Page 6 of Collapsed

Conrad leaps out of his chair, his laptop in hand. “I got something. It’s nothing huge, but maybe someone there knows where that creep has Natalie.”

“Spit it out, Conrad. Tell us what you found,” Stryker coaxes him.

“Okay, well, I didn’t see it right away because we’ve been so focused on the trafficking side of things, but Andrei had a storage facility here in Chicago that he used to house his guns and drugs in, it seems. The local PD has tried to bust it a few times, but it’s always cleaned out. Someone there might have heard from Ivan or helped get him to wherever he is with Nat. Never mind, that sounds stupid now that I say it out loud.” He sits back down with a huff.

“It’s not stupid, Conrad, it’s pretty fucking smart. Ivan had to have arranged help to get him and Nat from the apartment unseen. You were right there and saw nothing. We’ve been running face analysis on every camera in the city, and nothing has picked either of them up. I think he’s taken her from Illinois altogether. He had to have help doing that. So you’re right, going to this storage place and asking questions could lead us in the right direction,” Stryker tells him. Conrad physically relaxes now that he has gotten some positive feedback on his idea.

“We can go tonight. When we get discharged, we can go home to clean up, then hit the storage facility. On the way out, we can swing by the room next door, collecting our Russian on the way. That is if he gets discharged with us,” I suggest. We have to tell Alexie the plan or he’ll lose his shit even more than he already has.

Getting up, I step into the bathroom and take a quick shower before grabbing my bag off the bathroom floor and putting some regular clothes back on. I run my fingers through my long hair and tie it up in a bun so it’s out of the way for whatever comes our way tonight.

“I’m gonna shower now too since we don’t know when they’ll be back. I want to be ready to go as soon as they let us.” Stryker trudges into the bathroom, and I hear the shower turn back on. I mindlessly flip through the channels on the tv, trying to find something to help pass the time while our fearless leader cleans up.

Stryker strolls from the shower fully dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks, his hair styled and gelled to perfection. “What the fuck? How did you get a better hospital bag than me?”

Chuckling, he shrugs. “I text BJ a detailed list of everything I would need, and she brought it.”

“I’m gonna go tell Alexie the plan and see if he is getting discharged with you,” Conrad volunteers. He closes his laptop, standing as he sets it down on Stryker’s empty hospital bed.

He crosses to the door, almost getting hit with it as it slams open. Our nurse stands there with papers in her hand but a pissed-off scowl on her face. “Where is he?”

We all look at each other, confused, before turning back to look at her. “Who?” I ask.

“Don’t play with me. You boys have been nothing but trouble and sass since you woke up. Now the crazy Russian is gone from his room, so where is he?” she barks, and now I know why all the other nurses cowered when she came into the room with them. She’s a growly old lady, her long white hair in a tight ponytail and her eyes like two lasers zoomed in on us.

“Darla, babe, we didn’t know he escaped. We were actually sending Conrad here to speak to him. Seems he grew impatient. We’ll find him and bring him back,” Stryker purrs at her, and she visibly relaxes a bit as he flirts with her. I look at Conrad and fake gag at him. He laughs, earning a glare from Stryker.

“Do me a favor, boys, when you find the crazy bastard, don’t bring him back. Pushed me to the brink, that one.” She shoves the papers into Stryker’s chest and spins, stomping from the room.

“Well, boys, it looks like we have another Russian to find now, too. I knew that impatient shit would try to sneak out to find Nat without us.”

“Yeah, well, at least one of us had the right idea,” I murmur. Grabbing our bags, we leave the room and ride the elevator down to the main floor. We pile into the SUV Conrad drove here. He climbs in the driver seat and turns the key, waiting for Stryker to tell us where we’re headed. “So, are we still going home, or are we going to retrieve Alexie?”

“You know where he’s at? Where did he go?” I ask.

“I put a tracker in his shoe when he was still out cold. Figured he would do some shit like this. We simply need to follow him to where he went. And that looks to be the very storage place we were headed to.”

“Take us home. You two go in and get ready to make a plan to bring our girl home. I’ll go get Alexie. He's most likely to come with me. Plus, showing up three against one won’t bode well, so let me get him home alone,” Stryker says as we turn off onto our exit.

That Russian is going to get a piece of my mind when he gets back. How dare he go off on some half-cocked mission to find our woman without me?

Alexie

Earlier That Day

Thatratfuckingbastardknocked me out and took my woman. Furious is an understatement of how I’m feeling right now. What a weak-ass pussy, using cheap shots and syringes to get the upper hand. Plus, he killed my papa, and that will not stand. Papa needed to die, but it was my rite of passage to kill him like he did his papa before him. Ivan took that from me, and now I’m left with a hole in my chest where my papa’s murder should be.

I’ve been laying in the hospital bed letting Katia and Rainbow Sparkle take care of me for the last two days. They’ve been taking shifts because Katia has also been adamant to look over Stryker and King down the hall. She said something about what Natalia would want her to do.

Two full days of not knowing where Natalia is or what Ivan is doing to her. When I get her back, if there is even one hair harmed on her body, I am going to– well, I’m not sure what I’ll do since I already plan on murdering him.

“Alexie, you need to calm down. Your heart rate is rising again. You know, the doctors said you had to keep it low and steady in order to be released,” Katia scolds me as she rests a hand on my shoulder. I look at her and see her red-rimmed eyes are glassy. They’ve been that way since I woke up. I don't think my best friend has stopped crying since she heard the news.

“I will find her, Katia. I will bring her back to us,” I promise her, and my tone leaves no room for argument.

“I know,” she whispers as she leans down, putting her forehead against mine. “You will find her, Alexie, and you will enjoy taking the last breath from Ivan’s body. I want you to bathe in his blood and make it hurt. No mercy.”

Damn, who is this woman in front of me? She’s always known what happens behind closed doors with me andMalyshka, but she’s never been so bold. If I didn’t look at her and see only a little sister, I would be hard right now. But while I haven’t missed the stolen glances here and there from a few of the other men, me and Katia will only ever be best friends.

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