Threats have a time and a place; now isn’t it.
I need to go after Aleksandra, Sophia, and Liam before she does something stupid.
* * *
In a matter of minutes, I’m following the tracking device on my phone, pointing me north on a side road.
Two sets of railroad tracks cross the main thoroughfare. And just before I approach, the red lights flicker on. I hit the gas, but there’s no way I will make it before the train.
I slam hard on the brakes as I near the tracks, jolting the vehicle around a bit.
“Damnit!” I slam my fist against the steering wheel.
I’m lucky enough to get stopped not just by one train but two. The first whizzes by at lightning speed. The other on the second set of tracks crawls by at a snail’s pace.
I examine the GPS maps, but there are no other roads that don’t cross the tracks, and any other route will add at least an additional hour to the trip.
I flip from the GPS app on my phone to the tracking device with Aleksandra’s whereabouts.
There’s no sign of movement, which either means she discovered the tracking device or they’re waiting for something.
Or someone.
I’m impatient, but there isn’t much I can do but wait.
Finally, the tracks clear, and I hit the gas, hurrying as quickly as possible. But she’s already had a decent head start.
Up ahead, as I close in on the last half mile until the destination, the sun has already come up. There’s a small gas station on the right, and I recognize the car we were in earlier pulled over in the parking lot.
I hurry into the lot and shut off the engine before jumping out of the vehicle. I lock the doors and shove the keys into my pocket while heading toward the abandoned car.
It’s empty.
I rush into the gas station, pulling open the glass door—the bell on the door jingles to announce my presence.
The place is small, and unless they’re in the bathroom or intentionally hiding from me, it’s not like I’d have difficulty spotting them, especially Aleksandra.
“My wife and kids just stopped in here, couldn’t have been more than a few minutes ago,” I say to the man behind the counter.
“I didn’t see anything,” he says.
He’s lying.
He looks nervous, and his eyes are darting around, avoiding me. He glances at the trash briefly.
I stalk toward the bin and notice the stuffed animals torn to shreds. My mouth is parched at the sight of the destruction of Sophia and Liam’s bears. She knows I was tracking her, watching her movements.
The attendant on duty must know something.
“I’ll bet she spoke to you,” I say and approach the counter. I flash my weapon holstered on my hip to let him know I’m not fucking around.
His gaze lands on the phone near the counter. “Did she ask to use the phone?” I ask, grabbing the landline before he can stop me. I hit redial, already suspecting that she’s reached out to Mikhail.
“Aleksandra?” a Russian voice picks up the call. It sounds like Mikhail, but it could be any of his comrades.
I don’t have to ask to know where they’re taking her.