I stand quickly in an attempt to help fight fatigue. “Thanks, Eric.” I give him a small smile.
“Any time,” he replies while gathering his supplies.
“Stay near the phone, I have no idea what shape they will be in when we find them.” Dmitri throws over his shoulder. He has his back to us as he and Liam decide the game plan, but Eric responds before departing. I’d love to say that this plan is foolproof, but everything in this line of work is never concrete. Now, strap two of the most important men in this organization to a ticking time bomb… Well, it’s a recipe for disaster.
After he leaves, Dmitri and I take two other guys with us while Liam and the others depart for their assigned buildings. Looking down at my phone, my heart rate picks up and panic sets in, reigniting the adrenaline in my blood.
