* * *
Federica Bucur lived with Theo,and since they were splitting the rent, they stayed in a marginally nicer area than Molly had.
Still, the lock on her apartment was easy enough to pick. I left men outside the building, in the stairwell, and outside the door. I wasn’t taking any chances that she’d smell a trap and run away before I could question her.
Inside the apartment, I wandered through her and Theo’s things, finding it utterly uninspiring. I settled on a creaking kitchen chair to wait for her to return from her morning run.
Max stood inside the door, leaning on a crutch. He had recovered well and wouldn’t need the crutch after tomorrow, but I was still worried about him. He’d insisted on coming this morning, and I pretended not to know why.
Max, my most loyal soldier and friend, had a soft spot for Molly’s skeptical friend, and he wanted to be here to make sure I didn’t lose my head in a bid to get information from her. I wouldn’t. I had never tortured a woman for information and certainly wouldn’t be starting with Molly’s best friend. Thanks to Rowan’s information, I had no need for such crude methods.
I heard her coming up the stairs. The second she realized she had company, her steps faltered as she tried to backtrack but found my men standing behind her, forcing her up the stairs.
She entered the room, flushed and wide-eyed. Her gaze landed on Max, and she flinched like she’d seen a ghost.
“Hello,kotenok,” he murmured to her.
“Aren’t you dead?” she asked, her voice filled with awe.
“Not last time I checked, but the day is young,” Max quipped, smirking in a way I hadn’t seen in two long months.
Federica pulled her shocked gaze from Max and turned to me, her wonder shuttering into dark annoyance. “What do you want?”
“Please, don’t pretend not to know.” I pointed to the chair opposite me. “Sit. Now.”
She complied only when the men behind her pushed her forward.“I’m not telling you anything,” she said immediately.
“Sweetheart, don’t you know where you’re supposed to start? First, you deny knowing why I’m here. Then, I give you evidence that you’re in contact with Mallory. You skipped a step.”
Federica’s brow scrunched. “Who’s Mallory?”
“Right. I forgot. Lori Wilson,” I corrected. I was a little past worrying about blowing Mallory’s alias. “I know you spoke to her last night.”
Federica raised her chin and held her tongue.
“I can guess she hasn’t given anything away regarding her location since she isn’t dumb and cares about others' safety above her own. So, what we’re going to do is simple. Next week, when she calls, you’re going to keep her on the line until my guy says you can hang up. You will not warn her in any way or speak in code.”
“Why would I do that?” Federica’s dark eyes were blazing with anger.
“Because if you don’t, you’ll force my hand. I don’t want you to get hurt, Federica. When Mallory comes home, she’ll need you. I want her to have her friends around her.”
“So, you’re threatening to do what, exactly?” She turned her head to look at Max, an appraising look in her eyes. “Cut off some fingers or pull some teeth? What does torturing compliance look like in the Chernov family?”
“I suppose it looks a lot like it does in the Bucur family,” I delivered with deadly calm.
Rowan’s information had been illuminating. I’d known there was a lot Federica hid from her friends, but not the full extent. “I know who you are, Federica. I know who you, your father, your brother, and most of all, your fiancé are. Or should I say,was?”
She paled, her olive skin turning a sickly shade of green. Her elegant hands curled into fists.“It’s not true,” she whispered.
I shrugged. “I don’t care. You don’t need to convince me. Convince the family that you didn’t do it. Start there. If you don’t help me find my future wife so I can cherish and protect her, you leave me with no choice but to pass on your location. Now, before you think about running away as soon as we leave here, you should know that Max here is charged with staying by your side until the phone call. He’ll be your shadow, and don’t think you can get one over on him because he nearly died a few weeks ago. On your best day, you’re no match for him.”
A long tear slipped down Federica’s full cheek and dripped onto the table. “So, Lori was right. You’re a monster.” Her whisper sank through the stillness in my chest like a knife. “I thought maybe you loved her, but now I see . . . you just want to own her. You’re all the same,” Federica accused. “Monsters are made, not born . . . right? What the fuck happened to you?”
I swallowed the hot, angry retort sitting in my throat. “Born. Made. Assume I’m both and act accordingly, Miss Bucur. I don’t want Molly to lose her friend, but I’ll let it happen if it comes to that. Don’t test me.”
“So, you don’t care that I didn’t do it, but you’ll treat me like I did?”
“I don’t care about anything except finding Mallory. It’s your choice, Federica. I don’t have to tell anyone anything.” I stood, ready to leave.