Page 101 of Maxim

“I am. What’s your name and why are you here?”

“Mickey, and I’m here because that fucking twathead has my cousin and you’re the best man to help her.”

That gets my attention. “Come with me.”

“Finally,” he mutters, throwing my guys disgusted looks. They remain unmoved because questioning visitors is their job.

“Tell me what you know,” I demand once we’re inside my study.

Mickey looks around and takes a seat. His clothes are disheveled and he really needs a decent haircut. It’s hard to work out how old he is, but at a guess, I’d say early 20s. I have a feeling the kid doesn’t get out much, but what really puzzles me is the fact he’s so unafraid of me.

He knows my name, therefore he has to be aware of who I am. Most normal people would be shitting themselves in my company, but this kid acts like he couldn’t give a fuck.

“I’ve been looking into Anatoly Uriov - and you - for my cousin. He’s a sick bastard. You’re not quite so bad.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, just as Sasha walks in and stops dead.

“Who’s the kid?” he asks with surprise.

“Natalya’s cousin. He says he knows something.”

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “How?”

“If you shut up, maybe we’ll find out!” I snap, returning to Mickey, who’s busy rolling his eyes and pulling a laptop from his backpack.

“So I’ve been watching this website Uriov has set up and there’s been some activity. He sent out messages to all his subscribers a couple of hours ago, with details of a special event tonight.” Mickey starts pulling up some windows while Sasha looks over his shoulder. There’s a sharp inhale.

“Are you fucking Lokisboy?”

I have no clue what Sasha is on about but Mickey looks up and smirks. “Yeah.”

“Why you little shit, you took down my security system! It took me ages to find out who was responsible!”

“Which one? I pick up a lot of jobs.”

“Warehouse 12 by the docks. The security system went offline for 15 minutes. Five men died and we lost a shipment.”

Mickey shrugs. “Not my fault your system was shit. A job was posted. I accepted. I don’t check who or what it’s for.” He literally does not give a fuck. Sasha is fuming. And to be honest, I’m not happy either, but my main concern is Natalya.

“We can discuss this later, Sasha,” I snap, reminding him what’s at stake.

Sasha grinds his teeth and looks like he wants to kill Natalya’s cousin but steps back. We both watch as Mickey pulls up some images and for a moment, I see black spots in front of my eyes.

The photos show my malyshka dressed in a white slip of some kind, posing on a bed. There are dark circles under her eyes but she doesn’t look as if she’s been physically hurt. The next set of photos is of Jane, her friend, which solves the mystery of her disappearance.

I suspect this is how Uriov lured Natalya outside. He must have threatened Jane to make sure she didn’t tell me. The notice Uriov sent out says Natalya and her friend, Jane, are the stars of his next show.

“You need to get them out before the show goes live,” Mickey says. “The things his men do to women on camera are sick.”

I don’t need Mickey to remind me. Sasha has told me things about the website that make me ill. Uriov’s tastes have definitely become more depraved in the last 18 years. Zelenya is lucky she and her kid got away from him.

“We will if we can figure out where he’s taken them!”

My stomach churns. God, the knowledge of what will happen to my malyshka if I don’t reach her in time kills me. Uriov better hope he has a good escape plan in place because I will burn his operation to the ground once I find him. And then I will tear him apart, limb from limb. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll wish he never set eyes on Natalya.

I’m so focused on my revenge plan that I almost miss Mickey’s next words.

“I think I know where that might be,” he says.

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