Page 58 of Auctioned to the Russian Pakhan
Chapter 20 - Matvei
The hotel room was empty.
Matvei stood in the doorway, staring at the rumpled bed where Irina had been just hours before. Her scent still lingered in the air, that subtle combination of jasmine and something uniquely her that had become as essential to him as breathing. But she was gone. Again.
This time, she’d been thorough. No discarded clothing, no forgotten belongings, no trace of where she might have gone. Even her phone was completely dead, not just turned off. She’d learned from her previous escape attempts.
“Sir?” One of his men appeared behind him, uncertainty written across his face. “Any orders?”
“Find her.” The words came out like shards of glass. “I don’t care what it takes. Tear this city apart if you have to.”
The first day, he was methodical. Professional. He deployed his resources with the cold efficiency that had built his empire. Every hotel, every safe house, every contact in the city. His men worked in shifts, following every lead, no matter how thin.
The second day, the methodical approach gave way to desperation. He personally visited locations, interrogated sources, and called in favors from people he’d sworn never to contact again. Still nothing.
By the third day, he was unraveling.
“What do you mean you can’t find her?” he roared at his head of security, slamming his fist on the desk hard enough to send papers flying. “She’s one woman. One fucking woman in acity full of cameras and witnesses and you’re telling me she just vanished?”
“Sir, with respect, she knows our methods. She’s been watching how we operate for weeks. She knows exactly how to avoid detection.”
The logic was sound, but it only made his fury burn hotter. Because it was true, he’d taught her those methods himself, shown her how his security worked, and trusted her with information about his operations. And now she was using it all against him.
“Then try harder,” he snarled. “Double the men. Triple them. I want her found.”
His security chief shifted uncomfortably. “Sir, we’ve already checked with her family. They claim they haven’t seen her.”
“They’re lying.”
“Maybe. But if they are, they’re good at it. And, Sir...” The man hesitated. “Maybe we should consider that she doesn’t want to be found.”
The words hit Matvei like a physical blow. He turned away, staring out the window at the city that had somehow swallowed the only person who mattered to him.
She didn’t want to be found. She’d rather disappear completely than face him, than give him a chance to explain. The realization cut deeper than any blade could have.
By the fourth day, the rage had burned itself out, leaving behind something much worse. A hollow ache that seemed to consume him from the inside out. He stopped eating, stopped sleeping properly, stopped caring about the business that had once been his entire world.
His brothers tried to intervene. Simon cornered him in his office on day five, demanding to know what the hell was wrong with him.
“You look like death,” Simon said bluntly, studying Matvei’s haggard appearance. “When’s the last time you slept? Ate something?”
“I’m fine.”
“Bullshit. This is about the Nikolai girl, isn’t it?”
The casual dismissal of Irina as “the Nikolai girl” made something savage rise in Matvei’s chest. “Her name is Irina.”
“Fine. Irina. But Matvei, she’s just one woman. There are others...”
“Get out.” The words were quiet, deadly. “Get out before I do something we’ll both regret.”
Simon left, but not before giving him a look that said he thought his older brother had completely lost his mind. Maybe he had. Maybe sanity was overrated anyway.
On day six, Anka showed up at his office unannounced. She took one look at him and shook her head in disgust.
“You look terrible.”
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
