Page 63 of Bratva King's Secret Twins

I yank my phone out of my pocket, impatiently dialing Aleksander's number as I grit my teeth.

“Nik,” he answers evenly.

I growl into the phone. “I got her right hand and wrist with her missing Tiffany watch.”

“Okay. Now we have about 45% of her body back.” His voice is matter-of-fact as he speaks. The typing of a keyboard rings across the line.

“Alek, he knows about Gwen,” I growl. The elevator doors slide open, and I stalk out onto the street, heading towards my office with a single-minded determination.

"Okay," Aleksander replies calmly, his fingers already clicking away at a keyboard. But I can feel my control slipping as I snap back at him, forgetting that he doesn't understand emotions like a normal person. He's been diagnosed with sociopathy since he was 13, so threats against someone I love don't register to him like they do to me. He doesn’t know how to act like he cares right now.

“Call Nadia,” I bark into the phone, "Tell her he threatened Gwen. Meet me back at the office in twenty minutes." I hang up before his emotionless tone can infuriate me any further.

My hands clench into fists, nails digging into my palms, as I struggle to contain the rage and fear churning inside me. I am practically running down the street as I make my way to my office, my gut telling me that something is wrong. One thing I know about Boris is that he would not come after the king if he didn’t plan on a fucking headshot.

I push through the glass doors of the modern, sleek building that houses my office and Boris's cell. The receptionist greets me with a warm smile, but I barely acknowledge her as I head straight to the stairwell door. Impatiently, I wait for thescanner to recognize my retina and fingerprint before granting me access.

The door slides open with a soft hiss, revealing the dimly lit staircase leading down to our secure underground facility. I skip steps, jumping down the stairs to the basement. As I push open the doors, A rush of cold air hits me like a slap in the face.

The corridors are eerily silent, every shadow seeming to crawl with warning. I don’t hesitate as I make my way to the far end, to the cell where Boris has been locked away—where heshouldbe locked away.

But when I reach the heavy metal door, there is no guard, and the door is slightly open in a way that most would ignore, but I know before flinging it open, my worst fears have come true.

The cell is empty.

The cot is untouched, the steel chains lie on the floor like discarded snakes, and there’s nothing—nothing—except that single, taunting piece of paper taped to the wall. I rip it down, my heart pounding in my ears as I read the words written in blood.

“Gwen is a beautiful girl, and I have always told you it is not nice to hide your toys. Time to share.”

32

GWEN

Ihaven’t moved since Nik barked at me to go up the stairs. Hours have passed, and the morning sun beats at my exposed back, but I can’t bring myself to change my outfit or do anything besides stare down at this door, mentally urging him to come back and tell me everything's okay even if I can feel that something is wrong. Even if I feel ill just thinking about the look in his eyes.

What changed? One moment his hands were gripping my hips, pulling me into the curve of his body, and then I was running up the stairs stumbling over my feet, locking my door, and then sitting here.

What if he discovered the truth about Mason, Gio, and Mia before I had a chance to tell him? What if someone has already exposed me, and Nik is just dragging out my inevitable downfall? Anxiety floods my senses and now this dress that had Nik on his knees for me feels like sandpaper against my skin. I yankat the dress, trying to pull it off of me even if it means ripping the seams.

In my panic, I walk over to the wardrobe, my fingers brushing against the cool walls as I pull out one of his pristine white t-shirts. As I slip on the soft fabric, I am immediately overwhelmed by the scent of cedar and leather that clings to it, flooding my senses with memories of him. I find myself pulling at the fabric as if trying to bring him closer to me.

I sink to the floor, pulling my knees into my chest, tears burning in the back of my eyes. If I drowned here surrounded by the phantom embrace of him, it would be too soon. The vibrations of my phone break me out of my spiral, and I find myself crawling over to my bed and pulling my phone into my hand.

Kelsey's name flashes across the screen, and I choke back a sob. Mia’s sweet face shines over my screen. She has chocolate on her face and a huge smile as she screams, “Mommy! Mommy, Mommy!”

“Hello, sweetheart,” I coo as she positions the phone farther from her face. Gio pokes his head in the camera, his black hair flopping over his eyes. “Gio, buddy you need a haircut.”

“Uncle David tried but he looks scary with scissors.” Gio grimaces as he bumps into Mia and shoves himself into the camera a little better.

“Mommy, when are you coming?” Mia interjects, her bottom lip poking out as she pouts.

“Soon, baby,” I lie, giving her a soft smile as I push a strand of my hair behind my ear. “How’s home schooling?”

“Aunt Kelsey doesn’t know how chimps develop friendships,”Gio complains and the echo of teeth sucking invades the speaker.

“They did not teach us that in elementary school!” Kelsey yells off camera and I giggle.

Gio rolls his eyes, huffing, “Mom, please come back.”

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