Page 45 of Seduced By the Russian

“What is that supposed to mean, Davydov?” The only time Nikolai was addressed by his surname was when he got on Andreyev’s nerves.

“Quit acting like kids!” Kuznetsov reprimanded, hitting his sword cum cane on the ground. “Nikolai needs us to get the Petrova off his back, and we’re going to help him.”

“As long as there is a bloodbath,” Igor added, smiling. He was all in as long as he was allowed to shoot people like the crazed bastard he was. Nikolai saw no harm in that as long as nothing happened to Lisa.

The meeting lasted for about three hours, and Nikolai retired to his office after that. He went over his plans with Dmitri for the hundredth time just to make sure they left no stone unturned, then went ahead to check up on Lisa after dismissing Dmitri. He promised himself that it was only going to be a little peep from the small opening on her door, just to make sure she got back from the beach safe.

But when Nikolai got there, he was surprised to see her room in the same pristine manner it was when she left the house in the morning. Nikolai had a bad feeling about it as he ran down the stairs and into the quarters at the back, asking for his man who had driven Lisa to the beach that morning. He explained that he had brought her to the mansion safe and sound just after noon and had dropped her at the door while he went to park the car. He had just assumed she had gone in when he didn’t meet her there on his return.

But Nikolai was positive that Lisa hadn’t come into the house. His meeting was still ongoing by then, so he would have seen her.

“Fucking hell!” Nikolai cursed as he grabbed a key off the hook in the garage without looking to see what car it was. Fortunately for him, when he hit the button, his sports car responded with a beep, and he jumped into the driver’s seat. Dmitri pulled the passenger’s car open and got in as well.

“I don’t like her, but I’m sure as hell coming with you.”

Nodding, Nikolai drove into the night, gripping on to the steering wheel tight. He was scared that something bad had happened to Lisa - that one of his enemies had finally read between the lines and had decided that the best way to get through to him was through her. It was one of the reasons he needed to fight whatever stupid feelings were erupting in him.

They drove through the woods in a heightened silence, looking at every corner at the same time and hoping to find something.

“Over there!” Dmitri announced, breaking the silence. They left the car running and ran to the direction where Dmitri pointed, meeting one of Lisa’s pair of shoes stuck on a thorn.

“It was yanked forcefully,” Dmitri said, fingering the tear on the soles. “I think it was the Petrova that did this. Maybe she isn’t injured. The fuckers probably did it this way so we wouldn’t suspect them.”

“This isn’t them,” Nikolai said broodingly, his eyes at laser focus. Dmitri had never seen him this pissed since after the death of his parents when he had met the Russian Bear. “They do not have enough resources to pull a job this clean.”

“But no one else knows about her existence.”

“The Colombian cartel does.”

It had to be them. Only, he couldn’t see any reason for it.

***

Lisa had a swell time at the beach today, but all she could think about while letting the sand in the middle of her toes was the fact that she would never be able to get Nikolai to want her the way she needed him to. Although it was true that it was probably for the best since it was almost impossible to survive with someone as demanding and bossy as the Russian Bear, Lisa still wanted all of that, even if it would mean staying with Nikolai.

She had been in his mansion for over six months now, and it was only a matter of time before he threw her back to her former life. Boris said it before he was confronted by Nikolai, and as much as Lisa hated thinking about what he had said, there was no denying the fact that he was right. Nikolai was the kind of person who toyed with people just because they caught his fancy. What would happen when she failed to hold that kind of spell over him?

Lisa couldn’t imagine going back to that diner, waiting tables, and attending to rude tourists who only saw her as a call girl who worked for extra tips in the bathroom. She was worth something more, as Nikolai had made very clear to her. She just wasn’t sure what it was exactly.

The door to the mansion was slightly open, and Lisa angled her head as she approached it, wondering what was going on. There were luxurious cars in the driveway, announcing that it was probably his rich friends, who were always dressed in suits. She wondered if Volkov was in there. Nikolai was still pissed at him from the last time, so Lisa wasn’t certain what the Russian Bear would do to him.

But as she made to open the door, she halted in her steps, the voices from the living room getting audible. She could make out Nikolai’s voice easily because of the way it wrapped itself around her, tugging her closer. But the next words that came from his lips had that feeling turning into dread.

“She’s just a tool for negotiation with her real family,” he was saying, almost as casually as he would do while haggling for the price of a piece of meat. “They thought she was long dead, but now that they know she’s alive, they would do anything to have her back, and that means dancing to my tune.”

Lisa couldn’t believe her ears. A loud rushing sound enveloped her as her feet started moving on their own accord. Lisa didn’t know where she was going as she took the bush path at the back of the training field, away from Nikolai and his men. The gates weren’t an option, because she would only end up right inside the mansion, maybe thrown into the same cell as Boris.

She reached some sort of landmark in the woods, but Lisa didn’t slow down. The thorns scratched at her feet, but that didn’t compare to the pain she felt hearing Nikolai utter those words.

Suddenly, Lisa’s whole world halted as she felt something hard hit her from behind. The last thing that came to her consciousness was her dream and how it felt so similar to this. In a second, she was on the ground, blacked out.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nikolai refused to return to the mansion, even though Dmitri warned that nothing could be done about Lisa's disappearance at this time of night. He was going insane thinking that something bad had been done to her, and there was no way in the world he could stay put knowing that he had put her in harm's way.

They had combed through the woods a million times, and Nikolai had even called for his men to help in the search, but all of them had come up empty. The only evidence Nikolai had was her footwear, but that gave no information on where they could have held Lisa.

Nikolai didn't want to involve the leading families, since they had not been a hundred percent in support of his business with the Colombian cartel because they knew how fickle those people could get. But in his situation, with Lisa's life on the line, Nikolai chewed up his pride and made the call. Kuznetsov sounded pissed that he had been woken abruptly in the middle of the night, but Nikolai was going to have to think about his wrath later. Right now, he needed to get to Lisa.

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