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My phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket to see that it was my brother. I pointed to the door for Yuri to leave and accepted the call.
Maxim’s voice was as cold as ice. “Why didn’t you tell me about Sarah Dale?”
“I’m handling it,” I said, equally coldly.
“How?” he spat. “You want your head on a platter? Are you waiting till this all blows up so you can find out if Dad can really bear to bury his own son?”
“Maxim.”
“You’re risking your life and everything we have!” he roared. “Over a fucking woman.”
He was right and he was wrong. “She’s not just a woman,” I said through gritted teeth. “She’s my woman.”
“Bogdan doesn’t seem to think so and I tend to agree with him. The talk is today is the last day he gave you to do so,” he said. “Send her back to him. His little stunt is making the other dogs on the streets think that they too, can grow wings overnight and shit on us. If anything happens to that boy even by accident, and it just might happen with those lunatics he’s given the boy to, then you and I are both dead.”
I was silent for too long.
“You can’t do it? You don’t have the guts?” my brother grated harshly.
“Maxim, I’ll take care of this. My way.”
“You’re running out of time,” he said and cut the call.
I was left staring out of the window. I had a plan. I just had to stick to it. My phone rang. I took one look at the unidentified number and knew instantly who it was.
“My prince,” Bogdan said, grating my nerves. “I’ve left you a little while without any disturbance, but I’m afraid you’ve failed to waltz as good as I expected. Your time is running out.”
“Bogdan, you’ve grown a lot of balls.”
“Never as big as yours, my prince. Never as big. I’m just trying to make you understand that your delay is dangerous and that there is a very important life in your hands. I’m sure you wouldn’t want any harm to come to the child.”
“I’m going to give you one last chance,” I replied. “I’ll pay you. Name your price.”
He chuckled and I could hear the smugness in his voice. “Money? If money were the issue I would never have gone to these lengths. You understand me do you not? Why I need you to return the girl to me. It’s the same reason why you felt the need to steal her from me in the first place. Desire is the deadliest of beasts. It catches a man in his chest and it claws into his body and sits inside like a ball of burning lava. It doesn’t leave until you feed it.” His voice suddenly changed, became hoarse with pure evil. “Give me the girl.”
The hairs on my neck stood. I’d rather die than give Bianca to a monster like him. “No,” I said.
“I heard that your brother’s in town” His voice changed back, and sounded almost pleasant. “I have to say I am so close to wetting my panties to hear what he will have to say to you. He’s a practical man. He knows what’s good for business. I would listen to his advice if I were you. Return her to me by the end of the day, I’ll release the boy, and we can all act like none of this ever happened.”
“That would have been possible if you hadn’t told the entire state why exactly you kidnapped the Solicitor General.”
His laugh was giddy. “I got a little excited, but these things, they die down quickly.”
“Well, I got a little excited too. Let’s see which one of us will end up dead because of it.” I ended the call and stormed out to the corridor outside.
Yuri was leaning against the wall and waiting on me.
“Call Chief Thompson and report the boy.”
His eyes widened. “The Chief himself?”
“He’s the only one right now with the authority to pull this off today. In the meantime, be on the lookout. They’ll be trying to move the boy.”
18
Levan
A few hours later, I was in the passenger seat of a blacked-out van with false number plates. We were parked just a few blocks away from the mid-east New Jersey club house. There were four other heavily armed men in the back … in case things got heavy.
The Chief called and I immediately answered it.
“You’re sure about this intel?” he asked worriedly.
“Absolutely,” I replied confidently. Yuri was my father’s best man. He was cautious to a fault and had never been wrong before.
“There’ll be hell to pay if you’re wrong,” he muttered uneasily.
“I’m not.”
“Right. Judge Williams just approved the warrant, so we’re setting out now. I’ll call you when it’s over and give you an update.”
“No need. I’m here and I have eyes on them.”
