Page 88 of Use Me, Daddy

“This,” Ada said, gesturing toward me, “is Amy. She’s with the Morozovs. And apparently, the Orlovs are after her. Amy, this is my husband, Shane Kavanagh.”

The man arched an eyebrow, his gaze sharpening. “The Morozovs?”

I nodded, feeling small under his scrutiny. “Aleksei Morozov. He’s my… boss.”

Ada’s smirk widened, her eyes gleaming. “Boss, is it? Judging by the way you came in here, I’d say it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

My cheeks flushed, but I didn’t argue.

She wasn’t wrong.

Shane stepped closer, his presence filling the space beside his wife. “You’ve got guts, running in here. But if the Orlovs are after you, that means they’re making moves they shouldn’t be. Tell us exactly what happened.”

I took a deep breath, setting the glass down. “Aleksei arranged a meeting with Leonardo Santini—an Italian art collector. We were hoping to expand the gallery’s client base and potentially get more information about the Orlovs, but… Santini sold us out to them first. They ambushed us at the gallery.”

Ada tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. “And Aleksei?”

“They took him,” I admitted, my voice trembling.

Ada and Shane exchanged a glance. Finally, Ada turned back to me, her sharp gaze softening just slightly.

“You’re lucky you stumbled in here,” she said. “The Orlovs don’t scare easily, but they don’t intimidate us either. We’ve been butting heads with them for years. If they think they can start taking Murphy territory, then we’re going to have to deal with them the way we see fit.”

“Why would you help me?” I asked warily.

Ada’s smile turned sly. “Because I don’t like the Orlovs. And because the Morozovs have been decent allies to us, more like family to some of us. If they’re in trouble, it’s in our interest to make sure they stay strong.”

Shane crossed his arms, his gaze assessing. “If we’re going to help, we’ll do it our way. Understood?”

I nodded quickly, my chest tightening with a mix of hope and nerves. “Just… please. I need your help to get him back.”

Ada’s smile softened, just enough to feel genuine. “Don’t worry. If the Orlovs thought they could get away with this, they’ve severely underestimated what a pissed-off Murphy can do.”

Shane smirked, his arm sliding around Ada’s waist. “And a pissed-off Kavanagh,” he added with a wink. “Now tell us the whole story.”

I told them everything.

As soon as I finished, Ada grabbed her phone from behind the bar and started dialing. Shane stood beside her, his arms crossed, his expression grim but focused.

“Maxim first,” Ada murmured, more to herself than anyone else. “The eldest always knows how to rally the rest.”

She turned to me as the phone rang, her gaze locking onto mine. “You’re sure you didn’t see where they took him?”

“No,” I admitted, hating how helpless I sounded. “It all happened so fast. But Santini said something about the Orlovs getting what they want. Does that mean anything to you?”

Ada’s lips pressed into a thin line, her gaze flicking to Shane. He nodded slightly, as if confirming something unspoken.

“Maxim,” Ada said suddenly. “We need to talk.”

I couldn’t hear his response, but whatever he said made her smirk.

“Yes, it’s Ada. It’s about Aleksei.” She paused, glancing at me before continuing. “He’s been taken by the Orlovs. Amy here managed to escape and came straight to me. She’s safe, but your brother isn’t. We’re going to fix that.”

Another pause, this one shorter, before Ada handed the phone to Shane. “He’ll need to hear it from you, too.”

Shane took the phone, his voice calm and authoritative as he spoke. “Maxim, it’s Shane. Ada’s right—we’ll help, but this needs to be a joint effort. Bring your brothers. All of them. Meet us at Murphy’s. We’ll strategize from here.”

The exchange was brief, and when Shane hung up, he turned to Ada. “How long do you think?”

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