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)
Temporary collaboration or not, we trust each other about as much as two hungry gators around a rabbit.
“I’ll come too,” Valery says, smoothly rising to his feet.
I grit my teeth, having looked forward to a Molotov-free hour. It’s not worth antagonizing Alina’s brother, though, so I keep silent as he follows Ruslan and me out of the penthouse. I know he still suspects me of some ploy, just as, on some level, I suspect him and Konstantin of the same.
The alley is not far, so we walk there on foot. Behind us, some half a block away, several of my men trail us unobtrusively, as do a few of the Molotovs’ guards. They’re not as subtle as my guys, whom I’ve chosen specifically for the purpose of discreetly keeping an eye on Alina over the years. Either way, if shit goes down, we’re well prepared. Not that anything is likely to go down. If Alina did get taken, it was by someone who’s highly skilled at covering their tracks, and the odds of us finding anything—much less encountering anyone—in that alley are minuscule.
“Just how sick is she?” Valery asks, breaking the tense silence.
His voice is cool, unruffled, as if he couldn’t give a fuck about the answer, but the fact that he asked tells me he’s worried. Which is somewhat surprising. Over my years of following Alina, I’ve compiled dossiers on all of her friends and relatives, and by all indications, her youngest brother fits the clinical definition of a sociopath, complete with a lack of emotions and a highly manipulative nature. Though, to be fair, people have said that about me as well.
Regardless, I slant a suspicious glance at him, and so does Ruslan.
“Why?” I ask bluntly.
“Because she’s my sister, and I want to know how she is.”
Logical. Yet… “You haven’t asked about her state before. Why now?”
With a different man, I could chalk this up to small talk, but Valery Molotov doesn’t make small talk. Everything he says and does has a purpose, however convoluted that purpose may be.
“Because there’s something you’re not telling us.” Valery’s tone is even as we turn the corner onto the street where Alina was last spotted. “Something important. What is it?”
He’s right. I haven’t told them anything about Alina’s pregnancy—because that’s between me and Alina. More importantly, it has no bearing on anything.
“She’s very sick,” I say, ignoring his second question. “She’s dizzy, weak, nauseated, has headaches. Pretty much what you’d expect with fucking brain cancer. What else do you want to know?”
“Did you hurt her?” His voice is still level, his expression unreadable as he glances at me. “Is that why she ran even though she’s so sick?”
So that’s where he’s heading. My molars squeeze together, hard. “I would never fucking hurt her.”
“Then why would she run before a life-saving surgery? Unless being with you is so unbearable that she’d rather die.”
It’s all I can do not to reach for my knife right here, in the middle of a street that’s still crowded despite the late hour. I have to take several deep breaths to control myself, and still, when my voice emerges, it’s harsh and guttural. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. She wants me. She—” I stop because as much as I want to say that she loves me, I know that’s not the case. Not yet.
I need more time with her.
I need to show her that we belong together.
“Sure she does.” Valery’s tone is cool and mocking. “That’s why she avoided you all those years. Because she wants you so fucking much.”
If he weren’t Alina’s brother, he’d already be bleeding out on the pavement. As is, something of what I’m feeling must show on my face because he says matter-of-factly, “You know, a sniper of mine has the two of you in his sights.”
Ruslan catches my gaze, and I nod subtly, giving him my go-ahead. He pulls out his phone, and a second later, a red dot appears on Valery’s chest and travels up his face before settling on his forehead.
Alina’s brother stops and meets my gaze, a cold smirk tugging at his lips. “Touché.”
We have a whole team of snipers stationed in this area, ready to take out the Molotovs and their crew if they make the wrong move. I’m not surprised that they implemented the same measures. Nor will I be surprised if, after we find Alina, our temporary collaboration devolves into the bloodiest battle between our families yet.
But for now, we’re allies. Because we have to find her and soon. I can’t stop thinking about Alina sick and hurt, in the hands of some enemy who sees her as nothing but a tool to be used to gain an edge over me or her brothers. My stomach feels like it’s being clawed to shreds from the inside as I keep picturing the way her abduction could’ve gone down, how they could’ve violently subdued her or drugged her. Or…