Page 99 of Crown of Hate

I force a smile. “You too, brother. Retirement suits you.”

He chuckles. “I’m having the time of my life, truth be told. Though it seems the old ways have a way of pulling us back in.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” I assure him quickly. “Just lend me a few men, and I’ll repay the favor, whatever it takes.” I hate being indebted to anyone, but for Alya, I don’t mind giving Andrei my life as collateral, as long as I get to save her.

Andrei shakes his head. “No debts. You helped me before; now it’s my turn.” He signals to one of his men, who approaches quickly, then exchanges a few words in hushed tones.

I glance at my watch again, feeling the minutes tick away. I don’t want to seem too desperate, but the clock is my enemy now. The longer it takes, the more anxious I get. I need to move.

After what feels like hours, Andrei nods to his man and turns back to me. “Viktor here will assist you. His hacking skills are unparalleled.”

I size up Victor, who stands at attention under my scrutiny. “Can you track a phone that’s been off for about an hour?”

Victor nods, his eyes gleaming with quiet confidence. “Consider it done, sir.”

A flicker of hope ignites in my chest. “Good. I’ll give you all the details you need to find her.”

Andrei claps me on the shoulder. “Why don’t you come over to my place? You can stay there, do whatever you need to do.”

I shake my head. “You forget, this was once my territory. I’ll take care of business from one of my spots.” The words are barely out of my mouth before I reconsider.

Akim is not a fool. He knows there’s no way I’d ignore the fact that he has Alya. He’s expecting me, but he likely doesn’t know I’m already here. I let him ruin my plans once, I can’t allow that to happen again.

The longer he’s in the dark about my whereabouts, the better chance Alya and I have.

“Actually,” I amend, “I could use a minivan. Big enough for my men.” I don’t elaborate on why I need it, and thankfully, Andrei doesn’t ask.

Hours later, I’m in the back of said van with my men, every muscle in my body coiled tight as a spring. Viktor and another tech whiz are busy trying to track Alya’s phone. They’ve been at it for an hour now.

“What do you plan to do with Boris?” Alexei asks as he slides in next to me. “He might be dick, but he’s just Akim’s puppet.”

“That ‘puppet’ is one of the reasons Alya’s missing. He’d be lucky to get a clean death, but… the fool might be more useful alive.” I lean back in my seat and pin my gaze on Viktor. “If I decide to spare him, I’ll make him leave Russia. Permanently.”

“And if he comes back?”

“Then he’s fair game for anyone who finds him. I don’t care, as long as that piece of shit is out of my territory. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we keep a close eye on him.”

He laughs. “You’ve changed, man. She’s changed you. All of that shit just sounds like mercy to me.”

“No mercy,” I growl. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t think shit through. Some people are better used as chess pieces than fertilizer.”

“If you say so.”

He shrugs, but I get serious. Steeling myself, I meet his eyes. “Alexei, if anything goes wrong… I need you to save Alya. She’s pregnant with my child.”

His draw drops. “What? You’re… I’m going to be an uncle?”

“You are.”

He rakes his fingers through his hair and groans angrily. “Fuck, this should be happy news, but that asshole has turned it into a nightmare.” He places a hand on my shoulder and gives me an assuring squeeze. “We’re getting her back. No matter what.”

“I know.”

We both turn our heads as Viktor exclaims, “Sdelannyy!”

I’m on my feet in an instant, looming over him. “You found her?”

He smirks, eyes bright with excitement. “They’re in one of Akim’s secret safehouses. My boss tried to track it down years ago, but we never had a solid lead... until now.”

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