Page 9 of Chained Fate
“I’m almost certain it is,” Ruslan says, looking up from his laptop.Unlike me, who has been pacing around my newly purchased penthouse for the past hour, he’s lounging on the couch, unfazed by the events.And why not?It’s nothisfucking wife who’s pregnant, sick, and on the run.
I’m about to snap at him when my phone pings with an incoming email.I glance at the screen, and my pulse jolts.
It’s a reply to the message I sent to the Molotovs the other day, notifying them of Alina’s diagnosis.
Konstantin and I are coming to see her.Don’t stand in our way.
-VM
I frown and show it to Ruslan and Chekhov.
Ruslan’s frown matches mine.“Why would they warn you that they’re coming?We’re supposed to have figured that out on our own thanks to their supposed slip-up, right?Otherwise, it’s a shitty decoy.”
“They’re making it sound like they don’t know Alina ran away,” Chekhov says, scanning the message again.“How stupid do they think we are?”
I take my phone back and read over the message.It could be interpreted that way—or it could be that they’re warning me to stand aside and let them retrieve Alina without a fight.Either way, the message is out of character for Valery.
“Something’s not adding up,” Ruslan says, voicing my thoughts.“They have to know that we know that they’re in touch with Alina.Could the message have been sent prior to her escape?Maybe there was a delay in the email reaching us for some reason?”
That’s a possibility, though an unlikely one.But it’s a better theory than anything else I can think of.Either way… “Tell the guards to be prepared for anything,” I tell Chekhov.“And continue keeping an eye on all the other airports, along with train and bus stations.Also, set up checkpoints on all the roads leading out of Geneva.Call in every favor we’ve got.”
“On it,” he says, his thumbs already flying over his phone’s screen.
I leave him to it and walk over to the window to stare out at the gleaming waters of Lake Geneva.I’d purchased this penthouse prior to Alina’s escape so we’d have a place to stay during her treatment.Its proximity to the clinic and pretty views were the main selling points.Now it’s going to serve as our base of operations as we search for her and prepare for war with her brothers.
“You should get some rest.This won’t be resolved anytime soon,” Ruslan says, coming up to stand next to me.
“I’ll rest when we find her.”
“No, you won’t.That’s when she’ll need you the most.So you should get some shuteye now, while nothing is happening.”
Fuck.He’s right.I scrub my hand over my face again.The lack of sleep is taking a toll on me.My eyes burn with exhaustion, my muscles ache, and my thinking is slow and muddled.Worse yet, my temper is at a hair trigger.If I don’t get some sleep soon, I won’t just be useless—I’ll be dangerous.
“Go crash for an hour or two,” Ruslan says.“I’ll wake you up if we find out anything.”
I nod curtly and go.
It feelslike I’ve barely shut my eyes when I’m roughly shaken awake.For a second, I’m disoriented, but then the events of the past couple of days flood my brain and I jackknife off the bed, nearly knocking Ruslan off his feet as I grab for my phone to check the time.
Fuck.It’s nearly six hours later.I should’ve set a fucking alarm instead of trusting my brother to wake me.
“Did we find her?”I demand, stuffing the phone into my pocket.
“No.”Ruslan’s expression is strangely tight.“Her brothers are here, though.”
“You mean they’ve landed?”
“I mean, they’re fuckinghere, in your living room.”
I shoot him a disbelieving look before stalking out into said living room.Sure enough, Konstantin and Valery Molotov are sitting on my couch, identical hazel-gold eyes trained on me with undisguised hostility.
What the fuck?
“They came by themselves,” Ruslan says in a low voice before I can approach our uninvited guests.“I had them searched for weapons before letting them in.They’re clean.And I think… they don’t know where Alina is either.”
My right hand clenches into a fist.“Bullshit.”
“Just hear them out,” Ruslan says under his breath.“If it’s an act, it’s a fucking good one.”
