Page 73 of Deceitful Lies

“When did it happen?” I ask, not answering Paige’s question, but holding tightly onto her hands. I need the connection as much as she does. I need to be reassured that she hasn’t given up on me. “Did he take her from the house?”

Natasha fills in the details quickly. “According to the guards, Emma and Kenney were at Cynthia’s apartment. He was looking for something, and when Emma tried to alert Paige, he grabbed her.”

“Do we know what he was looking for?” I ask. Natasha shakes her head.

I’m bewildered but not entirely surprised. Her cousin isn’t as clean as he plays at being, and now he has Emma. We’re all in the dark. It’s then I notice the unusual quiet in the house.

“Where is everyone?” I ask.

Natasha replies for Paige. Her confident poise returns. “She sent them out to look, but not engage.”

That was a smart move, and I’m proud of her quick thinking in a bad situation.

No matter what she faces, Paige is levelheaded. “Has he contacted you yet?” I ask Paige gently. “Are yousurehe kidnapped her?”

The lost sadness in her eyes disappears instantly and is replaced with rage. Paige stares at me as if she can’t believe I’d ask such a stupid question. “The guards saw her kicking and screaming as he carried her out of the apartment and then shoved her into an armored SUV against her will and drove her away.”

I swallow hard, releasing her hands. The allusion to her own kidnapping is clear, and she looks away, angrily wiping away her tears. Paige still doesn’t understand if I had left her at her apartment, she wouldn’t be alive right now.

“I’ll get her back, Paige.” Standing up, I look over at Natasha. “Take her to the suite and make sure she lies down.”

“No!” Paige shouts, jumping up to face me. “She’smysister, and I will be involved. Not shut away in my room for your convenience! I know the people Kenney knows, and they know me. I can ask questions. There has to besomethingI can do.” A sob slips out, and her expression is grim. “We can’t just let Kenney get away with this.”

I grip her shoulders in my hands. “We have to figure outwhyfirst. What else happened? You must know something without knowing it.”

Her expression reveals her lingering fear toward me, and Paige grimaces under my tight grip. What am I doing? I release her quickly and regain control. She’s not the enemy and never was. It’s always been the people around Paige. What do they know?

“He’s always been shady,” she replies, hugging her body. “But I never thought Kenney would turn on us. He hates Dad, barely talked to him after Mom left. I always assumed Kenney had sided with her.”

Paige is right. Kenney took Emma for leverage. He won’t ask for money. He wants information he thinks we have. And I have a strong feeling that Kenney isn’t going to let Emma go if I threaten him.

Someone clears their throat for our attention, and Viktor stands in the doorway. His skin is paler than usual, and his mouth is slightly agape. His eyes dart from person to person, searching for words as his hands clench and unclench in nervousness.

I break the unbearable silence. “Do you know something, Viktor?”

Viktor looks at Paige and takes a deep breath. His words come out hesitantly, as if he’s afraid he might say something wrong. But there’s a determination as he speaks. He must know something vital to solving Emma’s disappearance.

“The party that Emma and I snuck off to a month ago,” he says. “Gleb Novikov was there, bragging.”

“I thought you were sent by my wife to go find Emma.” I approach him. “Did you lie to me?”

“I did it to protect Emma on Paige Geraldovna’s orders.” Viktor sighs with regret. “I’m sorry, Andrei Vasilyevich.”

The young man has run out of second chances. I start to reach for Viktor, but he backs away. Quickly, my hands circle his throat as anger fuels my brain. Eva lets out a yelp as I shake the boy like he has no spine.

Paige moves quickly to stop me, but she cannot pry my fingers off Viktor’s throat. Only when Natasha and Dmitri intervene do I manage to finally let go.

“Andrei,Itold him not to tell.” Paige places her hands on my chest to keep me back. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to get Emma into trouble. I didn’t want you to know she had snuck out. I thought I could handle this.” She presses her soft hand against my heated face. “Please, no more.”

I hold Paige in my arms and bury my face against her neck, ignoring the looks of shock and reproach that I would try to kill Viktor with my bare hands. I hold her tighter, feeling her heartbeat against my chest, and she holds me close, calming me with her presence. They have to think I’m mad. One second, I’m ready to kill with my hands, and then the next, I’m quiet as a baby in her arms.

“What did Gleb say exactly?” I ask Viktor.

“He said, ‘I want to make a toast to my brilliant new future!’ And then he said, ‘When I’m the king of the Bratvas, heads will roll.’”

Paige frowns at Viktor as if she’s never heard this before. “What else did he say?”

“He was laughing when he said he couldn’t believe how easy it was for that dumb bitch to die.” Viktor sighs. “That’s when the party got shitty. Igor’s man was hanging out with Gleb. He stumbled over to Emma and tried to talk to her. Telling her it was her turn next.”

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