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“Ivan.” And then I wince at how stupid I’m being to confirm it’s me. I should hang up, but instead, I wait for his response.
“Come home. It’s where you belong.”
“Being tortured and attacked? I’d rather not.”
“That won’t happen again. Maxim is gone.”
“I don’t care. You’ve got to stop following me. And stop harassing Lenny. He’s sweet and kind and he doesn’t deserve you putting the fear of God into him.”
“You care about the old man?”
“How did you get this number? How did you find out where I am?”
“Grace, come home, or I will come and take you . . . again.” The line goes dead, and I stare at the telephone in shock. How the hell did he find me? I only spoke to Lenny a few hours ago and he didn’t know. I groan aloud. Men like Ivan have contacts, I know that, but I’ve done everything in my power to disguise my identity.
IVAN
I tap the pen against my desk impatiently. The local police in Ireland were supposed to go to the cottage and arrest Grace. I have men flying out there right now to bring her home. Yet I haven’t heard anything from either side.
My men spent hours looking at CCTV of passengers leaving the country by boat. And although she was wearing a blonde wig, she stood out a mile just by the way she tried too hard to hide her face and how she glanced around constantly, like she was nervous.
Alek barges in, and I let it slide seeing as he’s holding out his mobile phone to me. I take it, pressing it to my ear. “Boss, she’s gone.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and stand. “What do you mean?”
“She must’ve left soon after she put down the telephone to you,” says Cameron.
I growl, throwing the mobile at the opposite wall, where it smashes before falling to the ground. “She can’t have gone far,” I tell Alek. “Call him back, tell him to keep looking.” I knew I was taking a risk when I called her, but I had to hear her voice.
“We have a meeting in an hour,” says Alek carefully.
“I know,” I mutter. “I’m very aware. Call him back and deal with that. I’ll prepare to be grilled by my associates.”
“What kind of shit-show are you running?” Dmitry barks angrily.
I arch a brow. “I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to,” I murmur dangerously low.
He swallows and sits straighter. “Maxim and Lev died at your hands, and we still have no explanation as to why.”
“Maxim was moving against me. It was a shock, but I took care of it. Lev got caught up in the crossfire.” I can’t tell them both men were in on the plan to take over my organisation. They can’t know how deep it ran. “Since then, I’ve made my circle tight. Alek is my second in command.” All eyes fall to Alek, and he stands straighter.
“Does he still feed from his mother?” quips one of the men from around the table.
“He’s young and trustworthy. That’s what I need. Don’t you trust me to know what I need?”
“We trusted you to keep your organisation in check,” mutters Dmitry.
“And I have. Hence this meeting to discuss things,” I say through gritted teeth. The truth is, these men pay good money for a service I provide. They have contacts all over the world waiting to make a purchase. But I can find many more men just like them, so I don’t need them as much as they need me.
“Maxim made sure the boats were full each week. Now, we’re carrying nothing,” Vadim says.
“Give me one week. The boat will be full again.”
“So, we can call our contacts and tell them business as usual?” asks Vadim.
I nod once and stand, indicating the meeting is at an end. “I’ll be in touch,” I tell them as I shake hands and watch them leave. The door closes, and I sit back down. “Fucking vultures,” I murmur.
“We found out where she got the passport from,” Alek tells me, and I stand again, the news bringing me hope. If I have her fake name, I have a better chance at tracing her.
