Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Ollie

My men have been on the prowl now for two days, searching high and low for Renata Carerra. There are two things I know for sure: she's not far, and she's betrayed my family.

I've looked in every nook and cranny in Colombia to no avail, but Isabella says she hasn't left Colombia yet, so I keep hunting.

I pace in the living room of my brother Lev and his wife Isabella's Colombian home. They reside in both New York and Colombia, as they shoulder leadership roles as the bridge between the Morales family cartel and the Romanov family's Bratva.

"I can't find her," I tell Isabella, running a hand through my hair. "Maybe she's fled the country."

Every step closer fuels my anger, but beneath it, a darker need coils tight. No matter what she's done, no matter what she still might do—she's mine.

Isabella, a bit older than Renata and a bit wiser, only smiles and shakes her head. "I have contacts, Ollie, don't forget, and I have it on good authority she's here." She takes a long sip from a glass of water. "Trust me."

Fine, fine. I'll trust her.

Jesus .

"I would know," is all she says. "Keep looking."

I'm about to leave when I finally get the call I've been waiting for. "Sir? We found her. I dropped a pin with her location to your phone."

My heart thunders, warring emotions choking me. Relief. She's alright. Rage. The fucking traitor.

Where has she been? What has she been up to? What has she done?

"Put it on speaker," Isabella says behind me. I give her a sharp look as Lev turns the corner. I'm not in the habit of taking orders from someone I hardly know, especially a woman, but Isabella is the one in charge of the Los Sangre Dorada, and she's borderline insane to boot.

My brother levels his gaze at me, so I tap the speaker button.

"They have her." I swallow. "Is she alright?"

Why do I care? She betrayed my family. I don't look at Isabella and Lev when I ask.

"Not that badly. A little beaten up, but conscious." A shadow crosses Isabella's face. In the not-so-distant past, the two of them were best friends.

I frown. This isn't adding up. If her brother was alive and had her in his custody, she'd be dead by now.

"I'll be right there."

I disconnect the call and turn to Lev and Isabella. "You were told about Santiago?"

Isabella gives one sharp nod. "Good riddance." Loyalty to the LSD is of paramount importance to Isabella, for good reason.

"Were you debriefed regarding the conversation I had with him before I put a bullet in his skull?" I take my gun out and check that it's loaded. Isabella casts a quick glance down.

"We're not in the Wild West here in Colombia, Ollie. You must be careful. There are very strict gun laws in Colombia. We don't have the connections and immunity you do in the States."

Fuck.

I grumble and tuck it away.

"No," Isabella says. "I have not been debriefed."

I blow out a breath. "They said Carlos isn't dead."

Lev and Isabella share a look before she glances my way again. "Is that so?"

I look at her in surprise. Did she hear me correctly? Carlos Carerra, Colombia's most wanted next to the late Javier Morales, Isabella's brother, was once thought dead.

"You aren't surprised."

She sighs and shakes her head. "Not at all. I half expected as much. First, it was too good to be true that we ended both my brother's reign of terror and Carlos's in one fell swoop. Second, Carlos is too fucking mean to die."

We'll fucking see about that.

"Bring her back, Lev." Isabella's gaze grows cold as ice. "I need to have a…talk…with my former friend. Woman to woman."

Lev eyes her thoughtfully. I nod to them both and head to the car.

I park a block away from where the pin marked their location, conceal my weapon, and march down the street. My anger toward Renata grows with every step I take.

I have to take her back. If what we've been told is true, Carlos will be on the prowl for her. Hell, he might be the reason she's here.

The two men Isabella assigned to me stand in a darkened doorway at the end of the street. There. They've got her. She's here.

I'm going to whip her pretty ass and tie her to my bed to interrogate her. I'm going to use every fucking tool I have to teach her a lesson she won't forget. I'll make her beg for mercy and crave the punishment I'll deliver, so she knows exactly who she belongs to.

I'm taking her home.

Home.

I don't like being here anymore. Everything feels borrowed and tired. I liked traveling for a while, but it's come to the point where I miss my home. I want my own bed again. I want to see the rest of my brothers and my sister. I want to see my mother. Wanderlust can sometimes make me itchy to move, but I want to be home again.

And I want my own damn bodyguards with me.

They see me coming and give me a wide berth, revealing the small, prone body of Renata on the ground several yards in front of me.

My world comes to a screeching halt, and my mind goes blank. All of my anger. My need for vengeance and blood. My frustration with Renata's escape and my need to make her pay. All of it evaporates.

I take one look at her small, crumpled body on the ground in front of me, and one thought erases all others: mine.

I snap at the men in Spanish. "How could you fucking leave her on the ground like that?" Jesus. It's cold and dirty. "The next fucking asshole who treats her like trash will dig his own fucking grave. She's mine to punish."

One of the men blinks at me in surprise. It takes him a minute to unfreeze. I'm running, my feet pounding on the pavement, when he reaches for her. But when I see him almost touch her, every nerve in my body shrieks.

"No! Leave her. I'll get her."

He looks at me, unsurprisingly shocked at my contradiction. Do I want him to touch her or not? I don't want her on the ground, and I don't want any other man to come anywhere near her. So the next step is obvious.

I fall to my knees in front of her and lift her up. She stirs in my arms and blinks up at me. Even broken, even dirtied and bruised, wearing a tattered top and torn jeans, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Long, glossy dark hair hangs about her shoulders, her piercing brown eyes haunted and sad. The hollows of her cheek make her look thinner than the last time I saw her.

She needs food, water, and a doctor.

Punishment can wait. Right now, I need to bring her back to life.

I lift her to me and tip my hand under her chin. I tilt her head to the side. Her complexion's darker than Isabella's, but even in the dim light, I can see a bruise along her cheekbone and jawline.

"Who did this to you?" I'll fucking kill them. I run my thumb as lightly as I can along her face, checking for marks, but when she winces, I realize even my light touch is too much for her.

Of course she doesn't reply.

"Your brother? Was it your brother?"

Her eyes flutter closed. "Carlos is dead," she croaks out.

I can't tell yet if she actually believes that.

I push to my feet with her against my chest. "You shouldn't have left," I growl and give her a little shake. "You were safe in The Cove."

Safe with me.

"You think I left?" Her voice is silky and soft, and it makes me want to kiss her.

"Don't lie to me, Renata."

My footsteps thump on the rain-slicked streets as I carry her to the car, purring a few paces away. I pause before I slide her in.

Someone's watching. I can feel their eyes on me.

But when I turn to look, we're alone. The two guards follow at a close distance, weapons drawn. Colombia's conceal and carry rules are strict as fuck, but these two don't care. They hold their Brügger & Thomet MP9 sub-machine guns right out in the open. Maybe I don't miss my men as much as I thought I did.

Thunder cracks overhead, followed immediately by a bright flash of lightning nearby. I bend and put her in the car just as the rain picks up again.

I fold myself into the seat beside her as the taller of the two guards takes the driver's seat. "Get us back to headquarters," I snap. "Isabella's waiting."

We drive at a breakneck speed. I watch her out of the corner of my eye. If she says Carlos is dead, there are only two possibilities: she believes it's so, or she's lying.

If she's lying, we can narrow it down further: she's either on his side or she's afraid.

I'll find out the truth. But first… Isabella.

She sits beside me, her back as straight as an arrow, her gaze fixed ahead of us.

I want all the answers. Now.

"Look at me."

When she turns to me, her gaze is sadder than it was the last time I saw her.

"You said you didn't escape. Who took you, then?"

With a shake of her head, she turns away. "You're a fool if you think I can tell you anything, Ollie."

Why does her voice have to sound as soft as velvet? Why does my name on her lips sound like prayer and heartache?

I swallow hard and grit my teeth. "I saw the footage. I saw how you got away from our guards. No one took you."

She looks away.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?"

For the first time, a hint of a smile ghosts her lips, but it flees as quickly as it comes. "I don't know. Why don't you check for yourself?"

My dick stirs at the innuendo.

I can't trust this woman. She's as sneaky as they come.

But I can play right along with her. I lean forward and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Oh, I will. And you won't fucking like it."

She rolls her eyes.

"I want answers, Renata. Who hurt you? You know I'm bringing you to Isabella. She'll demand answers too."

When she doesn't respond, I grip her arm and bring her eyes to look at me. "I asked you a question. Answer me."

I ignore the wince of pain on her face and remind myself who she is. Why we're here. Her sneaking around and conspiring with our enemies put the lives of my entire family at risk. I can't allow that.

"I have enemies, just like you," she says through gritted teeth, squirming to get her arm out of my grip. "You should know that."

"And you ran to them at the first chance, didn't you?"

"They took me. I had no choice."

Fucking little liar. "I saw the videos, Renata. I know what fucking I saw."

We come to a stop outside of the LSD headquarters. Renata shoves her chin in the air and presses her lips together. Are her eyes watering? I look harder, but when she blinks, I think I've just imagined it.

"You're in big fucking trouble for this, woman. You'll pay for your betrayal."

"Betrayal?" she scoffs. "When did I ever give you the impression I was loyal to you? I owe you nothing."

We're wasting time. Her fate, at least for now, lies in the hands of her former best friend, who just happens to be the most ruthless, cutthroat, cunning and loyal woman I've ever met. She'll easily handle the intricacies of this.

Someone opens the door. I step into the rain and drag Renata with me. She keeps up with my long strides, and if she's afraid, she doesn't show it.

Isabella's men stand guard on either side of us, weapons drawn. One of them spits on the ground in front of him.

All of them are loyal to Isabella and Lev, we've seen to that. They believe Renata betrayed them, and for good reason. But none of them will harm a hair on her head.

I keep my face impassive as we march down the brightly lit hallway to the antechamber.

" Traitor ," one growls in Spanish.

"Fuck you," she snaps back. I don't respond, but my pulse quickens. I grit my teeth.

These are Isabella and Lev's men, not mine. We're associated, but they're not under me.

"Lying whore," another snaps.

My face burns with fury. I clench my free hand and swivel my gaze to the men beside us to see who said that, when she glares at a short, stocky man. "At least I didn't suck Carlos's dick to get to where I fucking am."

He lunges at her, and I shove her behind me. I grab him by the shirt and throw him back. He falls back, screaming in Spanish. He knows better than to throw a fist at me.

"What is going on here?" Isabella's sharp voice cuts through the commotion. She stands in the doorway of the office in front of us, her hands on her hips.

"Some of your men don't know how to shut their fucking mouths."

"She's a traitor!" one of them screams.

" Enough !" Isabella's voice rings with authority.

Lev materializes beside her, his voice harsh and merciless. "Ollie has brought Renata here for questioning. Her fate lies in the hands of your leader. Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me. " He stabs a finger in his chest.

And me.

"Into the office," Lev snaps, jerking his chin at me and Renata.

I yank Renata in front of me, push her through the door, and follow behind her. Isabella gives orders in rapid-fire Spanish, and they all disperse. The door shuts behind us with a loud bang.

It smells of whiskey and old wood in here. I'm told it once was her mother's sewing room, and she converted it into an office. Her father's old office has been made into a bathroom. She smiled when she told me and shrugged. "I can be petty like that."

I silently push Renata into a chair and watch her reaction. She stifles the wince. Yeah, she's hurt.

"My friend," Isabella begins in a tone of voice that is anything but friendly, it's downright serpentine. "We have some catching up to do." Isabella Morales Romanova is a force to be reckoned with, utterly, irascibly feminine and as cruel and vindictive as a king cobra. In other words, she's got this.

"Is she hurt?" Isabella asks me.

"Yeah."

Isabella nods and lifts her phone. I expect her to call a medic, but instead she sends a text. "Where is she hurt, Ollie?"

"Not sure yet."

Isabella's eyes cut to mine. "Find out."

Renata's eyes grow wide. I won't strip her in front of my brother. I'd cut his fucking eyes out if he saw her naked, but I can be discreet. I'll have to.

I reach for Renata and draw her onto my lap so she's facing me. The memory of her with me, alone when she was under my watch back in The Cove, floods me. I thought she was on our side and only had to keep her under observation as a matter of protocol. I had no reason to believe she wasn't loyal to us.

I got to know her. It felt sacred and secret, our friendship.

And then she left and ruined everything.

"Ollie," Lev snaps. "We don't have all day."

Renata swallows, and her eyes meet mine. She feels it too.

Good. I hope she knows what she lost. I would have burned the fucking world for her.

"Where are you hurt?" I ask her. "Tell me where it hurts, Renata. And if you fucking lie to me, I'll find every bruise, every mark, and make you confess where each one came from."

She stares at me through gritted teeth. "Go ahead, Romanov. Find out for yourself. Why don't you strip me?"

I narrow my eyes and begin.

First, I run my hands through her hair and press my thumbs to her scalp. Nothing. I run my hands along her shoulders next. Her skin is warm, her lithe, curvy body evident beneath the tattered, form-fitting clothes she wears. I run my hands along the length of her spine, and she winces when I get to her side.

"That hurt?" I ask. She flinches and nods. I press harder, and she cries out. "Right there?"

"Yes, you asshole," she hisses out.

I slap her ass hard. "Behave yourself," I say in a low drawl. "You wouldn't want me to have to punish you in front of my brother and his wife, would you?"

Her narrowed gaze tells me she would not like that.

Too bad. I would.

Next, I run my hands down the length of her legs, ignoring the way my dick hardens at the feel of her skin on my palms. With her facing me, I grasp her hips, circling her inner thighs. I note the way her breathing hitches and the way she bites her lip with a scowl as if she's angry at me for turning her on here, in front of her former friend and my brother, when we aren't friends, and she's being interrogated.

I stroke my thumbs over her breasts, lean in and whisper in her ear. "Does that hurt? Did they hurt you there?"

She squeezes her thighs on my body as if she wants to squash me to death and doesn't respond. I chuckle and keep on investigating. When I get to her belly, she cries out in pain.

I lift her shirt and grit my teeth when I see a mottled mess of bruises on her abdomen and sides.

"She's fucked up all around here." Looks like someone kicked and punched her.

"Good," Isabella snaps. "That's where you'll hold her while I ask her questions."

"Bella," Renata cries out, her voice shaking. "You think I betrayed you? Why would I do that?"

"I know you did. Don't ask stupid questions," Isabella snaps. "Keep your hold, Ollie."

I hold Renata firmly, feeling the tension in her body as Isabella steps closer, her eyes cold and calculating. Renata's breaths come in sharp gasps, her fear tangible despite her efforts to conceal it. Isabella crouches down to eye level with Renata, anger and sadness etched on her face.

"Why do you think you can lie to us?" She grabs Renata's chin and forces her to look at us. "Tell us the truth now, and maybe we'll consider not making this worse for you."

Renata's eyes dart to mine in a silent plea, but she has no ally there. I'm not immune to the look, though, no matter how hard I try to pretend otherwise. I squeeze her side as a reminder to tell the truth.

"I didn't do anything, Bella," Renata whispers, tears brimming in her eyes. " I was the one who told you everything I knew. Please. You have to believe me."

"Then why did you escape?" Isabella snaps.

"I didn't! I was taken!"

Isabella nods at me. I tighten my grasp and press my fingers into her bruised skin. She gasps, a sheen of sweat breaking out on her face.

"We found the messages, Renata. We know you've been in contact with our enemies."

Renata's face pales, and her eyes widen in surprise. "That's not true! Those messages weren't from me! Someone framed me, Bella."

Isabella and Lev share a look. "We saw the footage," Lev says in a low voice that rings with authority. "We know you escaped and want to know why."

"You have to believe me," she says, shaking her head. Isabella raises her hand as if to slap her. I feel a surge of anger but force it down. Now is not the time to intervene. I can't let a pretty face, and a plaintive plea sway me from the truth.

"Hold her tighter, Ollie," Isabella commands, her voice ice-cold.

"I'll tell you everything I know," Renata says, her voice cracking. "I didn't escape The Cove. I was taken… against my will. I don't know what you saw or heard, but I'm telling you the truth. I promise I am."

"Who took you?"

"Your enemies, obviously," Renata snaps. I apply more pressure to her side, and she cries out. Jesus, I feel like a dick, but I want this over with.

"That's all you're going to tell us? What did you tell them about us?"

"Nothing!"

I press her abdomen now, and she hisses in a breath as a tear rolls down her cheek. I'd rather beat a man to death than make a woman cry. I'm well aware it's a weakness of mine, but that doesn't change the facts.

Isabella leans in, her voice dangerously low. "You expect me to believe that? After all the shit we've been through, Renata. After everything I've done for you. You think you can turn your back on me, and I'll just take your word for it?"

Renata shakes her head and doesn't reply. If she's lying, she's fucking good at it. I look at Lev. He holds my gaze and nods.

"Please," she finally says. "I came to you in The Cove. I helped you bring down Javier. You couldn't have done it without me."

Isabella doesn't respond. This is the truth. "They tried to get me to talk. Why do you think I have these bruises? I said nothing, I swear."

Now it's Isabella's turn to look at Lev. He crooks a finger at her, and Isabella walks over to him.

Jesus. I'm glad someone's got a grip on her. They have a hushed conversation, half in English and half in Spanish, but I don't catch what they say.

Renata's gaze flicks to mine. "I don't know why you all believe that you can be victims, that you were manipulated and lied to, but I'm the traitor here." Her gaze pleads with me. "You have to believe me."

I lean in, my voice softer than I intend. "There's too much at stake, Renata."

I can't fucking help it. She's breaking my heart.

The safety of everyone I care for and everything Isabella and Lev built hinges on whether or not Renata betrayed us. I look to Isabella.

"Do we have any evidence that we've been compromised?"

"I'll look," Isabella says, taking out her phone.

"Compromised?" Renata says. "What could I have possibly told them that they couldn't find out themselves? Your location? Well known. Your part in the death of Javier? No one's hidden that. What else would they have asked me?"

Isabella crosses her arms, her eyes narrowing. "It's not just about what they could find out on their own, Renata. It's the details, our plans, the timing. Did they ask about our operations?"

"No! They don't care about that."

"Then why are you here? Why didn't we find your body in a ditch somewhere? They let you go."

She cries out loud now, tears streaming down her face. I can't help it. I'm not immune to her tears, not even close. I look away, but her pleas…

"I escaped. My brother was alive, I saw him. But his own men turned on him, they killed him. I had my chance. I ran, and I hid. And I knew where you had a watch set up."

I turn and study Renata's face, searching for any sign of deceit, but deciphering the truth isn't my strong suit. Ironically, it's hers.

She could be telling the truth. She could be lying.

Isabella shakes her head. "Nothing reported here or in The Cove that would indicate anyone's been compromised."

"See?" Renata says, her voice breaking. She lets her chin fall as fresh tears stream down her cheeks. "I am not lying."

Then why isn't she looking in my eyes?

"What if she's telling the truth?" I ask, my voice calm but firm. "We need more than suspicion to make a call like this, Isabella." We need cold, hard facts.

"Would you be saying the same to me if she wasn't a beautiful woman?" When I look at Isabella, there's a twinkle in her eyes, and her lips quirk upward.

Well, no, but I don't know what that has to do with anything. I discreetly give her the middle finger behind Renata's back, which earns me a chuckle from Isabella and a warning glare from Lev. I give him a look that tells him, Relax, asshole, your wife can hold her own just fine.

Isabella releases a sigh. "Fine," she concedes after a moment of silence. "We're going to trust you're telling us the truth. But if I find out you lied to us, Renata, you'll beg for death before the end…"

She'd better not be fucking lying.

My voice is a low rumble. "One wrong move, Renata…"

Renata's shoulders slump in relief, but there's still a shadow of fear in her eyes. "Thank you. I promise I won't let you down."

Trust is so damn fragile in our word. One misstep and all that we built can come crashing down around us.

Isabella turns back to us, her gaze steely. "We'll release her, but I have conditions. I want her brought back to The Cove, immediately, where we can keep her from any contact with our enemies and make sure she's safe from any insidious blowback from the men here who believe her to be a traitor."

Renata nods, and I do believe she looks relieved.

Isabella turns back to us, her expression stern. "Oh, and one more thing." I look up at her, so damn ready to get back home.

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow, you two will be married." Her eyes are as black as obsidian, cold and merciless. "This time, there will be no escape."