Page 16 of Capuleto

I offered to fly to Santorini and help with the search, but Romeo wouldn't let me. I admit I boiled with anger because I was tied hand and foot, unable to disobey. By marrying her, we had all come to depend on both of them, so his word was law.

I insisted politely, mentioned that Sarka was already settled at her friend's house, that she had her designated escort, and that everything was more than under control. But he preferred me to stay in Russia, taking care of the tasks assigned by Koroleva. However, he asked me to keep an eye on the image of the supposed kidnapper and to move it around to investigate her whereabouts.

As we later discovered, the woman in question worked for several human trafficking mafias, taking jobs from the highest bidder.

If she had screwed up by taking someone she shouldn't have, I was personally going to make sure to slice her neck and that of the pimp holding her captive.

There were several days with hardly any sleep. I knocked on every door I could think of, and all I got was the occasional pimp who admitted to having worked with Demi, nothing more.

Romeo launched an operation to extract information from the Chinese, which included breaking into several places where girls were prostituted and torturing the men under Cheng in charge.

A war was brewing, and I could do nothing. To top it off, the two or three hours I managed to close my eyes, my treacherous mind kept sending me to that bastard Aleksa to torment me.

Even though my head was with my boss, I thought of him more often than I should, and I admit I had to restrain myself from asking about that damn man when calling my men in Marbella. I was not comfortable talking about Aleksa.

I had hoped that the distance would push him far enough out of my life, but I hadn't counted on him clinging to my system like a superbug capable of colonizing everything.

Now, his name threatened my sanity, illuminating the screen of my mobile phone. The sound of the Soviet March, which I had as a ringtone, kept me staring at it until it ended.

I couldn't pick up; I was hopelessly hooked, collapsed by what to say or how to act in front of his voice.

I was terrified of becoming the man who gave himself to love and lost his soul.

Aleksa was a damn minefield that could blow me up at any moment, I felt it, just like animals’ sense storms.

Yet, I couldn't even ask myself what the reason for his call might be.

It could have been loaded with reproaches for having ignored him completely and not having called him even once to ask how he was doing. Or maybe it had nothing to do with that and was about the disappearance of my boss.

I couldn't bury my head like a damn ostrich. Although the reality was that I'd rather amputate a guy's hand than face Aleksa's voice.

How low I had fallen! Thank goodness no one could see my thoughts, because I would have died of embarrassment.

The phone vibrated. He had left a voicemail.

I released the breath I had been holding and looked at the red brick wall unfolding before my eyes.

I was sitting in the car, hands clutched to the steering wheel, knuckles white from gripping.

I went out for a routine check. I wanted to review the perimeter of Sarka's school, checking for any blind spots or areas where I needed to reinforce security. Everything was in order, everything but me.

The phone was in front of me, placed on a magnetic holder that kept it attached to the dashboard. I lifted my right hand from the black leather and directed my finger to the screen to select the voicemail option.

I had the speakerphone on, so as soon as the typical phone company announcement finished saying I had a message, Aleksa's voice emerged, enveloping everything.

Hello. I guess you know who I am. I called to let you know that your boss is back home safe and sound. R rescued her last night. I thought you’d want to know because if it were the other way around, I would have liked to be informed. You might not love that it’s me telling you this, but that’s how it is.

There was a brief silence. His voice was rougher than usual, lacking any trace of the acidic humor that usually characterized him. He was still upset with me, and it showed.

Anyway..., I've done my part. If you don't feel like calling me back, you don't have to; it was just to inform you. Goodbye.

His voice cut off, or rather, he hung up.

On one hand, I felt a great relief knowing that Koroleva was safe. On the other, there was a damn knot in my chest reminding me of how cowardly I was being by not being able to answer his phone call.

I took a breath and excused myself with the idea that it was just a matter of honor and work, that I was doing it to restore balance, to prove to myself that I could maintain a strictly professional relationship.

Besides, I wanted to find out who I needed to kill when I got back. I pressed the redial button.

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