"Who did you assemble?"
Demyan looks at me soberly. "Everyone, brother."
The sound of motorcycles pulling into the compound drive warns me our shestyorka have arrived—our intelligence and muscle. But if he's called everyone, they'll only be a small part of who's arriving. All are within a few minutes away, sworn to allegiance that on a summons from the pakhan or brigadier, they will come at a moment's notice. The Obshchak, the bratok, and sovietnik will arrive, comprising our main security group, strike force, and support. Men who have been trained as heavily as the Russian military. Brutal, skilled warriors.
I go to the main entrance and open our doors. My heart pounds, my pulse racing at the thought of a throwdown with Yuri.
"I need to secure Olena," I tell him. "I want her safe."
"Go," Demyan says.
I run for the stairs, not bothering with the elevator while my Bratva brothers assemble. Demyan is already shouting out instructions. Locking down our unarmed servants, assembling our main strike force as guard outside. He's expecting a vicious, bloody fight. Some wear bulletproof vests, others have strapped weapons on their chests, outfitted with massive quantities of ammo. This is battle. Those with the most remaining warriors will be victors.
I threw this gauntlet. I'm ready to fight.
When I reach the landing for my apartment, I find the door swinging crazily open.
My vision blurs with rage.
They got to her. They went straight for her.
But when I get to the apartment, there is no evidence of a struggle. "Olena!" I shout, looking for her, even though I know she won't be here.
I was a fool for leaving her in here and thinking she was safe. If anyone came for her—
I look in the bedroom and find she isn't there. Of course she isn't. They got her. They came for her and got her already.
Fuck.
I will myself to calm, to find evidence of something, anything at all that will give me a clue about her whereabouts. There's no blood, no furniture overturned. I walk into the room and find everything as I left it. That's when I see my wallet on the dresser, open. I lift it and see Taya's picture is still there, but the money is gone.
Did Olena leave?
Or did someone get her?
"I knew you'd come back here." I spin around to see Filip standing against the dresser, his arms crossed on his chest. "She isn't here, you know. And it doesn't matter anyway because—"
I don't give him a chance to respond. It was Filip all along, Vladak's brother. Perhaps even both of them.
I lunge at him. His eyes widen in surprise and he ducks just in time. I'm ready, though. I sweep his leg and he crashes to the floor. I waste no time in pinning him down with his arms behind his back, one of my knees pressed to his chest.
"What did you do with her?" I growl.
"Nothing," he grits out, barely able to speak with his lungs constricted. "I did nothing. But Yuri will kill her."
"Where is she?"
"Why don't you ask Larissa?"
I deck him, my fist connecting with his jaw so hard his head snaps back. Again, and again, I pound his traitorous face until blood pours from his broken nose and his eyes are swollen shut. I want to fucking kill him, but I can't. I may need him.
"It was you," I growl. "You fucking traitor."
"Fuck off," he tells me, spitting out blood on the floor. "So fucking kill me. I wasn't the one who slept with the daughter of our enemy."
I lift him by his shirt to stand in front of me. "Our enemy?" I tell him. "He's my enemy, not yours."
His swollen eyes look at me with malicious humor. "All of you are my enemies," he growls. "I owe allegiance to none."
I don't have time to deliberate this.
I need to find Olena, before they get here.
"It's too late," he says. "He'll get her long before you ever do."
I throw him so hard against the wall, plaster cracks and falls to the floor. He grunts, tumbling forward. I wish I could end him, but we may need to interrogate him. I grab him by the scruff of the neck and drag him to where I keep restraints. Pushing him to the floor with his face to the ground, I gag, restrain, then hogtie him.
"I'll be back to deal with you," I tell him. He fumes, but he can't get away. He knows the punishment that befalls a traitor.
By the time I get downstairs, the sounds of voices assembling in the main hall are getting louder and louder. I try Demyan on his cell but get nothing. I enter the hall to find Nicolai, grab him and pull him to a quiet doorway.
"It was Filip," I tell him. "He works for The Thieves." I fill him in on everything and his eyes grow cold, knowing what will happen next.