Page 34 of Kept By The Agents

The best thing right now was to blend in because there were at least thirty men organizing whatever this was. We came to a stop in the middle of the crowd.

"We're looking for a woman." The man up on the makeshift podium announced in Russian.

We both spoke the language well enough to get by without Weaver. Suave and I met each other's gazes. Worry was etched into his features. The guy didn't need to continue for us to know they were looking for Cat. I never would have expected they'd pull something like this.

A woman shrieked nearby and my head snapped in that direction. I watched with a sinking feeling as they yanked her scarf from around her neck. That signaled the beginning of a search of every female present.

"Fuck. This isn't good," Suave muttered.

"No, it isn't." Gritting my teeth, I watched as the men made their way through the crowd, looking for any women who hadn't been examined yet. If their husbands balked at the manhandling of their wives, they were beaten.

"I want to kill these fuckers so bad," Suave growled.

"Same. But not now." We were so outnumbered it wouldn't end well for us. Going out in a blaze of glory might be fun, but it wouldn't rescue the women. Not with this many of their men here and no idea whether the other men present would stand with us or cower in a corner. The Raleka had whipped the majority of these people into compliance over the years. The Bratva very likely had played a hand in that as well. They were too scared of the backlash of the Raleka taking their families from them and selling them all over the world.

I blew out a slow breath, fighting for control, when one of the men slapped a woman across the face for struggling. Memorizing his face and clothing, I waited to see what else these assholes were going to do.

It had never been an option to bring Cat here this morning, but just the thought of her being caught out here boiled my blood. I'd have fought to the death to protect her.

The man standing on the booth bellowed out Cat's name and description, forcing everyone to focus on him again. "If you see her, we expect you to capture her and bring her to us."

"Is there a reward?" Suave shouted.

My shoulders tensed. Even though I knew exactly what he was doing. If they thought we were money hungry and would do anything for a quick buck, they were less likely to pay attention to us.

"Yes."

"Where do we bring her?" The words came from my own mouth this time.

They listed off an address that I committed to memory. Someone else in the crowd shouted another question, but I wasn't listening anymore. This was enough of a lead that Weaver might be able to work his magic.

The man on top of the booth made a circular motion with his finger once the questions died down. They began to move out, leaving the area.

"Follow me." I didn't really need to say that to Suave. He always had my back and went where I led. Shoving my way through the crowd, eyes glued on the man who'd slapped the woman, I hurried after him.

We followed him in silence, waiting to see where he'd go. Hell, maybe we'd catch a break and he'd lead us back to wherever the Raleka was holed up. When he stepped into a bar, I rolled my eyes.

There was a stack of crates littering the street across from the bar. Taking a seat, I motioned for Suave to do the same. He flopped down next to me, his crate groaning under his weight.

"Wish these guys had come to our attention earlier," he said with a sigh.

I'd been thinking the same thing. We couldn't fix the world's problems, but we sure as hell tried our best. Unfortunately, unless an organization became a problem for the U.S. Government, we didn't get called in.

We sat thinking about what we'd just witnessed while we waited. After an hour, boredom set in. "So, you're fine with it?" I asked.

Suave gave me a questioning look. "Fine with what?"

"Us keeping Cat."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Fine with it? That's what I'm hoping for." He gave me a sheepish grin. "I'm tired of coming home to an empty house. Just don't know how she's going to feel about it."

My brows shot up. With three of us living there our home was rarely empty.

"You know what I mean."

"I know you do your best to never spend a night alone."

He hung his head. "Yeah. I was just filling a void. It's fucked, I know. If she can forgive me for it all, I'll be the most loyal man who ever lived. Make it up to her."

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