Page 89 of Immaculate Corruption (Romanoff Bratva)

“Have a nice evening, ma’am.”

In response, she screams again. I don’t stick around to see if anyone rushes out of their apartment to aid her. I got what I needed.

One down.

Now, it’s time for Trial number two.

31

Arya

It’s hard to relax while Dima is gone.

Gennady assures me Dima has it under control. “He’ll be back soon. This is an easy hit. Don’t worry.”

But I do worry. Of course, I do. And when my phone rings, I lunge for it across the bed, answering the call before I even check who is calling.

“Dima?” I ask, breathless.

“Lauren, actually,” a female voice says. “Dr. Malone. Is this Arya?”

My heart can’t seem to decide whether it should sink or swell with hope. “Lauren. Hi. Sorry. I was expecting another call.”

She chuckles. “That’s okay. I’ll be brief. I just wanted to call and let you know that a local pediatrician called me today with some possible information about your son.”

“Have they found him?” I jump off the bed and immediately begin pacing across the carpet in my bare feet.

I just got back from Chicago, but I’ll drive there overnight if someone has found Lukas. Hell, I’ll run there, shoes or no shoes.

The ache to know where Lukas is, to hold him and squeeze him close, to keep him warm, is almost overwhelming. It feels like I’m walking around without one of my limbs.

“I’m not sure,” she says. “I called around to all of the doctors I have a good working relationship with. No one had seen or heard anything suspicious. But then tonight, a doctor my father has known for years called me. He works at a free children’s clinic twice a week, and today, he was at the clinic when a couple came in with a small baby.”

“What did he say? Who were they with? Was it Lukas? Did—”

“He didn’t mention much about the baby, but he actually knows the couple. They’ve been to see one of his colleagues before. A fertility specialist. The guy said the woman wasn’t pregnant during that visit, and then bang, suddenly he sees her with a two-month-old in her arms. The math doesn’t check out.”

I’m trying not to get too hopeful. Trying not to be too excited. I’ve experienced enough disappointment to know the dangers of that. But it’s hard. After no news for far too long… this issomething.Finally.

I’m not done with the questions, though. “Did they give names?” I ask. “Did she have long blonde hair? Was he a—”

She cuts me off. “No names, but he told me the couple are as plain as a couple can be. He’s a tall, thin man with glasses and a bald spot, and she is mousy—brown hair, petite little thing. The way he described them, they didn’t sound anything like the couple you told me about.”

That doesn’t mean anything,I tell myself. I know Ilyasov is in New York City, so maybe he put Lukas in someone else’s care. Maybe someone else in his Bratva is watching over him.

But it could also be a false lead that will take me to a dead end and a broken heart.

Breathe, Arya. You can’t fall to pieces just yet.

“Did the doctor ask them any questions?”

“He was nervous to tell me too much, but he did talk to them a little bit. The baby hadn’t been seen by a doctor yet, and when he asked why, they didn’t want to give him a clear answer.”

“He didn’t ask where they got the baby?”

“It’s not a very common question on the intake forms, I’m afraid,” Lauren said. “He couldn’t even mention that he had seen them at the fertility doctor’s office without potentially violating their privacy. The only thing he could tell me is that the baby had darker hair than either of the parents. And they were acting weird.”

“That’s all?” I groan and then clear my throat. “I mean, thank you for calling. You’ve been so helpful and I really appreciate you—”

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