Page 102 of Ruthless Reign

When I sit up in bed, the movement stirs Liza too.

She blinks up at me, confused. "What's going on?" Her voice is groggy but concerned.

“Syndicate business. I need to take a call in my office.”

“Does it have something to do with Anatoly?” She frowns. “Because if it does, I want to hear it too.”

I pause, running a hand through my disheveled hair. It’s not common practice to let outsiders in on syndicate business, but she’s right. This affects her as much as anyone, and she deserves the truth, even if it’s ugly.

I nod. “Come with me.”

Sitting in front of my computer monitor, it takes me a few moments to understand what we’re looking at. It’s a livestream of the cargo ship, the one laden with Kozlov cocaine from New York, docked at the Port of Rotterdam at this very moment.

Savin's cameras reveal a grim scene under the cloak of darkness. Girls, young and disoriented, are being herded off our ship into two nondescript cargo vans parked on the docks.

"What the fuck is this?” I growl into my phone on speaker.

Objectively, the scene in front of me is very clear, but I need him to confirm that what I think I'm seeing is actually reality.

“He's trafficking women through Rotterdam. There were about twenty girls in the ship's hold,” Savin explains. “I paid off a few port workers for the intel. Apparently, this happens every time our ships come through from the US.”

My lungs freeze. The high heel I found.

Beside me, Liza releases a horrified whimper. I wish I could protect her from this ugly reality, but she needs to know what we're dealing with and who Anatoly really is. I knew he was ruthless, but even I'm taken aback that he’s willing to get mixed up with this shit. The lowest of the low. I have a feeling human trafficking is at the heart of his business with the Zhukovs.

I haul Liza into my lap when I see she's gone pale. I won’t hide anything from her, but it means she's going to learn some pretty grim truths about life in the underworld.

“Have one of your men keep an eye on the cargo vans,” I tell Savin. “I want to know where they go and what happens to those girls.”

“You got it.”

My mind is racing in a million different directions. Anatoly played us, he lied to us, and took advantage of the ships we bought out to move human cargo. Drugs are one thing, but we don't touch human trafficking.

“The ship’s already unloaded and will be moving out shortly,” Savin says. “I’m told the stopover is just an hour, max.”

“Then what was that bullshit weather delay about?” I ask.

Savin grunts in disgust. “The girls died en route. It took extra time to deal with their bodies.”

Liza stiffens in my arms, and I comfort her by rubbing her back in slow, calming circles. These are morbid details that she doesn't need to hear.

“I need you on the ground here with us. Leave someone trustworthy in charge. We need eyes and ears everywhere.”

“I’ll leave right away,” he confirms.

I say goodbye to Savin, knowing this is the start of a very long night.

Liza lifts her head from my chest and looks at me with such despair that my heart twists. “How did Anatoly get mixed up with human trafficking? I don't get it. His family runs a legitimate business. Why would he do this shit?”

“Power and money—the root of all evil in this world. His father never wanted to touch organized crime, but I think Anatoly likes dancing with the devil. And the devil comes in the form of the Zhukov Bratva.”

Liza releases a heaving breath. “This is so much worse than I could've imagined. I have a bad feeling. Can we leave now to get Sofiya?”

Running my tongue over my teeth, I consider my options. “Baby, listen to me. It’ll be faster if I have one of my men pick up Sofiya from school and bring her here. You'll both hide out here until we figure out what the fuck is going on. No one knows about this place other than my inner circle. It’s safe. In the meantime, I need to go to St. Petersburg and meet with these Zhukov fuckers. Bratva to bratva.”

Her eyes go wide. “You’re going to leave me here alone?”

I smooth down the furrow between her brows. “I can't do what I have to and worry about you at the same time.”

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