Staring out the window, Lucas couldn’t stop the smile that rose on his lips. This was his city. At times she was narrow-minded, prejudiced, frustrating, and too often years behind the trends of the rest of the country, but she was beautiful and elegant and his. He’d made his fortune here. He climbed up from nothing, worked his ass off for four years in the Army before working his way through college and then up the corporate ladder. No one was going to scare him or stop him.
Lucas walked back to his desk. He needed to get some work done before Detective Banner inevitably appeared at his office to inform him of the events at Thomas’s house and try to pressure him into aiding his search for this bastard. As he dug through his briefcase, searching for a contract he wanted to review, his eye snagged on a large yellow envelope he hadn’t noticed before and hadn’t left on his desk since he’d last been in the office. Candace and Kevin, his other assistant, didn’t place things in his office without his knowledge. They held it at their desk until he was in and they placed it in his hands.
Putting his briefcase on the floor without retrieving the contract, Lucas picked up the envelope, fighting to push down the uneasiness that was trying to overwhelm him. It was nothing. He was sure it was nothing. It was likely something he’d told Candace to drop on his desk and he’d simply forgotten. The past few weeks had been insane and his mind was not fully on work. It was just an overlooked contract or a special report that he’d requested. Inside he found only a hastily scratched letter and photo.
The piece of paper was written with what looked like a sharpie in block letters and said:Deliver $10M to 1034 Boron at 2AM Tonight or He DiesLucas flipped the photo over and the air in his lungs left him in a rush. He released the photo as if it had suddenly burst into flames and he let it float down to his desk as he stumbled back a step. It was Andrei. Oh fucking Christ, it was Andrei. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the photo even while his stomach churned in horror. Andrei was slumped in a chair, his bindings the only thing holding him upright, his naked body covered in ugly bruises and gashes. What Lucas could see of his face was swollen and bloody.
They knew. The fucking bastard had somehow found out that Andrei was a spy and he’d been tortured before they decided to demand their ransom. Was he even still alive?
Lucas’s chest burned and he suddenly gasped for air. He couldn’t breathe. He could barely think. Every damned memory of Andrei kept flashing through his head. Andrei laughing and teasing him. Andrei shielding him from the fire, protecting him from the bullets. Andrei talking to Ian as they cooked breakfast. Andrei trusting him. And interspersed in the picture show was that damned photo of Andrei bloody and dying.
Gripping the edge of his desk, Lucas clenched his eyes shut and swallowed his need to shout. He wanted to scream while the trembling in his frame shook him to pieces. With each breath, he gathered up more of his emotions until they were wadded into a tight, hard ball in his chest. He tucked them down and locked them up. If Andrei was still alive, he needed Lucas to be in control. He needed Lucas calm and focused. And if Andrei wasn’t alive…well then, Cincinnati was his city. Lucas would be the one to burn it to the ground to get his revenge.
Hiding the photo and letter in the top drawer of his desk, Lucas violently jabbed the four digits to Candace’s line and summoned her into his office. He had to wait only a minute before the woman scurried in, carrying her usual assortment of reports, contracts, and emails for them to review, thinking he was ready for his usual morning meeting.
“Send everyone home now,” Lucas bit out before she could cross the room to his desk.
Candace’s gait immediately slowed until she stopped several feet away from the chairs positioned before his desk. “Mr. Vallois?”
“Now. Send them home now.”
“But…” Her voice drifted off as if she were struggling to formulate a thought in response to his strange request. Lucas had never done this before. In fact, he preferred that all of his employees worked in the office whenever possible rather than remotely from home. Face-to-face meetings were always more effective to accomplishing tasks.
“An emergency has come up. Tell them all to pack up. Work from home. Come back tomorrow.”
“Sir…”
Lucas opened his mouth to shout at the woman but stopped himself. Pressing both his fists into the top of the desk, he took a deep breath. He’d just convinced the woman to start working for him again. He didn’t need her to quit because he was an asshole for what seemed like no reason.