Page 66 of Captivated By the Bratva

“This woman.” I dropped a few more bills into his pan with a sloppily writtenGod blessnote taped to it. “Have you seen her?”

Shaking his head, he squinted harder. “That girl?”

“Yes. Have you seen her recently?”

He blew out a long breath, making his scraggly beard fluff out of the way of the air. “No, sir. No. She your wife?”

“You haven’t seen her?” I narrowed my eyes, curious how he couldn’t have spotted her. Avilov had to be behind her abduction. This was Chicago, in a section of the Valkov territory. No other Bratva or crime family would pull something off like this here. We weren’t in Mexico, out near other foreign organizations or others who’d target tourists. The only person who’d take Nadia would be Avilov.

And back here, with this man located here near the door he’d likely taken her out of, this homeless man was in a front-row seat to see anyone who entered and exited via that door.

“I ain’t,” he said, peering up at me through clear eyes. The other homeless I’d interviewed looked drunk or high. Bloodshot eyesgreeted me. They spoke with slurred voices, tilting under the effects of malnutrition.

“You’ve been back here all day,” I said.

He furrowed his brow. “Not all day,” he argued, seeming annoyed at the idea of my keeping tabs on him.

“Look again,” I prompted, holding my phone out further for him to see her picture. Dropping a few more bills into his pan had to help.

“Nah, sir, nah. I haven’t seen her.” He shook his head again, dashing my hopes.

I left him, disappointed. Worry settled deeper in my gut as I considered the possibility that I’d lost her for good.

Just as I found her and started dreaming of our future together, she was gone.

Stolen.

I wouldn’t stop looking for her, though.

And if it wasn’t Avilov who snuck in and took her, whoever did would be in a world of pain. I’d find them, and they would pay in blood.

24

NADIA

My gag was a soggy, soaking mess of a rag. Erik jammed it in there so tight, my jaw ached. The knots tugged at my hair, and it took conscious effort to breathe steadily through my nose.

I couldn’t risk passing out. I had to stay alert and with it, to track where we were going. Whatever I could do to help the effort to get back to Maxim, I would do it.

I refused to lose him. With this separation, I knew without a doubt that I belonged with that Mafia man. Doubts filled my head when we arrived at that penthouse, but now that I was violently whisked away, I yearned to be right back at his side.

Erik hauled me out of the building in a cart. It looked like a housekeeper trolley, only heavier duty like something a maintenance man might use. Unceremoniously, he dropped me into a large bin like something to collect multiple bags of garbage. I beat at the container, but with the thick plastic walls, my hits were dulled.

No one stopped him. And before I panicked that I’d run out of air, I was tilted to the side, tumbling into the back of a van.

Without the opportunity to look out windows, I was lost. But I remained alert and listened for where we were going. The slow speeds and many turns indicated that we had to be in the city, at lower speed limits. Then the faster rumble of the van zooming along without turns suggested that we were on the highway.

My clues likely wouldn’t do much. I had no way to contact Maxim. I had no phone. No phone number to call. And what could I tell him if I did? I couldn’t tell what direction we traveled. Which way was north or south. Or how long we were in the van for. It felt like several hours, but it was probably much less.

Still, I tried to remember everything that I could. I had to do something, and if paying attention to all I could was the only thing I was capable of, then that was that.

Simmering in anger that Avilov had found me, I struggled to remain calm and levelheaded. Terrified that I would be taken straight to Mr. Avilov, I fought not to get too riled up with horrid emotions that would lock me up.

The irony of finding something with Maxim felt extra bittersweet now. Before, I didn’t have any direction in my life. My only mode of living was to avoid being married off. After I met Maxim, though, just mere days ago, I had so much to live for.

His affection. The intimacy we shared. All those moments of knowing how thoroughly he wanted to keep me safe.

I will not give up. I won’t lose.

---