Page 88 of Forgotten Vows
“Fuck.” I ran my hand over my face. “So much for that fucking lead.”
Before I could get any closer to losing my mind at the idea that Raisa had been taken, a car sped up and squealed to a stop. Emil exited, phone in hand and serious fury on his face.
“What the fuck?” he said.
“It’s got to be Konstantin.”
“Motherfucker needs to die and stay dead,” he growled.
I led him back inside, directing him to the security manager Luka and I had just been talking to. Within minutes, we were in the small office where Emil had a soldier uploading and reviewing the security footage of the back alley.
“Petrovs,” Emil said as we froze on a still screen. When Raisa punched the man holding Gabriella, his face was revealed.
It sickened me to watch Raisa struggle and fight. But I did my best to tamp down my feral rage. I couldn’t lose it now. I couldn’t losehernow.
Seeing how viciously she fought gave me hope, but it was fleeting. I felt numb and on fire with the need to kill her father. As Emil took charge and gave orders for men to follow surveillance cameras in the area and to hunt down the mostlikely hiding spots that Konstantin could be using, I knew I had to get to Lev first.
Raisa would want me to.
She’d expect me not to fall prey to any diversion or distraction. If Konstantin had followed us here and planned to kidnap her like this, I couldn’t rule out it being a ploy to get to Lev.
“We need to get to the school. Now.”
Emil nodded. “Lev.”
Still issuing orders as we hurried out of there, I called the tutoring place and ordered them to pull my son aside and watch over him until Emil and I got there. They didn’t argue, and on the rest of the ride there, Emil and I issued more orders to track down any lead on where they could’ve taken Raisa. Men reported in with no sightings, too, but I refused to lose hope.
It was still early yet.
Raisa was a fighter.
She’d found her way to me once before, and this time, I would move heaven and hell to get her back again.
Lev smiled when he saw me and Emil come into the office, but when he noticed our serious expressions and the presence of two more Dubinin men as backup, he frowned.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?”
I hated the fear in his little voice. Hugging him to me, I picked him up and carried him outside. “Your mother has gone missing.”
He stiffened a little, but as I brought him to the car, he hugged me tighter, clinging his arms around my neck.
I smoothed my hand over his small back as we slid into the backseat, but when I closed my eyes and clutched him tightly, I tried not to despair.
“We will find her,” I promised him. “Don’t worry.”Yet.I resisted the urge to growl at the murderous anger in my heartthat Konstantin could continue to threaten our happiness. “We have lots of men looking for her. Lots of helpers.”
Still burrowing his face against me, he nodded.
“We need to be brave, okay?”
He looked up then and sniffled. “I will be brave.”
“Me too.”
I hugged him close again and didn’t release him until we got to the big mansion. Security was ramped up, but it didn’t scare Lev. As soon as I set him down, he held my hand, seeming to want to be close. I didn’t blame him.
Gabriella rushed toward us, smiling the best she could at Lev. “Lev? Misha and I are going to teach Andre how to make some cookies.”
Lev almost laughed. “He’s a baby. Babies can’t bake.”
