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The anxiety over my welfare rang out in her voice as she continued to tell me how worried everyone had been. She even asked if I wanted to give our father another heart attack.
“Of course not,” I said.
She sighed. “If you want out, say the word. No one will blame you now that shit’s getting real. I can have someone come and pick you up right away.”
Now that I was certain that the Morozovs weren’t behind the attack, at least as certain as I could be about anything at the moment, I told her no way. “I’m still in,” I said firmly. “But how do you know where I’m at?”
She snorted. “We didn’t come for you sooner because we figured you had it under control. Even though Papa was going nuts, I didn’t want to bust in and make everything worse.”
Well, so much for thinking I was being stealthy last night, driving around aimlessly to throw off anyone following. I forgot all about the fact my sister was able to hack into just about any camera anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat. I probably should have gotten a different car before we took off.
“Okay, so you know everything,” I grumbled.
“Not who was behind the attack,” she admitted.
“That’s something I do know.” I filled her in on Demian, and she freaked out harder than I expected.
“Don’t tell me you’re relying on Feliks for security when one of his own has gone rogue,” she said. “Why the hell wouldn’t you call us? I could have had an army out to you in an hour or less.”
She muttered a few insults in Russian, thinking I wouldn’t understand. I did, but could tell her frustration came from a place of caring, and I didn’t want to admit I hadn’t trusted her for a while.
“I hired someone from a local company,” I said to calm her down. It didn’t work.
“Some private security hack won’t be a match for a trained Bratva assassin,” she yelled. “If I figured out where you are, there’s at least a chance someone else did, too. If they want to come after you again, you’re screwed with some rent-a-cop.”
If she was right—who was I kidding, of course she was right. She was born into this. I was a newbie, screwing up left and right. Fully freaking out, I told her I had to go. I had to get back to the hotel and make sure Karine was all right. What was I thinking, leaving her like that? Why didn’t I just make my damn phone call from the balcony or the hotel lobby?
The whole sprint back I berated myself, praying my secret agenda hadn’t gotten Karine in a dangerous situation. Again. Even though I was running flat out and I’d only gone about four blocks away, it felt like it took forever to get back to the hotel. I forced myself to walk as normally as possible through the lobby, jamming on the elevator button until it arrived.
Once the doors slid open on our floor, everything seemed calm, and I was able to breathe easier, heading to the end of the hall where the guard was posted. But once I turned the corner, the guard was no longer there. And I was no longer breathing easily.
What was there was a very distinct trail of blood leading to the emergency stairwell. Frozen with shock, I stared at the heavy door for a split second, then turned and raced back to our room. Slamming into it and cranking the handle, I realized it was still locked.
That should have calmed me down. Nothing was wrong if she was still locked inside the room. Maybe that wasn’t blood on the carpet down the hall. Maybe the guard was on a piss break.
I fumbled the key card out of my pocket and swiped it, shoving the door open hard enough that it bounced against the wall inside and careened back toward me. I kicked it and shoved my way inside. Nothing was overturned, and there was no sign of a struggle. There was also no Karine. I double-checked the bathroom and the balcony, even the big, empty walk-in closet. She was gone.
Nearly blind with terror, I raced back to the emergency stairs, still hearing Evelina’s voice in my ear about things getting real. Turning the handle, I pushed open the door, expecting a horror movie-style creak, but it slid open easily on well-oiled hinges. Stepping through onto the cement landing, I looked down the first flight of stairs. My guard lay in a heap on the landing below with a tidy bullet hole through the center of his forehead.
A noise like a wild animal in pain rose up in the small space, and I realized it was coming from me. I went ballistic, hurtling back into the hotel room to try to come to my senses enough to figure out what to do.
If there was anything to be done.
Karine was gone. But did someone take her or had she somehow found out the worst and left on her own? I wouldn’t put it past her to kill the guard if he tried to stop her, and if she found out the real reason I’d married her, nothing could have stood in her way.
I sunk to the ground, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me. I had to find her. If she was in trouble, I had to help. If she had run—then I’d just have to face her wrath, even if it ended up being the last thing I ever did.
Chapter 24 - Karine
I rolled over in the strange bed, everything coming back to me as soon as the sunlight hit my eyes. I squinted and rolled back, reaching for Roman. He’d make me forget again.
Except he wasn’t there, and I had a moment of panic before I saw the note he left on his pillow. He’d also left the gun next to the note, which made me feel better about being alone. The note only told me to stay put and that he’d be back soon, but I had no idea when he’d left.
I was starving, realizing I couldn’t remember the last time I ate. Since we drove around so long the night before to put anyone who might have been following off our trail, I figured it would be safe to order room service. I could sign it to the room and have them leave it outside the door. Perfectly safe.
Since Roman was supposed to be back at any time, I ordered a double serving and a pot of coffee to be sent up, then headed to get a shower while I waited. It was only a few minutes after I hung up and I was still working the tangles out of my hair when there was a knock at the door.
I hadn’t ordered anything fancy, just toast, fruit, and coffee, and it was a pretty swanky hotel, so I figured it was just exemplary service and headed to the door.
