Page 12 of Chained Fate
He’s found me.
Wild, irrational joy surges through me—only to dissolve into icy panic as I catch a whiff of cheap cologne, tobacco, and alcohol.
As I realize there’s a stranger in my hostel room.
Chapter6
Alexei
If anyone ever told me I’d be collaborating with the Molotov brothers, I’d tell them to check themselves for psychosis.Yet here we are, Valery, Konstantin, and I, huddled over a laptop at night, reviewing the latest discovery from our teams of hackers—who, like us, are actually working together.
They’ve been able to reconstruct Alina’s movements up to the point of her exiting the dress shop and have confirmed that no further footage exists.The surrounding cameras haven’t been tampered with, like I originally thought.
My wife simply didn’t show up in any cameras after she stepped out of that fucking shop and took a few steps down the street.
“If an abduction happened, it would’ve had to take place right here,” Konstantin says, drawing a red circle on the map on the screen.“A dozen feet south, it would’ve been within the range of several cameras.A few feet north, same thing.”
Valery peers at the screen.“There’s an alley right in that blind spot.”
I’ve already spotted the same thing.“That’s where a kidnapper could’ve been hiding.”My voice is as tight as my ribcage.I haven’t been able to take a full breath since I realized that Alina’s brothers aren’t here as some convoluted ploy to throw me off her scent.Nor have I been able to eat or sleep.
It took a while to convince the Molotovs that this is not a ploy onmypart to keep them away from Alina, and once they finally accepted that, we got down to business and have been working nonstop, deploying all our contacts and connections to figure out which of our enemies may have been behind this.
Unfortunately, between us and the Molotovs, there are many, many suspects.
“I’ll send a forensic team to that alley first thing in the morning,” Valery says, pulling out his phone.“We’ll see if they find any signs of struggle.”
“Good idea,” I say and straighten.“In the meantime, I’m heading there myself.”
Konstantin looks up from the screen, his eyes glinting behind his glasses.“Why?You’ll just tamper with potential evidence.”
I bare my teeth at him.“I’m not a fucking idiot.I’ll be careful.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ruslan says, rising from the couch where he was working on his own laptop.
I glower at him, having all but forgotten about his presence.I have no idea why he’s here instead of in his bed, asleep.He’s certainly no fan of the Molotovs, and he hasn’t been actively participating in the search for Alina, focusing instead on matters back home.
Matters like our father.Who’s dying and sending daily demands to see us.
I shove the thought aside.That’s the last thing I want to worry about now.“Let’s go then,” I tell Ruslan curtly and walk over to grab my gun from a nearby table.I stuff it into my belt and cover it with my shirt.My knife is already strapped to my ankle inside my boot, and I have a smaller-caliber gun strapped to my other ankle.But I make a show of getting the weapon anyway, for the Molotovs’ sake.I don’t want them knowing that I’ve been armed this whole time—though they probably suspect it.
Temporary collaboration or not, we trust each other about as much as two hungry gators around a rabbit.
“I’ll come too,” Valery says, smoothly rising to his feet.
I grit my teeth, having looked forward to a Molotov-free hour.It’s not worth antagonizing Alina’s brother, though, so I keep silent as he follows Ruslan and me out of the penthouse.I know he still suspects me of some ploy, just as, on some level, I suspect him and Konstantin of the same.
The alley is not far, so we walk there on foot.Behind us, some half a block away, several of my men trail us unobtrusively, as do a few of the Molotovs’ guards.They’re not as subtle as my guys, whom I’ve chosen specifically for the purpose of discreetly keeping an eye on Alina over the years.Either way, if shit goes down, we’re well prepared.Not that anything is likely to go down.If Alina did get taken, it was by someone who’s highly skilled at covering their tracks, and the odds of us finding anything—much less encountering anyone—in that alley are minuscule.
“Just how sick is she?”Valery asks, breaking the tense silence.
His voice is cool, unruffled, as if he couldn’t give a fuck about the answer, but the fact that he asked tells me he’s worried.Which is somewhat surprising.Over my years of following Alina, I’ve compiled dossiers on all of her friends and relatives, and by all indications, her youngest brother fits the clinical definition of a sociopath, complete with a lack of emotions and a highly manipulative nature.Though, to be fair, people have said that about me as well.
Regardless, I slant a suspicious glance at him, and so does Ruslan.
“Why?”I ask bluntly.
“Because she’s my sister, and I want to know how she is.”
