Page 122 of The Umarova Crime Family

“You killed a child?”

“I’ve killed many. Children. Women. Men. None of it matters. Only the job does… and when I took Meryem’s life, I thought I should have someone else here now. It seemed fitting that choice would be you. I know you only need time to learn how to love me and to know we’re meant to be together. You just need time, you see.” God. This man is delusional. How did none of us see it before?

“Goran, I have a question for you.” He’s delusional, sure, but he’s already given up the fact he was loyal to my father and Artos.

“Yes, what is it, Miss Eset?”

“I was told there is an army coming after my family and that there are people who support my mother taking over Ruslan’s position. Is there any truth to that?”

Goran swallows hard. He’s debating whether or not to tell me.

“Surely, you understand I can’t trust you unless you’re honest with me. That’s how this will work someday, on the basis of trust.”

“Miss Eset, I don’t want to tell you things that will upset you, but yes… there is a ploy to take Ruslan out of power and then, in turn, to give it to your mother. Your father’s allies believe Ruslan doesn’t know what he’s doing. They think he’s only going to take Chechnya back in time and not lead it into the future.”

Fuck, so what that man told us is the truth. “What did… how did they plan on taking Ruslan out of power?”

“By killing you. All of you. It’s why I brought you here. I made it look like we were in a car accident because I couldn’t bear to kill you. No one will know you’re alive, so no one will come to kill you. Don’t you see? I saved you, Miss Eset. I saved you so we could be together.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Santos

It’s been three fucking days since anyone has heard from Eset, and no one seems to know a goddamn thing. I’m still in London, and things with her brothers have only become more tumultuous over time. Nazyr thinks my father had something to do with her disappearance, and when I called my father to speak to him about Eset being missing, he used it as a “lesson” on how important the women closest to us can be. Even though he was a foul bastard when I spoke to him, I don’t believe he had anything to do with this.

In fact, she left with Goran the day she went missing. I’m now sitting in Ruslan’s penthouse hotel suite with the rest of her family members, and we’re all trying to figure something out. “You said she left to go find Meryem?” Emily prods, and I nod.

“Yes, she left with Goran… and I’ve had a bad feeling about him since the moment I met him. He’s always staring at Eset for far too long, or he’s been eavesdropping. I don’t know how to explain it, and I know it doesn’t look like it’s a big deal, but he’s given me this strange vibe for a while. Eset always wrote it off as him doing his job, but I don’t think he’s just doing his job. I think there’s more, and I really believe he had something to do with this.”

I wait for someone to say something to me. Anything, really, but no one speaks at first. I can’t be the only person in this family who doesn’t believe Goran is as good as they come. “We know what Guerrero told us. He said there was a war coming to the Umarovas and that the allies of Anzor were trying to get your mother to be the leader. Think about it, if it’s true, it means they have to take out the members of the Umarova family. Now Eset is missing. You can’t assume that they’re going to let you live after they take everything you hold dear. They’re going to pick you off, one by one, until there isn’t one of you left.”

At this point, Ruslan clears his throat. “I know it doesn’t look like I’m doing much, but I’ve made calls to numerous allies and have had anyone who’s anyone looking for Eset. Yes, we know she landed in Prague with Goran. Yes, we know what Guerrero told us in his last moments. Do I think they’re connected? Yes, I do. I need to know if there’s any sort of information anyone here can give us. We have all of the information we could find, given the circumstances, but Nazyr… I’m about to ask you something deeply personal.” Ruslan looks over to his younger brother, who cocks a brow in return.

“What’s up?”

“At any point in time, do you remember going for a small surgical procedure as a child? It could’ve been when you were fairly young or even when you were older,” Ruslan speaks, and I think I know where he’s going with this. He’s trying to figure out if there’s another way to track Eset, one that maybe Lom and Ruslan don’t have access to. I’ve heard rumors about multiple ways that families have kept track of their children and wives. Some involve tracking chips under their skin or hidden ones in a tooth that needs to be replaced. When it comes to families in the criminal world, there’s not one avenue we’re not willing to go down to protect those we love.

Nazyr thinks long and hard for a moment, then finally speaks. “I remember my father took Eset and me to a doctor when we were very young. They said they were removing a mole on the back of our arms, but I never remembered a mole being there. I thought I was just young and didn’t know any better. Why? What are you thinking?”

“I think Anzor might have had tracking devices implanted in you and Eset. I’m praying he did because if he did, it means we have a better chance at finding Eset before anything terrible happens to her. It’s been three days since she’s been gone, and while the car they were in blew up in flames, I don’t believe they were in it. The bodies couldn’t be found, so you know what that looks like.”

“A coverup,” Amelia adds, and her husband nods.

“A tracker, huh? Sounds like something Anzor would have done. I’m not sure if I have one, but is there a way for you to check?” Nazyr asks Ruslan, who then looks over to Lom.

Lom pulls out some sort of chunky device from his suit jacket and brings it over to Nazyr. He taps a button, and it makes a sound, likely indicating it’s on, and then he runs it along the back of Nazyr’s arm. After a few seconds, there’s a beeping sound, and Lom starts typing a number into his phone.

“Fucking hell, Ruslan. You think Eset has it too?” I look over to Ruslan, knowing this is the best chance we have.

“If Nazyr has it, it would make sense that Eset would have something similar. Now, we don’t know the number for her ID, but the hope is that it’s the number before or after Nazyr’s. Lom, can you type Nazyr’s into a system to see if it’s accurate, then type in the number before and after to see if we can, by chance, get a hit?”

“I sure can,” Lom says as he goes to the breakfast table and flips open his laptop. He begins typing away, and the tension in the room grows tenser by the moment. We’re all anxious to figure out where Eset is and to get to her before anything bad happens. Fuck, something terrible could’ve already happened. We just have to pray that we aren’t too late.

“Nazyr’s is still working. His coordinates are accurate, directing me to this very location,” Lom speaks up, clear as day.

“Perfect,” Ruslan says, his eyes turning to Lom as he awaits some good news. We’re all anxiously awaiting Lom to type in the next pair of numbers.

“The number after Nazyr’s isn’t active,” Lom comments, and he furrows his brows as he begins typing in the next code. Then, his eyes widen. “This one is good. It’s pointing to a small town outside of Prague. I’m looking into the coordinates further, one second.” Lom moves his head closer to the laptop and begins typing away, quickly scanning the data in front of him.

---