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“Contact the Whisper immediately,” I bark. “I’ll be there shortly.”
The Whisper is our secret network of spies. We use them for all Bratva business. But now, it’s time to involve them in the personal too.
I end the call and throw on my clothes with urgency, thoughts racing. Caterina, my Bunny, she has to be safe. If anything happened to her or Emiliana… A cold rage seeps into my bones at the thought. Whoever took them will pay.
Within minutes I’m striding into the Whisper’s underground base, my expression thunderous. Ivan greets me, there already, his face lined with concern.
“The Whisper’s already on it,” he says gruffly. “They’ve got something.”
We enter the surveillance room, monitors glowing in the dim light. A young agent clicks a keyboard and CCTV footage appears—Caterina, moving furtively through the mansion, her curvy figure unmistakable. She pauses in my study, glances around, then snatches my laptop and darts away.
I rock back, stunned. Ivan growls in anger, but I raise a hand.
“No. This is Caterina. There must be a reason.” My voice is tight. If she betrayed me, the heartache would be unbearable. But my Bunny, my gentle songbird—she must have had no choice. I have to believe that.
Ivan scowls. “You’re too soft with her. We need answers.”
“I’m telling you,” I defend her. “If she’s taken my laptop, it must have something to do with Emiliana.”
Ivan nods curtly at my words. He signals the agent who pulls up more footage—grainy images of Caterina slipping a thick envelope into a man’s hands.
My breath catches. It’s the assassin who targeted Ivan a few months ago.
Ivan hisses out a curse, his craggy face mottling with rage. “That little vixen played us! This was a setup from the start.”
I stare at Caterina’s pixilated form, mind reeling. No. Not her. Not my Bunny.
“Look at this, Mikhail,” Ivan declares. “Look at all the evidence. Caterina stole your laptop and with that, all our secrets. She paid off my assassin just days before I was to be shot dead. Right after, her father has a mediator set up a marriage for our families? This has been nothing but a ploy the whole time.”
“There must be an explanation,” I rasp, but doubt wars within me now, poisoning my heart. If she betrayed us…the Zolotov name, all we built…
“You know who’s behind this.” Ivan’s eyes bore into mine, flinty with fury. “Her father. That old fox wants us gutted and the Genovese back on top in Philadelphia.”
I exhale harshly, hands curling into fists. The implications swarm my thoughts like wasps. With Caterina’s knowledge of Zolotov operations…Emiliana as leverage…they could bring us to our knees.
Unless I act first.
Jaw tightening, I meet Ivan’s steely gaze. If the Genovese want war, I will bring hellfire to their door. But Caterina…if she is lost to me now, the price will be heavy for us both. I fear the man that loss will turn me into.
“Ready the men,” I bite out. “We strike tonight.”
Ivan nods grimly. I stride from the room, fury and purpose thrumming through my veins. Betrayal cuts deep, but vengeance will run redder. We built this empire in blood and iron; I will defend it with my last breath.
Caterina…I harden my heart against the anguish there. For the family now, there can be no weakness. Only justice.
Ivan’s boots echo on the marble floors as we stalk down the hall, men falling in behind us. Jaw clenched, I bark orders.
“Ransack the Genovese estates. Every bolt-hole, every safe house. Leave no stone unturned until we have Caterina and Emiliana back. Make sure they’re unharmed, especially the child. Caterina will answer what we want.”
He inclines his head. “It will be done.”
My hands tremble with the urge to wrap around her slender neck. Caterina. My fierce, passionate Bunny. If she has turned against my family, I will have no choice but to show no mercy.
Ivan stops me. “Don’t let anger rule your judgment. Is attacking the Genovese compound the right move to make at this moment?”
I laugh harshly. “Oh, I’m not angry. I’m looking for the truth. We’ll have answers, brother. One way or another, she will tell me everything she knows.” My hands flex, yearning to close around her swanlike neck. “Starting with why she wanted you dead.”
Ivan frowns. He knows well the lengths I will go to for my family. For vengeance. I stare ahead, visions of violence filling my mind, as we prepare for war. “Perhaps you’re right, Mikhail. But as Pakhan, for now, I insist we continue our search as planned. No attack for now. It will only tip them off.”
