I follow his voice to a pair of twin beds, each one holding a young girl whose restraints have just been soldered off thanks to Dimiv and two of my men. Both girls are dressed in matching cotton nighties and wearing matching terrified expressions. The one on the left has dark eyes and even darker hair. The one on the right is white-blonde with soft blue irises. Both are bruised to shit. I’d wager every penny I’ve ever earned that neither is even old enough to drive.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” I assure them. “We’re going to get you two back to your families.” The girls exchange glances. “But before we do that, I need to ask you some questions first.”
I keep my distance from both of them. They’re not likely to be very comfortable around men anymore. They have the unconscious bastard upstairs to thank for that. I intend to make sure he pays for his sins.
“Were there any other girls being held here?” They shake their heads in unison. “When were you brought here?”
“L-last night,” the brunette says softly. “I think. We were drugged. We woke up on these beds.”
Goddammit.
I turn to the side and Dimiv drifts towards me. “They moved Polly before they brought in the new girls,” I explain quietly.
“Did he talk?” Dimiv asks, lowering his voice to match mine.
“Yes. I have a name. Oleg Agapov.”
Dimiv’s eyes go wide. “Agapov? As in the same Agapov family your father ruined before I left?”
Fuck. I knew I recognized the name.
I turn back to the girls. “Do you have homes? Families who’ll be looking for you?”
They shake their heads. Most likely, these girls are from some sketchy part of town, bouncing from one foster home to the next. The kind of girls who slip so easily through the cracks in our world and fall into the hellholes beneath it. Common prey for men like Drozdov, men like Agapov, men like Sobakin. Rats that skitter in that darkness.
“Don’t worry,” he assures me. “I’ve got it covered. I’ll get them somewhere safe and we can make arrangements for them later.”
“Take Stepan with you. He’ll direct you to one of my safehouses on the outskirts of the city. They can stay there for the time being.”
Dimiv plants his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find her, cousin. I won’t rest until we do.”
Nodding grimly, I step back out again. Now that the smoke has settled, the disappointment sets in. I’d been counting on finding Polly here today. Instead, we have another search on our hands. Another leg of this endless fucking hunt. Even worse, she’s in the hands of her final buyer. God only knows what the sick mudak plans to do to her.
I climb into my SUV and signal for the men to follow me to the estate. On the way there, I call Nikolai and fill him in.
He quickly arrives at the same conclusion that Dimiv did. “Oleg Agapov? Aren’t the Agapovs the family that Otets—”
“Yes.”
He hisses in a sharp breath. “Blyat’.”
“Are Alyssa and Lev with you?”
“Yes, I’ve been watching them play video games for the last hour. I’m ready to put a bullet in my head. Where are you now?”
“On the way home. I’ve got another ugly ornament for the shed.”
“It’s getting crowded down there.”
“I’m planning on making room. Alan’s served his purpose. He’s just taking up space at this point. Anyway, I’ll be home soon. Start digging up dirt on Oleg Agapov. We need to move fast if we want to get Polly back in one piece.”
Even as I say it, I think about the dead look in the little blonde girl’s eyes from earlier. Life has already destroyed them before they even had a chance to live it.
I hope to God that Polly doesn’t share her fate.
The moment we drive onto the estate, I get my men to haul Drozdov’s limp body into the shed. But as we approach the north gardens, my skin prickles with unease. It’s too empty out here. Too quiet. There should be at least two guards manning this side of the estate. Instead, I see only a lone crow at the top of a distant tree.
“Viktor, Ilya—fan out and check the area. Who was supposed to be on duty today?”
“Fyodor and Anton, I think,” Viktor responds.
I know both men. They’d never leave their posts unless it were a life-or-death situation. I look towards the shed, and—
Fuck. The door is flapping in the wind, the lock sheared clean off.
“There’s been a breach,” I warn my men as I pull out my gun and run down the slope toward the building.
I’m the first one in and the first one down into the basement. The alarm bells in my head were completely accurate. The door to the cell has been broken open and there’s blood on the floor. Alan’s lying in a pool of the stuff with his tongue lolling out, dead as a rat.
And as for Sobakin…
He’s gone.
I rush upstairs and check the security feed. Forty-five minutes ago, it went dark. I grab my phone and call Nikolai.
“Sobakin escaped,” I hiss. “He fucking escaped.” Nikolai starts to ask questions, but I cut him off. “Pack a bag for Alyssa and Lev. It’s not safe here anymore. We’re leaving.”
I stride out of the shed where two of my men have a still-unconscious Drozdov balanced between them. I’d planned on torturing the fucker before I killed him. He deserved a long, drawn-out death befitting someone who bought and sold little girls.
But I have bigger fish to fry now. So I order them to drop him to the ground and step aside. Then I raise my gun and shoot him in the head.
As for Oleg Agapov and Boris Sobakin…
I’m coming for their skulls next.
30
ALYSSA
As it turns out, Nikolai is just as annoyingly omnipresent as Uri.
He’s been watching me like a hawk all evening, which means it’s getting harder and harder to hide the growing discomfort in my belly. I asked Dr. Grigory about it when he showed up for my in-house appointment with his massive medical bag in tow, and he assured me that it was normal for me to experience some discomfort, considering I’m almost twenty weeks along and the babies are growing fast.
I’m not worried so much as I am freaking uncomfortable. Not to mention tired. It’s a ton of work lugging around two extra human beings who insist on stealing all my calories for themselves.
“Are you okay?”
I sigh. It’s the tenth time Nikolai has asked me that question. The answer has not changed.
“Why do you keep asking her that?” Lev grumbles without looking up from his video game.
“Yeah, good question, Lev.” I glare at Nikolai. “Especially since I’ve already answered it a bunch of times.”
Nikolai just shrugs. “It’s my job to take care of you while Uri’s away. If anything were to happen, he’ll have my head.”
“He needs to take a chill pill. And so do you.”
“And you need to tell me if anything’s wrong. You’ve been squirming in that seat for the last hour.”
“It’s just gas.” He snorts with laughter. Even Lev lets out a distracted giggle. “Honestly, Nikolai, I’m fine. I’m just having twins; it’s uncomfortable. That’s all.”
“What did Grigory say during your check-up?”
“That I was healthy. And so are the babies.”
“Did he give you more supplements?”
“A whole bottle full. The joys of pregnancy. Can’t wait to add those to the regimen.”
“Did he check your blood pressure?”