Page 54 of The Bratva's Innocent Pregnant Bride
I covered my mouth with my free hand, trying to keep from hyperventilating. What did he mean by his last taunt? Why was he so dead set on believing the Fokins had anything to do with whatever was making Axon pick off its employees? I let out the scream that had been welling up in me, the sound deafening in the small room. I thought I was as scared as I had ever been when he was threatening me, but now that I thought he was going after that sweet family, utterly unaware of the danger they were in, it felt like I would crack into pieces.
Damn Agent Pierce and his threats. I gathered the shreds of strength and sanity that still remained in me and stood, folding up the chair and tucking it under my arm as best I could without twisting my wrist out of the socket. I looked at the marks in the dust he made with his promise that I’d regret stepping out of them. I remembered the look he gave me as he dragged the dull knife across my skin.
And then I headed toward the door.
Chapter 35 - Daniil
Anatoli’s pilot was waiting for me when I arrived at the airport, promising the jet would be ready to take off soon. I paced the tarmac, impatient but begrudgingly grateful that I didn’t have to wait until the next day to follow Paisley.
The night sky was clear and bright with stars, the chill weather hardly reaching me as I feverishly went over everything I knew so far. It wasn’t enough and far too much of it was based on hunches and feelings. I normally trusted my gut. It hadn’t let me down when I suspected something was very wrong right before the explosion at the lodge. But I was too wrapped up in emotions, something that had never hindered me before.
Was I wrong to believe that Paisley hadn’t been plotting against my family? It didn’t make sense to me that she would worm her way in to cause harm when she seemed to love the kids so much, especially Alina who idolized her. Paisley didn’t have to go out of her way to offer snowboarding lessons. I had been in the room when she jumped to volunteer, her eyes shining as bright as Alina’s at the chance to teach someone her favorite sport.
No, it didn’t make sense, but a lot of things were just plain fucked up. I had seen pure evil in action many times before. It was basically impossible for me to meet someone new and not instantly distrust them unless I knew what family they were from, their allegiances, and had spoken to people I knew would jump in front of a bullet for me to vet them. And even then, those people had to earn my trust.
Not Paisley, though. My gut, my heart, every fiber of my being, refused to believe she had done anything wrong. And that was stupid. Beyond stupid. If my trust was misplaced, I couldbe walking into a trap. A surefire way to screw up the Christmas holiday that Aleks had wanted for everyone was to become a hostage, or worse. Despite my confusion, I had to laugh, short and bitter, as I thought about him refusing to ransom me until after New Year’s just to make a point.
“We’re ready,” the pilot called, leaning out of the open door.
Wiping my hand over my face, I closed my strained eyes as I nodded. Heading up the stairs, I tried to push everything aside, good or bad. Facts. I needed facts, not feelings, not gut instincts. I had to shove aside everything in me that screamed that Paisley was mine, and was worthy of my trust.
The real, hard cold fact was that there was nothing but evidence against her. That she had fooled me as easily as the others. That everything we’d shared had only been to advance her motive to cause mayhem against my family.
“Drink, sir?”
My eyes shot open. Somehow I had chosen a seat and now the business-like attendant hovered in the aisle, a bland look of expectation on her face. An entire bottle of vodka was my first choice, but I only asked for coffee to burn off the ice that seemed to flow in my veins. When I had the strong brew in my hands, I breathed in the dark roast, unfettered with sugar or cream.
It wasn’t a long flight, but it was enough of a break for anger to begin simmering around the edges. Not good for keeping a clear head, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t push it aside.
What would I do if I was faced with incontrovertible proof that Paisley was an enemy spy?
Anyone else and I would rip them apart. I would only be feeling rage, not this sense of betrayal. My damn chest hurt like a great clawed monster had its talons around my heart. What the fuck was that? All over a little fling with the nanny?
As soon as the plane was on the ground, I shoved past the flight attendant who struggled with the door. I needed air, clarity. It wasn’t there in the Los Angeles night and the abrupt change of temperature, from crisp and cold to balmy and languid, had me peeling off my sweater and tugging at the collar of my shirt.
There was only one thing I was sure of. Paisley was mine. Those claws only dug in deeper when I thought about letting her go. Not happening. But if she was responsible for that bomb, that definitely couldn’t go unpunished. It felt like I was being torn in two.
Now what? I was in LA, where Paisley had gone, but I was at a dead end. I let Anatoli know I had arrived, and headed for the car rental area. I had to keep moving. Even with no clear direction to go, I had to keep forging forward in my quest to find her. Despite the late hour, people jostled past me. They were like wraiths, and I hardly noticed them, only focused on one thing.
As soon as I had my car, but nowhere to point it, Anatoli called. I answered breathlessly.
“Tell me good news.”
“It’s news, at least,” he replied. “Not sure how good it is. You can thank LAX for having so many security cameras.” He went on to inform me that since he knew which flight Paisley had taken, thanks to tracking her bank card, he was able to hack into the cameras at that gate and hone in on the exact time it landed. I tapped my foot, clamping my lips together to keep from telling him to hurry the hell up.
“So you spotted her?” I finally asked, interrupting his technical explanations.
He cleared his throat. “Yes.” He cleared his throat again. “She met a man.”
“Okay,” I said. “Did it look like she was under duress?”
“No. In fact she looked relieved to see him.”
“You got this from security camera footage,” I said, shoving down the desire to rip this mystery man’s head off.
“I’ve been working on enhancement capabilities,” he said. Before I could shout at him, he continued in a somber tone. “I was able to identify the guy she met up with. He’s FBI.”
“What?” That was unexpected. “A cop?”
