Page 35 of Guardian

Prime didn’t waste words once we’d entered. He stated, “Petrov won’t come back here to talk to us, nor will he receive us in his offices in Houston. The best he will do is a video call which he will initiate in about five minutes. It’s actually a time saving solution for us since it would take hours to reach Houston from here. The two of you are here to listen and consider his replies.I would respectfully ask that you remain silent while I negotiate with him. He can be hard headed and argumentative. Let me deal with it.”

My temper would flare, and I knew it. There was no way I could listen to a denial from Petrov without getting angry. I realized Prime had brought in Ditch to keep me under control. I suspected his expertise would be needed.

The video call came in right on time. Petrov’s face appeared on the computer screen, and he was clearly not happy to be bothered so soon after he’d been to visit us.

“I have no time to keep consulting with you, Prime. I have businesses to attend to that are being undermined by my rivals. You must keep this meeting short, or I will cut you off,” he demanded.

“I wouldn’t have asked for an audience with you if there weren’t dire circumstances, Petrov. My time is valuable as well. We have an unfortunate circumstance that needs rectifying immediately. It is our problem, yet we require your aid once again. It concerns the same people as before. Mitch may be dead, but it appears the cartel wants more. They have taken the child, Jackson. We need your inside man to find out where they are keeping him, if he is alive or harmed, what surprises may await us there, and how we may surpass security teams to rescue him. I’m aware it's asking a lot. We will pay for your services in the usual manner,” Prime explained.

“There will be no need to pay me as I will not be aiding you. As I told you, the woman and the child are nothing to me. They are not a part of your organization. I refuse to risk the discovery of my inside man because you have trouble denying your men help with their lovers. I have given you all the aid on this that I care to do. Leave me be.”

“Father! Wait!” Zoe was heard to say as she stepped into camera view. “You cannot mean that! A child’s life is in danger.How can you be so cold about such a matter? You have a good heart. I know you do. You know how it feels to be helpless when someone you love needs saving and you cannot get to them. You were only fourteen when your eight-year-old brother was taken and murdered. You could not help him, and it devastated you. This time you can help and possibly end the guilt you’ve held onto all these years. If you refuse, I will go behind your back and do this myself. I could never forgive myself for letting a child die needlessly.”

“You should not speak of our personal matters to those outside the family, Zoe. You give these people too much information to use against me in negotiations, and you have stepped over your bounds. I am the pakhan, and you must show me respect,” Petrov told her.

“You can reprimand me later, Father. Please, do this for me and for your honor. Do not pretend you have no feelings for this child when I know better. Answer this as a father, a brother, and a caring human instead of as a pakhan. Use your heart, not your head,” she begged.

Prime allowed her to argue with Petrov. He stayed silent. I saw admiration in his eyes as he listened to her pleas. He was growing fond of this woman. As long as it got us the help we needed I was all for it.

“This goes against my better judgment, but for Zoe I will relent. She has given me much to think about and brought up ancient memories. I will ask my informant to gather the intel you have asked for. It will not be quick. As for further help, I will consider it while we wait for the answers you seek,” Petrov finally said.

“Thank you for your aid. We will be waiting for the intel. Zoe, we appreciate your allegiance. I hope we haven’t caused trouble for you,” Prime replied.

“Father would never do me harm. His anger is instantaneous, yet not long lasting. I pray the child is found unharmed,” she answered as the call ended.

Chapter 21

I woke up disoriented.I was not in my own room or even my own house. My entire face felt swollen, and my body ached as if I’d been in an accident of some kind. I was having difficulty getting my brain to focus. Where was I, and why was I feeling so lost and alone? Where was the confusion and grogginess coming from?

I sat up and looked over the room. It wasn’t large, and its contents were unremarkable. I was in a full-sized bed that had basic white sheets and a blue covering. The walls were white and held only two pictures, both were in poster frames and depicted motorcycles traveling through large stately trees. There was a desk, an accompanying chair, and a dresser. It was growing dark outside as the view from the window told me.

The pictures of the motorcycles gave me a clue as to my whereabouts. Memories came flooding back about a fight and blood. They confused me because I was certain I’d left the bar and told Sweet to stay away from me. Why was I back in the barnow? Or at least I assumed that’s where I was considering the décor.

I stumbled out of bed and opened the door but there was none of the noise I expected. The bar was a rowdy place in the evenings, yet this space was almost quiet. I vaguely heard the sound of voices coming from down the hall. The loud music was missing as was the clink of bottles and the shouting. I was thirsty and desperately needed a bathroom, so I ventured out. My skirt and blouse were a wrinkled mess and stuck firmly to my body. I must have been sweating beneath the warm, blue quilt.

I was following the sound of voices when I accidently found the bathroom I was seeking. I stopped to take care of business before seeing myself in the mirror. My hair was tangled, my face was pale, and my eyes were red and swollen. They also seemed to be haunted. I sucked in a breath as my head cleared and reality came rushing back. Jackson! The cartel had taken him. My baby was missing, and I’d come to Sweet begging for help. Where was he? Had he found my son?

I ran toward the voices, praying that one of them belonged to Jackson. What I found was Sweet, Doc, and Flame. They were calmly eating pizza and drinking beer instead of searching for Jackson. I attacked Sweet first, my nails biting into the skin of his cheek and tearing it open.

“How can you just sit here and relax? Get off your lazy ass and find Jackson! Doesn’t he mean anything to you?” I screamed in his face as he grabbed my wrists to keep me from causing more damage.

“Don’t do this, Jemma. Nobody’s relaxing. We’re doing all we can to find Jackson,” he stated, his eyes boring into mine.

“By sitting here drinking beer and eating pizza? If you’ve let them kill him I’ll never forgive you! I’ll rip your skin off inch by agonizing inch until you die,” I continued to rant. “Flame,I thought better of you than this. I could strangle you for not forcing Sweet to do something, anything!”

I bared my claws and squirmed to get away from Sweet’s clutches. I fought like a tiger to get to Flame and make her pay.

“No Doc, no more,” Sweet ordered.

I turned slightly to see Doc with a syringe in his hand. He was ready to plunge it into my arm, but Sweet’s words stopped him.

“Calm down, Jemma, so we can explain. You don’t want another sedative, do you?” Flame asked.

I managed to stop snarling by the sheer force of my will. I didn’t want to be knocked out while others searched for Jackson. It wasn’t easy to calm down. I was afraid of losing everything that mattered. Fear and anger urged me on.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” I growled at Sweet.

“First of all, we’re not relaxed. We’re waiting for information. The food is a distraction. We’re just as on edge as you are. None of us had any clue where to look for Jackson, so instead of wandering around lost and wasting time and energy we went to our allies for aid. They have connections that can find where Jackson is being held and also tell us what kind of security issues we’re up against. We’re waiting for answers, then we’ll finish this.”

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