“Does my father know about these pictures?” she spat contemptuously.
“No.”
“Then God help the bastard when my father finds out.”
Dmitriy cleared his throat. “With all due respect, someone will need to take some pictures of all this. The Pakhan should have all the information we can give him.”
Roksana stepped forward and pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll do it.”
She jerked her arm away from his grip and briskly snapped photos of the room. Then she headed down the hall to check out the rest of the house with Oleg on her heels.
She entered a bedroom that had been converted into an office. If he was such an internet addict maybe he left a clue about his upcoming plans for her mother. Once again, she pushed down the anger that threatened to overcome her. It was just wrong for any man but Glazov to feel anything for her mother—or at least that’s how she saw things. It was the first time she could ever remember someone having the balls to challenge the Pakhan. The man was clearly out of his mind.
She used a gloved hand to push around the small Post-It notes on the desk. An address on one of them stood out to her. He’d written ‘resort property’ on it along with an address and phone number. She tore off a Post-It note and copied the information down, making sure to leave everything the way it was found. You never know with these crazy fucks if they’re OCD. All the crazies who work for my father damn sure are.
She ventured down the hall toward the kitchen and noticed a basement door. When she tried to turn the handle, it was locked. A skeleton key hung on the wall next to the door. Fear shot through her as she inserted the skeleton key and turned the lock. The door creaked as she felt along the wall for a light switch.
Wooden steps groaned beneath her weight as she ventured down the primitive, steep staircase. If she had been horrified by the pictures of her mother on the walls upstairs, then what she was seeing now terrified her. It was a room he had clearly prepared for her mother.
He had thought of everything. A cot for her to sleep on, a dresser, even a toilet with a stainless mirror that couldn’t be broken over it. And manacles along the wall. Had he abducted women before? Or had he done this ‘special’ for her mother? This sick bastard really believed Kathleen would one day be his.
She shook off the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and aimed her camera, capturing images to show her father later. She headed back up the steps, turning off the light and locking the door behind her. She placed the key back on the hook and went back down the hall to find Oleg.
“This guy is one sick fuck, man. He has the basement decked out for company, but it’s not like any guest room I’ve ever seen. Chains, people. He’s really serious about abducting my mother. He’s put so much effort into this; nothing short of death will stop him. My mother is in grave danger.”
Oleg wrapped his arms around his wife. “Your father has people working to keep her safe. They are Bratva, willing to give their lives to keep her safe. We’re going to get this guy.”
“We need to check this out.” She shoved the small yellow piece of paper in her husband’s hand. “Let’s go!” It came out more forcefully than she intended but swallowing the knot of anger in her throat was proving to be a difficult task—one she was forcing herself to do for the sake of finding her mother’s stalker.
Oleg was right; they didn’t want to leave any evidence they had been there. She wanted to save the element of surprise for when it would really count. She wanted him to know what it was like to be stripped of your free will. She wanted him to know what it felt like when your life was no longer under your control. She wanted to wrap those fucking chains in his basement around his throat and squeeze the life right out of him.
She wanted her father to be the last thing this guy saw when he died, because she knew those eyes would haunt him for eternity.
Chapter Twenty Four
They made the trip in awkward silence. Any number of times, members of the group opened their mouths as if to speak, only to think better of it. What was there to say? Nothing seemed appropriate. In the end, Oleg broke the silence, directing his words to his wife.
“None of us realized he had gotten that close to your mother. He may be crazy but he’s smart; he wants to hurt your father and he knows the surest way to do that is through his woman.”
He wrapped a massive hand around hers and squeezed. “No worries; we’re going to get this guy. We have trained our whole lives for this. We are ready for war.”
She nodded stoically, but he could tell by the ashen cast to her skin that she needed him. They would get revenge the same way they always did, head on, with brute force, and as a team working together flawlessly. They would have one more secret to share that would reinforce the bond between them. Secrets have a way of destroying some, but they also have a way of uniting others.
“This is it, right here.” Dmitriy’s voice cut through their thoughts. He parked the SUV next to a small house situated by a lake pier.
“It looks abandoned. No cars here, no signs of life,” said Anastasia as she unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out.
Roksana took a deep breath and gave Oleg a small smile as she opened her car door. “Maybe he was just looking at a fishing lodge to buy. Or maybe the people who own it just use it seasonally.”
“Well, let’s at least look in the windows.” Dmitriy stepped out of the car and removed the safety on his gun before tucking it back in the waistband of his pants.
They exited the car and fanned out, each taking a different section of the house’s exterior to examine. They all saw the same thing as they peered into windows: no one appeared to live here and if they did, it was seasonal. The furniture was covered with sheets, with dust and cobwebs giving testimony that, once again, the group had missed its mark. Their elusive quarry wasn’t here.
Roksana was beginning to wonder if they would ever find him. He seemed to be able to walk through walls and, poof, disappear into thin air. No lead that came their way ever panned out. Hell, maybe he was a Glazov after all.
For now, all they were going to be able to do was place a guard on his house and catch him when he came home. She wanted this to be over. No…she wanted to see his blood on her father’s hands. She wanted to make him pay for putting her family through this. He had taken something sacred and made it dirty and for that she wanted her father to have his pound of flesh.
When they returned to the Glazov mansion, it was with a profound sense of defeat. Failure was palpable in the group’s slow gait and sagging shoulders. As Oleg had said, failure wasn’t an option.
“So, it looks like an all-nighter in the surveillance room,” Dmitriy declared as he lowered himself into his office chair and turned on a monitor.
“I’ll make the beer and pizza run.” Anastasia wanted to clear her head and what better way to do it than a night time drive?
And the drive did her good, as she had known it would. It was a bad sign when the people she was closest to stopped talking. That was a sure sign that shit was serious. At least here in the darkness, she could relax and think.
In the past, her enemies had a face. She had known exactly who she was up against. Not this time. This enemy was little more than a wisp of smoke; there, then gone again.
Starting her life over with the Glazovs had given her vision and purpose she had never had before, and now some stranger in the shadows threatened to take that away. She hated him for it. She needed these people; she loved them.
For the first time since she had joined Bratva, she was truly afraid. But it wasn’t physical danger she feared, it was being separated from the people she loved. She couldn’t let that happen.
Chapter Twenty Five
He had watched them from the woods as they snuck into his house like common thieves. Did they really think they were going to set foot inside his house and he wouldn’t know it? Fools.
He’d been able to feel their vile presence as soon as he opened the door. He wou
ld have known they’d been there even if he hadn’t watched them go in.
He seethed with rage at having been so violated. It made him feel dirty. They tried to leave everything the same way it was but he still knew. He always knew. It’s the reason they hadn’t caught him yet. Even though they had forced him to change his plans, he had come up with a better one.
He had followed them from a safe distance when they left his house. That was when he saw her, peering through the windows of one of the river houses he had briefly thought about buying. Instead, he had decided to just kill the old man who lived in the house he liked the most, the one that wasn’t for sale. He had enjoyed doing that—killing him and, ultimately, taking over his life. What an intoxicating jolt of power, to not only steal someone’s property but their whole damn life.
And, as luck would have it, the old man’s cabin was the perfect place to take her. The moment he saw her, he knew he had to have her. He could tell right away she’d put up a fight—a good one. He needed that right now, a worthy opponent to take out his anger on.
He knew he had made the right decision when he followed them back to the Glazov house, headlights off of course, and only moments later she left alone. Now here he was, sitting in the parking lot of a pizza joint, biding his time.
He liked watching her. She looked like one of those delectable, badass video game vixens with the big, perky tits, who could beat up most men. It wasn’t because of her size that she looked so badass, it was her whole demeanor. She was dressed in a short denim skirt and combat boots, of all things. Blood red lipstick and jet black hair only added to her look. Oh, yes, he liked this one. She’d be a delicious change of pace…one last hurrah before he settled down with his little bird.
She loaded the pizza boxes into her car and pulled out of the parking lot. He pulled out right behind her, not at all worried about keeping his distance now. He was more concerned about not losing her. He didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity that had dropped into his lap like manna from heaven.
When she reached a secluded, dimly lit stretch of road, he knew he had to make his move. He sped up, deliberately tapping her rear bumper and she did exactly what he knew she would. She pulled over and got out. She was glorious in her anger, hands planted on her hips, breasts jutting out as her chest heaved.
“What the fuck, man!?”
Oh yes…she was perfect.
“I’m so sorry,” he simpered with a horrified frown as he clamored out of his car and approached. “I do hope I haven’t done any damage.”
He bent down to inspect her car’s bumper. When she knelt beside him, straining to see in the dim lighting, he moved with cat-like grace and emptied the syringe into her neck.
She frowned and teetered there for a moment, before her body sagged and went limp. He caught her in his arms and leaned around the car, looking to make sure no one was coming. He carried her the twenty feet back to his car. He had to bend his knees awkwardly to reach the trunk lock, then it was just a matter of tossing her in.
After he secured her ankles and wrists, he stood over her, reveling in the sublime rush of adrenalin. It was a powerful drug in its own right, and he was quickly becoming addicted.
She was his now. He could do anything he wanted to her. Absolutely anything. And no one could stop him.
He doubted Glazov would care about the bitch so he wouldn’t bother trying to get any money or anything. This indulgence wasn’t about Glazov, it was about her and the thrill of breaking her down, little by little.
He wondered as he sped down the road to his cabin: Did anyone love her? Would anyone miss her? Not that it mattered because now she was his and he wasn’t giving her back.
Finders keepers…
He squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white as he navigated the dark, rural road. He had one thing on his mind: getting this bitch down to the river cabin. She would be his pretty, little action figure doll to play with. After all, he needed to practice if he wanted to be truly ready for his Kathleen.
He wanted to see if this one was as tough as she looked. He couldn’t wait to restrain her on the bed, arms and legs spread wide for him. He would explore her body, but he wouldn’t be selfish; no, he would take his time, give her pleasure she didn’t even know she wanted. The orgasms would leave her feeling confused, no doubt. Then he’d fuck her while she tried in vain to break free from the restraints. She would probably feel obligated to fight him. He hoped she would; he didn’t want her to just lay there, for heaven’s sake.
He exhaled long and slow as he adjusted his dick in his pants, already primed and ready to go. He just hoped she wouldn’t turn out to be a whining, sniveling, little bitch. That would be so disappointing. If she was, he would kill her quickly. That shit got on his nerves.
He had so many fun games in mind and he couldn’t wait to get started.
“Something’s wrong, man. I put a fucking tracker on her earlier and I can’t get a read on it now.”
Dmitriy ran his hands through his dark hair. He couldn’t shake this feeling of foreboding, just a general sense that something bad was going down. He should have gone with her.
“What was her last location?”
“Down by the river, and we all know nothing good happens there this late at night. Can’t be a coincidence. But how could he know we’d been there? I watched for tails on the way back. This guy is fucking invisible, like nothing we’ve ever dealt with.”
“He’s got her. We went to the wrong river house and, somehow, he got her.” Roksana shook her head in frustration. How could this happen? What had she missed? What detail had she overlooked in Anastasia’s training that could leave her vulnerable to attack?
“I don’t understand him taking her though,” Dmitriy mused as he paced the floor. “She hasn’t been involved in any of this.”
“Unless he somehow saw us going into his house,” Roksana suggested as she scrubbed her hands over her face, trying to think clearly. “That’s the only opportunity he would have had to see her. No wonder he was looking at houses on the river. Our boy got a taste for blood after he killed that store owner. Now he’s doing what they all do, escalating. He’s tired of waiting for my mother, now he just has a taste for blood.”
“Would you quit fucking saying he wants to kill her?” Dmitriy shouted, alerting Roksana and Oleg that this was far more personal for Dmitriy than either of them had realized.
“Sorry,” she said with a wince. “Let’s go to the last location her tracker pinged at. We’re going to find this guy. Anastasia is trained. I can assure you she isn’t going down without one hell of a fight.”
Roksana grabbed her jacket off one of the office chairs and hurried out the door. “I can’t sit here and do nothing. Let’s go.”
“Wait a minute,” Dmitriy called out after her. “We’ve got this guy’s address; that’s all I need to get a make on his car. I don’t care if I have to drive by every fucking house on the river to find his car, I’m going to.” He turned and looked at Oleg. “You aren’t the only one who’s going to have a ringside seat to this bastard’s torture session. He fucked up when he took my woman.”
Dmitriy swallowed hard, forcing down his guilt and shame for letting her go out alone in the middle of a high-risk job. She’d done it so many times, though.
It had never crossed his mind that this could be the last time he ever saw her.
Chapter Twenty Six
Her fingers touched the brooch Dmitriy had pinned on her jacket, as if it would change her present circumstances. If anyone could find her it would be Dmitriy. He was the best in the business. And he loved her. She wondered how he was handling things, surely knowing by now that she’d been kidnapped. She found herself hoping he felt the same sense of loss she did. Right now, she was empty.
She forced herself to piece together her memories of what happened last night. Well, she assumed it was last night; she had no idea how much time had passed.
There had been a wreck, som
e sort of collision. She pictured in her mind the man who had hit the back of her car. He’d done it intentionally. It had to be him, Glazov’s half-brother. What the hell did he want with her? She gritted her teeth against the fear as she considered the most likely choice: He’s going to kill me to send a message to Glazov.
She tried to stand, finally succeeding on the third try even though she was unsteady on her feet. She would do what Roksana had trained her to do…use the fear to her advantage. With fear came adrenalin, and with adrenalin came strength…and courage.
She ran her hands over the walls, cursing the wrist and ankle restraints that hampered her movements. Her heart slammed inside her chest as her fingers dug into the vertical slab of dirt and moss. She was underground. She touched the brooch, then stifled an agonized cry when she remembered that the tracker wouldn’t work underground. Fuck. She was on her own, up against a madman with a vendetta against her Pakhan.
The room was small with a wooden ladder that reached up to an overhead door. The gravity of her situation was like a death knell. If he never came back, no one would ever find her down here. What if he left her here to starve to death?
She pulled at the rungs in the ladder, trying to loosen one to use as a weapon. But the crudely constructed wooden stairway to freedom held firm and did not give way to her desperate attempts to dislodge it. Even with her feet and hands restrained, she couldn’t resist the urge to climb up the ladder and test the huge overhead door. She was halfway up when she heard it: someone was pulling on the door to open it. She scurried back down and sat in a corner before it opened.
She saw the flashlight beam before she got the chance to see him. He deliberately blinded her as he paced in front of her, shining the light in her eyes so she couldn’t make out his features.
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