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“I released him.”
“What?” He shoves himself upright. “When?”
“A week ago.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Why do you think?” I spit at him. “Family is everything. It may be your motto but it’s ingrained itself in my head all these years. Family means something to me, too, Uncle. Even now.”
Vadim is sweating from the forehead despite how cold it is down here. I ignore that. I will not allow myself to feel sorry for him—not now.
“I gave him a chance. I gave him his life. I gave him his freedom. And what did he do with it?” Vadim’s jaw starts twitching now, too. “Hetookmy wife. Hetookmy kids!”
It crosses my mind that she’s not my wife. Not yet.
It also crosses my mind that, as soon as I have them back, I’m putting a ring on Emma’s finger, dressing her in white, then taking her to bed until the whole world hears her swear she’s mine.
I push the thoughts away and all the prickly nerves that come with them. “I extended an olive branch when I let him go—and he spat it back in my face.”
Vadim’s usually watery eyes are clear as day right now. Maybe that’s why the fear in them becomes more and more prominent. “He’s acting foolishly because he knows you have me. He’s—”
“He’s throwing a tantrum is what he’s doing,” I interrupt. “And I’m not about to tolerate that.”
I’ve never seen Vadim look so weak. The man has always exuded strength, power. Even as he got older and he started to age visibly, the iron in his veins stood strong.
The difference now is that he has something to lose.
And he knows it.
“Ruslan, I’ve never asked you for anything…”
“You picked a bad moment to start asking for favors, Uncle,” I snarl.
“He’s my son… my only child. What would you do in my place… if it was Josh?”
I grit my teeth. “You have some balls asking me that question.”
Vadim snorts angrily and continues. “How old is the boy—nine? Ten? You have no idea the kind of man he’ll become. I used to think Adrik was an introvert. I used to think of him as easily bendable, easily manipulated. But he’s got a mind of his own and I couldn’t always rein him in.”
“Did you even try?”
He nods slowly. “I’ll admit, there were things he did that… I regret.” He winces as he speaks, which makes me curious.
What is it that Adrik’s done that Vadim regretted?
No—it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know. Not anymore. Their fates are sealed.
“But the thing is, no matter what your children do, no matter what they become—trust me, it won’t matter. You will always try to protect them. Always.”
I take a deep breath and nod. “It’s obvious we both love our families. So I propose we make a trade.”
Vadim leans closer in desperation, those bushy eyebrows of his rising. I feel something twist in my gut but I ignore it. I have to.
“What trade?”
“You must know where Adrik has taken them. Even the house that Adrik was keeping Sergey in—that was your house, wasn’t it? That’s why we couldn’t find out who owned it. You didn’t want it linked back to you.” Vadim coughs and I take that as confirmation. “So I’m guessing you know exactly where Adrik is. Which means you know exactly where my family is. All you have to do is give me that information and I’ll spare his life.”
Vadim’s lips purse up. His jaw is clenched tight and his eyelid is still twitching. “You’ll really let him live?”
