57. Andrey

57

ANDREY

Natalia's phone buzzes as I pull along the curb in front of her office, and she lunges for it like it's her last lifeline. When she drops it in her lap with a frown a second later, I know it wasn't who she hoped.

"Katya still hasn't responded?"

Natalia shakes her head, chewing at the inside of her lip. "She hasn't responded all weekend."

"Maybe she's busy?"

Fuck knows we've been busy. In bed, in the shower, on the kitchen counter. I'm actually not sure when Natalia had time to text Katya. Her hands and/or mouth have usually been pretty thoroughly occupied.

"Shura hasn't spoken to her, either," she says. "No one has heard from her in days."

"They probably just had a fight," I suggest. That would explain Shura's bad mood the last couple of days.

"No, Katya doesn't do the silent treatment. When she's pissed, she screams. We'd know if they got in a fight."

I squeeze her hand reassuringly. "Go to work and try not to worry. I'll look into it."

"You think there's something to look into?" she asks in a panic.

"Just to be safe. I'm sure it's nothing, but I'll go check on her."

Natalia doesn't look convinced, but I am. After a weekend of fucking Natalia absolutely silly, the world seems rosy and harmless and easy to bend to my will. With a hand on the small of Natalia's back, I usher her into the office building.

The moment she's inside, though, I turn to Leonty. "Don't let her out of your sight."

His smile falters. "Something wrong, boss?"

"I'm not sure yet. Just make sure you have eyes on her at all times."

It takes a full minute of pounding on Shura's apartment door before he finally answers. His scowl is far from welcoming. "I'm off today."

No, he's pouting. I knew he'd be hiding out here. He rarely uses the apartment, but we couldn't drag him out of it for two weeks after his divorce. The fact he's here now means Katya really is giving him the cold shoulder.

"You're off when I say you're off."

He throws the door open with a grumble and slumps into the living room. "What do you need?"

"When was the last time you spoke to Katya?"

He whips around, worry eating away his frown lines. "Why? Did Natalia say something? Did she reach out? The last time we spoke was the day you took everyone out to dinner. I was with her earlier that evening and…"

I wait for him to finish his thought, but he seems stuck on a memory. "Shura?"

He snaps out of his reverie and focuses on me. "It wasn't a fight. She was just a little annoyed at me when I left."

"Why?"

Grinding his teeth together, he lets loose a frustrated hiss. "Apparently, I'm not ‘transparent' enough for her. She claimed she had no idea how I feel about her."

He glares at me as though daring me to laugh.

"I spend fucking time with her, don't I?" he explodes when I say nothing. "I take her out, buy her shit, wine and dine her in expensive damn restaurants. What the fuck is that if not—" He breaks off, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

If anyone can understand where Shura's coming from, it's me. For men like us, giving someone our time means everything. We lavish them with gifts and our attention, but we don't talk about our feelings.

"I got pissed and told her that if she didn't realize by now how I felt about her, then she was the stupid one."

I raise my eyebrows. "Charming."

"I'm not good at this shit, ‘Drey," he mutters. "I'm good at fucking and fighting. After Melania, I didn't think I'd ever find myself in this position again."

"You and me both, brother."

Our eyes meet. Understanding flits between us.

"Even if she's giving you the silent treatment," I say wearily, "it doesn't explain why she's ignoring Natalia."

Shura pales. "She hasn't talked to Nat, either?"

"No. And she's?—"

"I'm going over to her place." Shura already has keys in hand and is storming towards the door.

"Before we resort to breaking and entering, let's check in at her office first," I suggest. "According to Natalia, she should be there about now."

Shura growls with impatience, but he agrees with a curt nod.

Fifteen minutes later, when he's sprinting out of Katya's office alone, I know something is wrong.

By the time he gets to the car, I'm already on the phone with Leonty. "Pull Natalia out of work and meet us at Katya's apartment," I order.

"She's not there," Shura pants, buckling himself into the passenger seat. "She didn't call in sick or anything. No one has seen her."

The man is a nervous wreck as we hurtle towards Katya's apartment. Every time we get caught at a light or stuck in a bit of traffic, he looks like he's about to rip his hair clean out.

As soon as I pull up to her building, Shura makes a beeline to the fifth floor. I follow behind him and find him battering his fist against the door of Unit #506.

"Katya! If you're in there, open the fucking door now!"

Glancing down the deserted corridor, I notice someone peering out of the door at the far end. The moment she sees me, she pulls her face in and the door snaps shut.

"Shura," I caution, "I'm not sure we want to draw attention to ourselves like this."

"She's not in there," he declares, whipping around. "We'll have to break down the door."

"First, you need to calm down."

"‘Calm down'?" he growls, his eyes bulging. "Would you be able to calm down if your woman was in danger?"

Thankfully, before I can even attempt to lie, we hear footsteps on the stairs below. I peer down over the banister to see Natalia running up with Leonty at her back.

She appears on the landing, panting and clutching her side. "Well? Is she here?"

Shura shakes his head, the vein in his forehead throbbing.

"Move aside," Natalia commands as she steps between us. "I've got a spare key."

One quick flick of her wrist and the door swings open. Shura steps in behind her.

"Katya! Kat?"

But I know Katya's not here.

The air in the apartment is stuffy and stale. There's a rancid stench coming from the garbage can, which hasn't been taken out in a few days at least.

Natalia seems to be thinking along the same lines. "She hasn't taken out the trash. She always takes out the trash before she leaves. She got maggots once and swore she'd never let it happen again."

Shura disappears into Katya's bedroom, but my eyes stay fixed on Natalia. She looks as pale as Shura.

"Andrey," she croaks, turning to me, "something is not right. She travels for work sometimes, but she would've told me about it. And she would've answered my calls."

I take her hand and pull her to me. Katya's disappearance and Shura's panic makes me want to keep Natalia as close as possible.

"Don't worry. We'll find her."

Before she gets any words out, Shura is stomping back into the small living room. "Her passport was in her bedside drawer," he announces, holding it up. "Her suitcase is still under her bed, too. She only has the one, so?—"

"Someone took her," Natalia gasps.

They look at each other, horrified. I'm not sure who to reassure first.

"First things first," I say, taking control. "We've got to get back to the manor. I'll get the whole tech team on her trail ASAP."

Shura's eyes meet mine. "Andrey?—"

"Breathe, brother," I tell him firmly. "I will find her. Have I ever let you down before?"

His jaw tightens fiercely. "Never."

"Then trust me."