Page 5 of Savage Obsession

“I know, but with Aleksy supporting him…”

“It’s too soon to mess with the command structure. We’re still establishing ourselves there. People need to know who’s in charge. That’s you.”

It occurs to me to point out that if the command structure is so important we could have done with him not swanning off on an early honeymoon right now, but I hold my tongue. I need to persuade him, not antagonise him more.

“I get all that, but this is urgent. Lily is missing.” As if he didn’t hear me the first time.

“So let the police deal with it.”

“I can’t do that. They’re fucking useless. This is my little girl we’re talking about.”

“Your little girl who you haven’t seen in fuck knows how long.”

Harsh, but true. Even so… “Kris, I?—”

“Look, I don’t want to be insensitive. I know she matters to you, but you have a job to do. I’m relying on you, you’re my underboss, my second-in-command. This comes first.”

I draw in a steadying breath. “Boss, I’ve never disobeyed you and I don’t want to start now…”

“So don’t.”

“I have to go. My family needs me.”

“I need you.”

“She’s only twelve,” I remind him. “Just a baby, really.”

“Baz, I’m sorry. Truly. But you need to let the Polish authorities deal with this. If it helps, I could give Andrzej Nowak a ring, ask him to look into it.”

“I wouldn’t trust Nowak to organise a piss-up in a brewery.” Not entirely fair, Andrzej is a decent enough ally with networks all over Warsaw, and I wouldn’t mind his help, but I’m not trusting this to anyone else.

Kristian is losing patience. “Baz, you know your duty, and that means staying put. That’s a direct order.”

“Boss, I… I just can’t.”

“A direct order,” he repeats. “As soon as I get back you can take some time off if you have to, but for now I need you to stay where you are.”

“Boss…?”

“You have your instructions. This conversation is over.” He ends the call.

I take a moment to regard my phone, then I dial the airport. “I need a flight to Warsaw. What’s the earliest you have?”

CHAPTER 2

Julia

Warsaw, Poland

I sip my coffee and check my phone for the hundredth time, jabbing my finger on the redial key and waiting until it rings out. She’s still not picking up and hasn’t for the last three days.

Lily, where are you? Please, just…call.

Footsteps behind me. “Still nothing?”

I shake my head. “There’s coffee if you want it.”

Gerek ambles past me to pour himself a mug. “You were up early.”

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