Page 81 of Bratva Menace

“When?” he all but growled out.

“Two days ago.” I explained everything, right down to the last detail, leaving nothing out. I gave him every bit of information I had, including how Lukyan’s stalker had infiltrated Sergei’s estate to—we assumed—gather information.

Aleksandr listened to it all without interrupting.

“Hold on,” he said after I’d finished. A few beeps came through the phone, and then he was back. “Okay. Nikolai and Illayana are here.”

“What? Where?”

“Take the phone away from your ear, Father,” Illayana’s soft voice followed.

“Why would I do that? I won’t be able to hear you.”

“Just do it,” Nikolai grunted.

I took the phone away. On the screen were Aleksandr, Nikolai, and Illayana, spliced into three boxes. Their backgrounds showed they were all in different places. “Oh. Hello.”

Illayana smiled, waving her hand. Nikolai nodded.

“Repeat everything you just said for them,” Aleksandr said.

I did. Autumn’s hand caressed up and down my back in a show of support as I spoke, which I greatly appreciated. It was hard for me, having to relay again and again how I’d failed to keep Lukyan safe, but it had to be done.

“Fucking hell,” Illayana blew out after I was done. “I fucking told him she was bad fucking news. Why couldn’t he, for once, just listen to reason?”

“He wouldn’t be Lukyan if he did,” Nikolai commented. “So what happens now? What resources has Grandfather offered to help locate him?”

“A few men, and even that was barely offered. We can’t rely on him. We have to pool our own resources. Aleksandr, get on the phone with some of the other families in the Bratva. See what they’ve heard and what’s circling the streets. Whatever information they have, I want it, no matter how inconsequential.”

Aleksandr nodded, writing something down.

“Nikolai, I need you to scour the CCTV footage from the venue as well as Sergei’s estate. See if you can track her movements and possibly get me a fucking ID on her. She has to show her face somewhere. Once we have a face, we should be able to get a name.”

“On it,” Nikolai grunted.

“And me?” Illayana asked.

Nikolai answered before I could. “Nothing. You’re useless.”

Illayana’s eyes narrowed. She got up, disappearing out of the frame, reappearing in the open doorway behind Nikolai a moment later. She marched right for him, slapped him on the back of the head, spun, and marched right back out.

Nikolai grumbled, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.

Illayana walked back into her frame and sat down with a smile on her face. “I was thinking I can reach out to some of my Cosa Nostra contacts,” Illayana began, as if there’d been no interruption. “Arturo has connections with border security and aviation. If she’s left the country with him and comes back to the states, we need to know so we don’t waste time looking for him in the wrong place.”

I nodded. “Smart idea. Time is of the essence. This woman is too unpredictable to try and anticipate what she will do next.”

“Do you think she’ll kill him?” Illayana asked, voice filled with worry.

I didn’t want to lie. “I don’t know. If Lukyan refuses to comply, she might. So we need to find him before that happens.”

“And what of our other…issue?” Aleksandr knew better than to say it outright, especially given where I was. Who could be listening.

“I’ll handle it.”

“How?” Aleksandr questioned.

I locked eyes with Autumn and nodded once. She smiled, throwing me a wink before she turned and walked behind me. I continued on. When our guard detail tried to follow, Autumn stood in their path, blocking them. The harsh sounds of a fight came next. I glanced over my shoulder to see she had already subdued some of the guards, two of them lying unconscious on the floor. She had the third in a choke hold while the fourth was circling her. The man in her arms slumped, knocked out. Autumn dropped him and sprang forward, catching the fourth guard completely off guard with a tackle. She choked him out just like the others in record time.