Page 60 of Sexting the Silverfox

For a second, I’m lost. My mind feels blank, unable to process any of the words coming out of Arkady’s mouth. “What are you talking about?”

“Jason Winchester popped by to see me. He’s been looking everywhere for you, trying so desperately to save you. That’s a good man right there, Audrey. It’s a shame I beat him to you,” he adds with a mirthless laugh.

My head is spinning as he takes out his phone and snaps a quick photo of me. The flash from the camera temporarily blinds me, and I hear the clicking sound of his onscreen keyboard.

A split second later, his phone rings. “Ah, he’s quick,” Arkady laughs and answers, tapping the speaker icon in the process. “Hello, Grigori.”

“What the fuck are you playing at?” my father’s voice growls through the phone and echoes across the room. I can feel his fury reverberating and burning through my veins.

“Dad?” I call out with a whimper.

“Audrey!” my father gasps. “Are you okay?”

“Dad, don’t—”

“Hush, hush,” Arkady cuts in. “I’m only letting you hear her voice so you know I’m serious. It took a while, but hard work pays off.” He motions for me to shut up.

“What do you want?” my father asks.

“What I’ve always wanted, but I’ll go easy on you. Give me East Harlem first,” Arkady replies. “East Harlem, and I’ll make my way into the South Bronx by New Year’s Eve.”

“Or else, what?”

“Or else you get Audrey back in itty-bitty pieces. I went easy on your sons because I figured they might still be useful, Grigori. Don’t forget that. I got to them once; I will get to them again, so imagine what I’ll do to your precious little angel here and her unborn baby if you don’t submit to my demands.”

My father curses heavily in Russian, prompting an amused chuckle out of Arkady.

“Dad, where are Anton and Vitaly? Are they okay?” I ask, tears stinging my eyes.

“They’re both in surgery,” he says. “Those deceitful fuckers at least called an ambulance before they ran off.”

“Dad—”

“What did I just say?” Arkady hisses, giving me a deadly glare before clearing his throat. “It’s time for the Fedorov and the Abramovic clans to learn how to share the same playground again. We’re coming back to New York, whether you like it or not. But I’d rather do it nicely.”

“You call shooting my sons and kidnapping my daughter nice?”

“It’s better than shooting my way through your entire organization and hanging all four of you by your entrails from the top of the Empire State Building, isn’t it?”

My father scoffs. “I’m willing to have a conversation about this as long as you don’t lay a finger on Audrey.”

“That’s the spirit. Tonight, eight o’clock sharp. I’ll text you the address. Just you, Grigori. No security. No cops. Nothing. Just you, or the next time you hear from me, is when the courier delivers the first pieces of Audrey to your doorstep. Tread carefully, old man.”

“If your father were alive, he’d—”

“He’d pat me on the shoulder and congratulate me for having the balls to do what he and my grandfather have always wanted. Your glory days are over, Grigori. You might as well come to terms with that before you lose what’s left of your family.”

He hangs up.

The silence that follows as he stares at me and I stare back at him is so heavy that I can barely breathe. He is a cold, calculating man, and I believe him. He will absolutely chop me into bits and pieces to prove his point. Arkady Abramovic doesn’t care about anyone or anything except himself and his desires.

Right now, his greatest ambition is to bring his family and his operations back to New York.

Even if my father does give him what he wants, how long before he takes more and more and tries to get rid of my family for good?

Chapter 24

Jason

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