28. Mikhail

28

MIKHAIL

I stand in the doorway of the damp cell, staring at the lifeless body of Maxim Ivanov.

"Do you think we should send him to Igor as a message?" Feliks asks.

The bullet wound in his shoulder makes his movements a bit stiffer, but Feliks takes it without complaint.

According to Carlo, the hard ass pulled the bullet out himself before taking down four of Igor's men.

It's why I keep him around.

"I want nothing more than to do that. But I can't risk Lucia's life like that. It would start an all-out war."

Anton shakes his head. "I think we're past worrying about that. This fucker took out Massimo and is coming for your bride, Mikhail. Not to mention your half-brother too."

I rub my hand over my jaw as I look at Maxim's body.

Anton and I locked him away in one of the underground cells until we decide what to do with him, but I'm running out of time.

Igor likely already knows we took him, and I can't risk him storming my family's residence again .

I look at Feliks. "Take him to Igor's warehouse. Make it look like he's been there the whole time. As much as I want to take credit for ending this fucker's life, I need to be sensible here. It will send enough of a message to Igor without directly linking his death to us. For all he knows, he just got caught in the crossfire and his body was lost behind crates."

Feliks nods.

Antos steps forward. "I'll go with him. You should get back to Lucia."

"Keep me updated."

As I slide behind the wheel, I quickly check my phone to see a few messages from Dimitri letting me know Lucia is safe and that they're heading home as well as an update on Massimo from Lucia.

My body relaxes slightly, a smile tugging my lips as I read her name, and I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms. It's all the motivation I need to get back to Forest Hills as quickly as possible.

But it seems I wasn't quick enough.

I spot the shattered windows immediately, and my blood runs cold.

I slam my foot on the pedal, the gravel flying around my tires as I race down the drive toward the house.

My pulse quickens in my neck as I grab my gun out of the center console and click off the safety.

The smart thing to do would be to call my brothers for backup, but I don't want to waste time that I might not have.

I sprint across the gravel and up the front steps, my gun aimed and ready.

But the moment I step over the threshold, I realize I've walked straight into a nightmare.

"Fuck. "

Bodies of the guards litter the foyer. The place has been ransacked, with end tables flipped over and glass from the windows shattered all over the floor.

I press my back to the wall, holding my breath as I try to listen for any sign of movement.

The house is eerily quiet, the only sound is the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears as I scan the foyer.

From the looks of things, there wasn't much of a fight. This attack was carefully planned, and our guys didn't stand a chance.

Keeping my gun ready, I step out of my hiding place and make myself known to any intruders who might have overstayed their welcome.

"LUCIA!" I race through the house, but the only response is the glass crunching beneath my feet.

"LUCIA!" Storming up the stairs, I run to our room and throw open the door.

Other than the unmade bed, the place is exactly as I left it this morning, with no sign of a struggle.

But that doesn't mean she's safe.

Pulling out my phone, I open up my tracking app and click on Lucia's name.

I might have given her my mother's necklace as a romantic gesture, but it also served a purpose as I hid a tracking device inside the locket in case something like this were to happen.

I just never expected to need to use it so soon.

The icon buffers for a moment before zooming across the city and landing on a location in Brooklyn.

"Fuck!" I roar as I slam my fist into the wall.

Sprinting up the second flight of stairs, I head straight for Alexei's office to check the security footage.

For once, I'm actually hoping that Lucia disobeyed my orders of coming straight home after the hospital and somehow managed to persuade Dimitri to make a pit stop along the way.

I log onto the computer and load up the footage from the last two hours. Switching between the cameras, I watch in horror as I spot Lucia dart from the bedroom toward the stairs. She drops to her knees as the window above her smashes and crawls toward the banister.

Bile burns my throat as a huge figure dressed in black approaches her from behind and slams his gun into the side of her head, knocking her unconscious.

Zooming in, I spot the signature snake tattoo of Alfonzo Morano peeking out from the collar of his jacket.

"You fucking bastard."

I curse myself for being so caught up in revenge that I didn't see the trap right in front of me. Even when I planned for such things, I still allowed myself to get distracted.

Perhaps Alexei was right to hold off on giving me more responsibility within the bratva. It's clear that I can't be trusted to keep a level head when it comes to Lucia and her safety.

I close out the tracking app and open up my call log and dial Alexei.

"I need all of you at the house, now ."

"What's going on?"

"Alfonzo has Lucia. The entire house has been fucking ransacked, all the guards are dead."

"What? I wasn't notified of a break in."

"Seems they hacked the security system but left the camera footage for me to find."

"Fuck."

"I can't find Dimitri either."

"Dimitri is with me."

" What ? He was meant to be keeping an eye on her!" I roar.

"Mikhail, I need you to chill the fuck out. I suggest you go back through the footage while you wait for us to get there."

I must watch the security footage a dozen more times by the time my brothers and Anton arrive at the house. Danil's way of greeting is by pouring me a drink and practically forcing it down my throat.

"Better?"

"Not even a little bit." I glance across the room at Dimitri. "You better have a fucking good reason for leaving her here alone."

To my surprise, my brother only shakes his head, his face grave as his eyes meet mine.

"Not one that will make you forgive me."

Alexei moves to my side and puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Show me the tape."

I grind my teeth and turn my attention back to the computer monitors, rewinding the tapes once again.

My brothers and Anton crowd around the desk and watch the footage of Alfonzo taking out Lucia and throwing her unconscious body over his shoulder.

Alexei reaches forward and pauses it, zooming in on the tattoo that confirms her attacker as Alfonzo. "Fuck."

"I have her location." I show them the live location tracker on my phone. "She's at some house in Brooklyn."

"I'll send the location to Rurik to find out who it belongs to." Dimitri pulls out his phone.

"Does it fucking matter? We all know Igor is the one who's really behind this. "

"Mikhail, we need to know what we're walking into." Alexei tightens his grip on my shoulder, but I shrug him off, needing to put some space between us before I lose my shit.

Getting to my feet, I stalk over to the drinks cart and grab the vodka, pulling the stopper out with my teeth and spitting it out before taking a large swig straight from the bottle.

Dimitri paces before the fireplace, his phone glued to his ear, no doubt in conversation with his own private investigator.

Alexei and Anton watch the rest of the security footage while Danil stays close to my side.

"I'm not a fucking flight risk, Danil."

"Never said you were." He crosses his arms over his chest. "But I suggest you use me as a punching bag and not Dimitri. He feels bad enough as it is."

"He'll feel a hell of a lot worse if anything happens to Lucia."

Dimitri glances in my direction, and I let the fury show on my face.

The last thing I care about is sparing my brother's feelings. I trusted him.

Alexei gets to his feet as Dimitri ends the call with Rurik.

Alexei tucks his hands into his pockets. "What did he say?"

"Alfonzo has been whispering to anyone who will listen that he's involved in a big plan to take us out."

I scoff. "That's not exactly news to us. Two attacks in two days, I think it's pretty clear what the plan is, Dimitri."

"Mikhail," Danil warns.

"What the fuck are we waiting around for? I have her fucking location, so let's go! "

Anton throws his arms in the air. "And walk straight into another trap?"

Alexei's glare zeros in on him. " Another trap?"

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I take another swig of vodka, my eyes burning through Anton's.

"At this point, I couldn't care less what's waiting for us. I'd happily have the blood of a hundred men on my hands if it means getting Lucia back."

Alexei shakes his head. "No one is doing anything without a plan."

"Fuck the plan! I'm going now." I grab my discarded gun off the desk, tucking it into my pocket.

Anton blocks the door. "Calm the fuck down, Mikhail. You're no use to Lucia if you're dead."

"I'd rather die than wait around like a sitting duck while Igor murders her."

I'm about to lunge for Anton, but Alexei steps in front of him.

"I suggest you take a moment to compose yourself, brat. Otherwise, this will turn into a bloodbath."

"Your top notch security system already did that for us."

Alexei's dark eyes darken with anger, but he doesn't deny it.

I know I shouldn't be taking this out on Alexei. I'm only masking my guilt. But the thought of losing Lucia because of my lack of judgment is too much for me to bear.

Not only that, but once Igor learns of the role I played in his son's death, I can only imagine the sort of revenge he'll plan.

He won't stop until he's slaughtered every member of my family, and I'll have no one to blame but myself.

Alexei crosses his arms over his chest. "We need to figure out Igor's angle before we go storming in there. I've already lost too many men because we've been ill prepared."

Dimitri stares at him. "What do you suggest?"

"We need eyes on the location." Alexei turns to Anton. "Find out how many men he has stationed there."

"On it." Anton pulls out his phone.

"We also need to consider the possibility that the tracker has been placed there on purpose."

This time Alexei looks at me, and my shoulders start to sag under the weight of my reality.

"Fuck."

He's right. But I can't just stand here and do nothing. Whether she is there or not, it is a starting point. It might have some clues about where she is if they took her elsewhere.

"You have an hour, and then I'm going to get her, with or without you."