52. Matvey

52

MATVEY

She's not at her place. The twins aren't picking up, either.

I toss my phone aside without replying. Yuri's texts are doing nothing to improve my mood—in fact, it's the opposite.

I don't care where Petra is or what she's doing. I never asked to be kept in the loop. And I definitely never told Yuri to go after her in the first place.

So why the hell is he still out there?

"Just called Vlad with an excuse," Grisha suggests, stepping back into the room. Thank fuck someone is aware we're in crisis mode right now. "He was perfectly polite. Didn't seem like a man who's been told his daughter was just scorned."

"Good."

"I still wasn't able to get a read on the D.C. fall-through."

That's our biggest concern. After all this shit hit the fan, we're still completely in the dark about what fucked us over to begin with. "Show me the system logs."

Every time our vory work on acquisitions, they're obligated to log into the Groza Group company system and report their progress. When Grisha first suggested it, I thought it was a bunch of useless extra steps and almost stomped out the idea. I only ended up agreeing because it would let us keep an eye over the vory 's activities.

Now, we'll see if it was worth it.

"I have them right here. But…" Grisha hesitates. "I checked in with Ivan and the others. Since everyone was working on this, it appears they haven't been consistent with the logging. If two or more people handled a certain step, they'd just log it under the name of whoever was nearer to his computer. So I'm afraid these won't necessarily show us the person who took point on each passage."

I slam my fists on the table. "You're telling me they've been fucking sloppy on this? On the one thing that mattered?"

"Basically, yes."

I grit my teeth so hard I wouldn't be surprised to hear them crack. "Goddamn mudaki. Somebody's head will roll for this."

I yank the documents out of Grisha's hands. I'm about to scan them with red-veined eyes, ready to punish whoever dropped the ball on this, when my phone rings.

I pick up without looking and snarl, "If you're calling me about her again, Yuri, I swear?—"

"So you know where she is?!"

I blink. The voice that came out the other end right now certainly isn't Yuri's.

That's when I glance at the display. "You shouldn't have this number," I growl.

"Clearly, you have mine," June Evans replies. "So I guess we can skip introductions. But still, nice to meet you or whatever, Mr. Baby Daddy."

"You have exactly five seconds to tell me why you're calling. After that, I'm hanging up and sending my men to find out."

Turns out, she only needs one. "It's about April."

My senses go on high alert. "Explain yourself."

June seems to hesitate. Then, all in one breath: "I was supposed to meet her at the hotel today. We were on the phone earlier and suddenly, the call cut off, so I thought maybe her phone died, but then I got to the hotel and she wasn't there and the gorillas weren't there, either?—"

I filter out the panic and zero in on the one piece of information that really matters.

April's gone.

It's fifteen minutes by car from my apartment to the hotel.

I make Grisha get me there in five.

"Oh, good, you're here!" June rushes over to us as we step out of the elevator. "Also, wow, she wasn't kidding. You're tall ."

"Ms. Evans," I greet curtly, "I'm not a patient man. If you have anything else to add, now would be a good time to get to the point. If not, I'd suggest you go home." Then I turn to Grisha. "Check the cameras. Also, get a hold of Yuri. I don't care where Petra's fucked off to—I need him here. Now."

"Wait, Petra's missing, too?"

June's words make both our heads turn. "How do you know Petra?" I demand.

"Well, I don't exactly know her," June rambles. "Of course, I know of her?—"

"Ms. Evans. To the point. Now."

June purses her lips, arms crossed. "Jeez, she wasn't kidding about this, either. You're, like, super bossy."

I'm seconds away from resorting to enhanced interrogation techniques when Grisha clears his throat. "Ahem. You mentioned you and Ms. Flowers had some kind of engagement. Is that correct?"

"That's right," June says. "We were supposed to go to the Mallard."

"That's impossible," I bark. "If April had any plans to go out, I would know."

"Riiiight." June cringes. "She might have kinda, sorta, totally forgotten to tell you?" I feel a vein popping on my forehead. June must see it, because she starts rambling again. "But she was feeling really bad about it! Like, super guilty! She even wanted to cancel but couldn't reach Petra at all?—"

"Petra was supposed to come with you?" Grisha butts in.

"I mean, yeah. She had hired muscle and all. April figured it'd be safe to go if she was protected, and Petra volunteered. She was planning to ask if it was okay but then he wouldn't talk to her and he wouldn't kiss her hand or something anymore? Anyway?—"

Those words strike the anger clean off me. I was ready to go off—April had broken the rules again , kept something from me again —but as soon as June says that, I freeze.

She felt like she couldn't tell me because…?

I stride into the penthouse. My fury redirects towards a single target: Petra.

I take in the state of the room. There are no signs of struggle, none that would jump to the eye. The only thing that's clearly out of place is the cracked phone on the ground, one I immediately recognize as April's.

"You said your call cut off," I tell June. "How long ago was that?"

"About half an hour."

The rest of the living room's exactly as I left it.

The bedroom, on the other hand, is not.

There are clothes strewn everywhere: dresses, shoes, you name it. It looks like a bomb went off in the closet. But unless someone was interrupted halfway through robbing April's wardrobe, I'm inclined to guess this was her own doing. As if she really had forgotten she was supposed to go out.

And then, as soon as I step inside, I hear something crunch under my foot.

I bend to pick it up and look it over.

An earring. A single, black pearl earring.

Something happened , I realize. She was interrupted while she was getting ready.

"You," I bark. "Come here."

June obliges, her face still scrunched up in displeasure. "Here I am, charmer."

"You said you were on the phone with her. Walk me through what happened."

"First, she was trying to find clothes," June explains, stepping towards the mess at the center of the room. "She was in a panic. Hadn't prepared an outfit—which, if you know her, you know it's a tragedy."

"And then?"

"Then she was putting on her earrings." June walks over to the mirror. "She was struggling with them, though. Cursed like a sailor—for her standards, I mean. Then the doorbell rang."

That's it. She went to answer the door.

If it was Petra, she wouldn't have hesitated to open. If it was Petra…

I stride back to the kitchen and punch the counter with all my strength. "Fuck!"

Right then, Yuri rushes in. "Matvey, is it true? April's missing?"

"Yes." I glare. "And if you hadn't been out chasing butterflies, I wouldn't have to fucking loop you in!"

Yuri's face looks stricken. But right now, I don't have the bandwidth to care. He fucked up. He prioritized the wrong thing.

And so did I.

"Security footage shows April walking out with Petra and the twins," Grisha says, rushing back. "Found our men knocked out in the broom closet."

" Blyat' ," Yuri curses. "You don't think Petra…?"

"There's nothing else to think," I grit. "It was Petra. She took April."

Everything inside me is raging: the man, the pakhan , all of me. Right now, that separation is gone. All that's left is bottomless fury and the urge to scorch the earth.

And something else, too, that I don't dare name.

April's in danger. My child is in danger.

If I can't find them ? —

That's when I feel something under my bleeding hand: a pamphlet.

I pick it up and turn it over. It's the Mallard Expo, the fashion event June was going on about earlier. On the front, a diamond-studded dress with a sparkling tiara.

The winning piece will be on display from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm on the day of the exhibition.

Then I remember something else. Something Petra said before storming out this morning.

"‘I'll make vor on my terms,'" I whisper, pieces finally falling into place.

Yuri frowns. "What was that?"

"I know where April is. I know where they both are." Everyone in the room turns to me. "Grisha, stay on damage control. Keep the vory occupied and unaware. Yuri, with me."

"Yes, moy pakhan ," they both reply in unison.

As I'm striding out, I hear someone call out to me. "Wait!" June rushes up to join us. "You'll bring her back safe, won't you? You'll bring them both back safe?"

I don't even give myself time to think about it. "I give you my word."

And this time, I won't break it.