Page 40 of Creatures in the Night

I closed my eyes as my entire body shook with a rage that was dangerous for everyone. Shea was in Kotov territory, and I had no idea what it was going to cost me to get her back. If she let it be known that she was running from me, they might not be so inclined to give her back to me without a healthy price tag on the exchange. Granted, I’d pay whatever I had to in order to get her back, but still.

“Where is she?”

“Currently, she is at an all-night diner,” he answered. “She was hungry, and the diner just happens to be next to the pawn shop where she was planning on selling her wedding rings.”

“Motherfucker,” I hissed.

Maksim chuckled on the other end of the line. “While Avgust is not eager to start a war over a woman, what is she doing in Kotov territory, Noah?”

“We got into a fight,” I answered, hating that I had to explain myself.

“Big enough to send her running away?” he asked.

“Apparently.”

After a few seconds of silence, he said, “The problem is that I don’t believe you.”

At that point, I put the phone on speaker, so that Declan could hear what was being said. “And why is it that you don’t believe me?”

“Because like all dedicated enemies, we have studied you well, and I know for a fact that you Irish would never let a wife leave you,” he answered. “If she is with us, there is a reason for it.”

I glanced over at Declan, and when he gave me a quick nod, I said, “There was an attempt on her life, and until I can isolate the threat, I allowed her to leave.”

“Then perhaps we should keep her if you cannot keep her safe, no?”

“I will gut every single fucking one of you if you do not give me back my wife,” I snarled into the phone, his barb hitting too close to home for my liking. “I allowed her to leave with the understanding that I’d be looking for her afterwards.”

“That sounds like a lot of complicated drama,” he remarked evenly.

Ignoring that, I asked, “How did you know that she belongs to me?”

“The rings, of course,” he answered. “Nice touch by the way. It gives me ideas for whenever I am forced to take a bride.”

Ignoring his blathering, I asked, “Are you going to bring her to me?”

“Net,” he answered seriously. “You must come get her yourself. We will not force a woman to return to a place where she feels unsafe. However, as I stated earlier, Avgust is not interested in going to war over her, either. We’ve got other problems to attend to.”

“I’ll come alone,” I informed him, recognizing the favor for what it was. “Along with a driver, of course.”

“You might want to know that she is still armed,” he said, surprising me. “She thinks that she is concealing the gun in her pocket, but we all see it.”

“And the rings?”

“Still on her finger,” he answered. “Ivan convinced her to eat first, his treat.”

“Send me the address,” I told him. “I’m leaving now.”

“Of course,” he replied smoothly. “Just know, if she starts shooting at you, we will not intervene. Let The O’Brien know that, lest he think that we encouraged her.”

“The O’Brien knows that my wife doesn’t need any encouragement to shoot me,” I drawled out.

“I’ll never understand marriage,” he muttered.

“Send me the address,” I repeated before hanging up.

“Do you think it’s wise to go there alone?” Declan asked as soon as I looked over at him.

“If they were looking for trouble, then Maksim never would have called me,” I replied. “They would have just kept her hidden from me.”

---