“Is it possible she stumbled across something she shouldn’t have?”
“Like what?”
Lev gives me a knowing look. “The tapes?”
I scoff at the suggestion. “Those tapes are under lock and key in my office. But I have a feeling I know who she might have called.”
“Who?” This time, it’s Yulian who asks.
His eyes still dart between me and the phone, but he seems interested. “A man named Christopher Eckhart,” I say grudgingly. “A friend. The two of them are close.”
“How close?”
Too damn close for my liking, is the answer that comes to the tip of my tongue. But I repress the unwanted thought. “They’ve been friends since college.”
“Is that all they are?” Yulian probes.
Lev throws him a warning look, but my brother is too distracted to pay attention.
“Of course that’s all they are,” I growl. “She’s carrying my baby. She agreed to move into my home. Do I look like the kind of man who shares?”
Yulian raises his eyebrows, his expression turning stubborn. “She did all that right before she left without telling you. Sounds like she may have been telling you what you wanted to hear.”
I narrow my eyes at Yulian. “You really think I’m that easy to fool?”
“She is the first girl I’ve heard you refer to as ‘your woman,’” he says. “As far as I’m concerned, anything is possible now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see pigs flying past the window.”
Lev steps between us before I can get angry. “Don’t listen to him, Anton. I’m sure there’s an explanation for why Jessa left, and the sooner we find her, the sooner we find out what it is.”
“Have you tapped her phone?” Yulian asks.
“No.”
“What is this, amateur hour?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “She wasn’t my prisoner. I didn’t see the need.”
“So we wait for her to use her credit cards?” Lev suggests.
“She won’t,” I say confidently. “She’s too smart for that.”
“Then—”
“Like I said, she’ll be with Chris.”
Yulian looks unimpressed. “Wherever he is.”
“It won’t take that much effort to hunt him down,” I point out. “Lev?”
“On it.”
He’s already heading out the door. That’s good.
On the other hand, it leaves Yulian and me alone, which isn’t ideal. My brother isn’t the best company when I’m already on edge. He has no filter, and there is no one as good as family at driving you fucking crazy.
“I should have nipped that goddamn rumor in the bud a long time ago,” I growl to no one in particular. “I shouldn’t have left it to run its course.”
Yulian slumps into a seat and kicks his feet up. “Some rumors run their course. Others just pick up steam. Especially when there’s a little truth to them. Streisand Effect. Like Barbara. The singer, you know?”