Chapter 26 - Leon

Arriving at the venue, Cindy sent coordinates for, I thought she would be waiting. The waiter showed me to our table and brought a glass of wine. I assumed that she might have gone to the bathroom and waited. After a while, when the waiter passed by, I called him closer.

"Excuse me for asking, but have you seen the lady who arranged all this?" I asked.

The skinny young man rubbed his chin. His hair stood in all directions, and he appeared confused, but he could at least answer me. "She went outside just before you came in. I haven't seen her since."

Thanking the young man, I wondered where she could have gone. I paid for the bottle of wine and stepped outside. Glancing around, I saw that the antique store was still open, so I went inside.

An elderly man was seated in the very back, looking at a piece of jewelry through a magnifying glass. Walking towards him, I looked around. The place was empty except for him. The man looked up as I came to stand beside him.

"Can I help you, sir?" he asked in a crackling voice.

"Sorry, I was wondering if you have maybe seen a young woman this evening?" I inquired in a gentle tone.

"No, sir," he replied sharply. "If I had, I would have been blessed, but no one comes here anymore."

"Life is tough. Thank you for your time," I added and left. Standing in front of the store, I scanned the area. Everything was quiet; there were no people except for the ones in the restaurant, and there was no traffic.

I went in, had another glass of wine, and waited half an hour, hoping she would return. Cindy didn't show. I called Mila and confirmed that I had the right place. I tried Cindy's phone, but there was no answer.

Heading home, I tried calling her from the carphone, but her phone kept diverting to voicemail. Arriving at home, I felt my heart beating in my throat. Something was wrong but I didn't know what. I was dialing her number as I entered the kitchen.

Mila stood by the island and turned to me as I came in. The look on her face was worried, and I had not seen that look much. Cindy's phone went to voicemail again. I ended the call and placed my phone in my pocket as I stepped up to Mila.

Touching her shoulder, I asked. "What's the matter, Mila, what happened?"

She glanced at the floor as she swallowed hard. Looking up again, she spoke gently. "Kiera isn't just a scientist Leon."

"Okay, then, who is she?" I asked, a little confused as to the relevance of this information.

Mila sounded stressed as she conveyed the details of what she had found. "She's the daughter of a rival mafia group. One of the Morozov's enemies, and I think we stepped into the middle of it. More like, Cindy stepped into the middle of it."

"So, taking Cindy is retaliation?" I asked, sitting down. My body felt cold as reality sank in. "We need to do something, Mila. We have to get her back!" I added as I stood and headed for the door.

"Leon," Mila called after me. "Where are you going? We don't know where she is."

Turning back to her, I continued as more ideas came to mind. "No, we don't but we do know where their focus will be, and we're the next targets."

Just then, Piotr joined Mila in the kitchen. "I've made an appointment with Ashan; I'm sure they can assist."

"Right," I said, holding the door open. "I'm coming with you."

Piotr nodded at Mila and walked out the door. "We can take your truck, less issues of driving separate vehicles," Piotr said as he walked with me.

Nodding, I got in and started her up. I felt anger and despair as we drove to the gambling den. But I knew if anyone could help, it would be Ashan.

We found him and Jamie upstairs, where we had our last meeting. Ashan ordered us drinks, and we sat down with them.

"Okay," he said. "Let me know if the detail I have is correct. I understand from Jamie that Mila said Kiera is the daughter of one of our rivals, and they have taken Cindy?"

"Yes, I believe so," I replied hastily.

"Slow down, brother," Piotr said, squeezing my arm.

Ashan glanced at Jamie before continuing. "I am sorry, Leon. I know how it feels; believe me, it takes a lot to stay focused. But you have to. If you want to save Cindy, you must be one hundred percent, you hear me."

Nodding, I swallowed my words as I wanted to scream at them. I knew it wasn't their doing. It was mine. But I was determined to save her and would do whatever Ashan wanted.

"Right, we will do a search and see what we can come up with. We can only assist to a point, though." Ashan added.

"We appreciate any form of help, thank you," Piotr said, rising. He pulled on my jacket, and I stood up, unsure why we were leaving as I wanted to wait for the information.

"We'll be in touch soon," Ashan said as Piotr pushed me out of the gazebo.

Piotr nodded and headed for the stairs, pulling me along with him. Glancing back as we reached the stairs, I saw Ashan and Jamie also heading out. "Why are we leaving? Can't we wait for the details?" I inquired, pulling back from Piotr.

He stopped, turned to me, and took hold of my shoulders as he spoke. "No, give them time and space to do their thing. I know you want to move, but all operations take time, you know that, Leon."

I did know, but it felt like time was standing still. Lowering my head, I breathed in deeply. Piotr tapped my shoulder and moved down the stairs. Following him down and out, I kept replaying everything that happened. If I'd been early, I could have prevented this. I should have asked Mila to stay with her. Getting into my truck, I slammed the steering wheel. I should have protected her.

"Hey, calm down, brother," Piotr said, getting in. "We'll get her back safely."

His words weren't calming, but I started the truck and drove back to the mansion. The rest of the day was a blur. It was only in the early morning hours of the next day that I snapped out of the trancelike state I had fallen into.

I was sitting on the veranda, blowing the steam from my cup of coffee when Mila came out smiling at me. "Ashan came through, we know where she is."

Her words had barely left her mouth before I was up and headed in, shouting back at her. "Where, where is she?"

Mila followed closely. Piotr and Konstantin were in the kitchen, strapping their weapons as we entered. Picking up one of the guns displayed on the counter, I checked the clip and cocked it before shoving it into my belt. Turning to Mila, I spoke louder. "Where is she, Mila?"

"We're all going. Just give us a second, brother," Piotr spoke from behind me.

I waited impatiently, tapping my toes for them to finish. Mila and Piotr took their bikes. Konstantin and I followed in his Mustang as we drove to the address Ashan had sent.