Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“On it,” he says, his thumbs already flying over his phone’s screen.
I leave him to it and walk over to the window to stare out at the gleaming waters of Lake Geneva. I’d purchased this penthouse prior to Alina’s escape so we’d have a place to stay during her treatment. Its proximity to the clinic and pretty views were the main selling points. Now it’s going to serve as our base of operations as we search for her and prepare for war with her brothers.
“You should get some rest. This won’t be resolved anytime soon,” Ruslan says, coming up to stand next to me.
“I’ll rest when we find her.”
“No, you won’t. That’s when she’ll need you the most. So you should get some shuteye now, while nothing is happening.”
Fuck. He’s right. I scrub my hand over my face again. The lack of sleep is taking a toll on me. My eyes burn with exhaustion, my muscles ache, and my thinking is slow and muddled. Worse yet, my temper is at a hair trigger. If I don’t get some sleep soon, I won’t just be useless—I’ll be dangerous.
“Go crash for an hour or two,” Ruslan says. “I’ll wake you up if we find out anything.”
I nod curtly and go.
It feels like I’ve barely shut my eyes when I’m roughly shaken awake. For a second, I’m disoriented, but then the events of the past couple of days flood my brain and I jackknife off the bed, nearly knocking Ruslan off his feet as I grab for my phone to check the time.
Fuck. It’s nearly six hours later. I should’ve set a fucking alarm instead of trusting my brother to wake me.
“Did we find her?” I demand, stuffing the phone into my pocket.
“No.” Ruslan’s expression is strangely tight. “Her brothers are here, though.”
“You mean they’ve landed?”
“I mean, they’re fucking here, in your living room.”
I shoot him a disbelieving look before stalking out into said living room. Sure enough, Konstantin and Valery Molotov are sitting on my couch, identical hazel-gold eyes trained on me with undisguised hostility.
What the fuck?
“They came by themselves,” Ruslan says in a low voice before I can approach our uninvited guests. “I had them searched for weapons before letting them in. They’re clean. And I think… they don’t know where Alina is either.”
My right hand clenches into a fist. “Bullshit.”
“Just hear them out,” Ruslan says under his breath. “If it’s an act, it’s a fucking good one.”
I fight the urge to deck him, or better yet, both of Alina’s brothers. Instead, I call upon every ounce of restraint and approach the couch.
They stand as I stop in front of them. It’s eerie how alike they look, despite being nearly six years apart in age and Konstantin wearing glasses. They’re almost like twins. Or triplets, if you count their middle brother, Nikolai—who, it appears, couldn’t make it to the party. Probably because he’s busy playing daddy to my nephew.
It sets my teeth on edge just thinking about it.
The two Molotovs match me in height, so we’re eye to eye as we glare at each other.
Valery breaks the silence first. His voice is like a shard of glass in winter. “I told you not to stand in our way, Leonov. We came unarmed—now let us see her.”
It’s hard to keep my face expressionless. “You want to see your sister.”
“That’s right,” Konstantin says, his tone calm despite the hatred burning in his eyes. “Your email said she’ll be undergoing surgery shortly. We want to see her before she goes under the knife.”
This is fucking weird. Are they here as a diversion? Do they think we’ll call off our men and stop looking for Alina if they pretend like they know nothing? If so, that’s a very risky ploy. The full contingent of my guards is here now, so I could have them both detained. I could keep them prisoner and torture them until they tell me exactly where Alina is. Alina wouldn’t appreciate it if I killed them, so I’ll try not to, but they wouldn’t have to know that.
Then again, they undoubtedly have their men stationed nearby, ready to attempt a rescue if needed. Maybe they think that’s assurance enough, and this game is worth it. But to what end? Why take this kind of risk for a not-so-convincing ploy?
I have to find out, which means playing along for now.
“She’s resting,” I say coolly. “I’ll tell her you’re here when she wakes up.”
Valery’s jaw hardens. “We’ll see her now.”
Yeah, sure. “How did you find us?” I ask, as if he hasn’t spoken.
“We tracked your plane,” Konstantin replies flatly. “From there, it wasn’t hard to figure out which penthouse you’d purchased. There were only a few on the market in Geneva, and only one was bought by an untraceable shell company. I’m sure you knew that, though.”