Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“It’s me, Sofia. Arseni.”
Relief filled her and she sat up, looking around. The clock by her bed said it was after eleven.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
“I need you to get dressed and come with me. The Pakhan needs you.”
“Sacha needs me?” She climbed out of bed. “Why? Where’s Igor?”
“I relieved him. And yes, I don’t know why. But he needs you at the restaurant.”
It didn’t make a lot of sense, but okay. She stumbled around, getting dressed. Arseni waited for her in the hallway.
“Oh no, my phone!” She had it charging by the bed. Rushing back into the room, she grabbed it and her handbag.
Arseni rushed her outside. Something must really be wrong.
They headed to the car and got in. He drove out of the estate.
But now that she was more awake, she was starting to get a weird feeling from this. “Did Aleksandr say what he needed? The restaurant will be closed by now.”
Why would he want her to go to him? Hadn’t he been on his way to see Oleg?
She swallowed heavily at that thought.
“He didn’t. But I just do as I’m told.”
Like all of them.
“I’m going to call him and find out what’s going on,” she said.
“Up to you. But he sounded distracted, busy.”
Shoot. Sofia didn’t want to call him if he was busy. Arseni drove past the restaurant and then turned down a street she’d never been down before. It was in a rough area that bordered the restaurant.
“Arseni? I thought we were going to Solynshko,” she said warily.
“You’re too trusting, Sofia.”
Alarm filled her. She grabbed her handbag, searching through for her phone.
“I wouldn’t,” he said as he came to a stop and then drew a gun out from the small of his back. “The boss wants to question you, but you can still answer questions with a bullet wound in your leg.”
Her breath came in sharp pants, panic whirring inside her. “Why? I thought we were friends. I trusted you!”
“You’re a nice person, Sofia. Too good for the world you’re living in. But you need to smarten up. Not everyone is loyal. Some of us are just out for ourselves. I was bought and paid for even before I became your bodyguard.”
“By who?” she whispered.
She just couldn’t believe it. She’d never seen it coming.
“Get inside, and don’t scream or try to run. I’m a good shot and have no qualms about shooting out your kneecap.”
She was going to vomit.
Fuck.
Was this really it? Was she going to die?
She’d never told Colm the truth about her feelings for him. She’d never gotten further than kissing him.
That was a huge regret.
She was only twenty-three, and she’d done nothing with her life yet, and now this bastard who she’d trusted was going to shoot her?
Not happening.
“Hand over your handbag.”
She gave it to him and he searched through it, pulling out her phone.
He gestured to her to get out as he did the same. Then he smashed her phone to bits.
What an idiot.
Aleksandr would be able to track her to where her phone last pinged. Didn’t he know that?
And besides that, her cousin had a number of fail-safes in place. Did Arseni know there was a GPS tracker in the car?
Likely. He’d probably removed it too.
But she bet he didn’t know there were two. Or that her handbag had another tracker in it. The only trouble was that Sacha had to realize that she was missing in order to come after her.
And by the time he did . . . well, it just might be too late.
25
Colm felt ill as he stared at the piece of shit hanging from the ceiling of one of Rogan’s interrogation rooms.
It was a place out in the countryside, far away from neighbors who might notice some odd comings and goings. The building looked like an old run-down shack.
But it had a soundproof basement, which is why Rogan now owned it and the land under one of his corporations.
Rogan would likely need to get rid of this building after they were done, now that the Russians knew where it was.
They might have an agreement, but that didn’t mean they fully trusted each other. After arriving, to Colm’s shock, Anisimov told him to have some fun with Oleg before he questioned him.
Colm didn’t need to be asked twice.
Stepping up to Oleg, Colm drew his fist back and punched him right in the cock.
The man let out a pained groan, his face growing purple as he tried to breathe through the pain.
“Ouch. I felt that,” Aleksandr said as he sat on a chair. “Did you feel that, Viktor?”
“Yeah. I felt it.”
“How dare you touch her, you fucking asshole!” he said to Oleg as he treated his stomach like it was a punching bag.
Oleg moaned, then started to make a choking noise before vomiting.
Colm got out of the way just in time.