9
Antonio
Aleksandra is exhausting to be around.
I pop two ibuprofens on my way down to the office. Our guests are in the dining hall. The children are having breakfast at the main table. We’ve extended the leaf and added a few seats, but we don’t entertain often.
There are plenty of bedrooms in the complex, but this isn’t a hotel or bed-and-breakfast.
“How are you doing this morning?” Ardian asks, as he accompanies me to the office.
Is it that obvious that Aleksandra is putting me through the wringer? I exhale a sharp sigh. I’ll survive. I’ve dealt with worse. “Any news about the Russians?” I ask, steering the conversation far from the girl upstairs and the two, possibly my, kids.
“Gian let a team of soldiers into the Russian compound before daylight,” Ardian says. I ordered the attack, and I’m aware of the circumstances. I don’t know if Mikhail was captured, killed, or escaped. There’s been no word from my men on Mikhail’s whereabouts.
“And? Any news on Mikhail?” I ask.
“Gian radioed in about an hour ago. They interrogated a half dozen Russians onsite, but no one was talking. Mikhail wasn’t at the compound. We don’t know where he is, and he isn’t likely to return if he knows we’re watching the place.”
I bite down on my bottom lip, tasting the metallic zing of blood. “He can’t stay away forever,” I say.
I sit down at my desk, and Ardian grabs a seat opposite.
“Agreed, but he’s probably in a safe house,” Ardian says.
“And we have no one who can tell us the location?” I ask.
“You tell me,” Ardian says, his hands folded in his lap. “You’ve got the girl upstairs. She probably knows best of anyone.”
“I’m not interrogating the girl,” I say. “And no one else is, either.”
“Understood,” Ardian says. “But if we don’t find Mikhail and stop him, we don’t know what he’ll do next. If you don’t mind my candor, sir, all of us in one location, it’s concerning.”
My gaze tightens. It’s not a problem that hasn’t crossed my mind. It’s one of the reasons I insisted on bringing Aleksandra under my roof.
“What do you suggest we do?” I ask. We’ve convened so that we can stop the Russians, not give them a target to obliterate all of us in one blast easily.
“We need the location of the safe house. Mikhail is calling the shots. He’s working with the other Russians, but he’s the leader. If we take him out, we have a chance to stop the war,” Ardian says.
“I’ll get it. I need time.”
“Time isn’t on our side, sir,” Ardian says.
* * *
I head out of my office and into the dining room. Sophia and Liam are seated at the table. Aleksandra has grabbed a chair against the wall and is situated by herself.
She found her way downstairs without my permission.
Against the opposite wall, are several of the dons from different cities, Dante, Alessandro, and Jace, conversing with one another. Their wives are standing near the window, Olivia, Nicole, Paige, and Karina, having a bite to eat while chatting.
Aurielo and Moreno stand together, a small plate in each of their hands as they finish the last of their breakfast.
Stepping into the room, Aleksandra stands and heads right for me.
“Are you holding all of them against their will, too?” she asks, practically biting my head off.
“They are guests in my home. These are the families that your brother, Mikhail, threatened,” I say, pinning her with my stare. “Do you know anything about them trying to kidnap Nova?” I ask, pointing at the little girl with strawberry-blonde hair and the brightest baby blue eyes.