Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Gregor

It wasn’t easy on Alissa to announce that her daughter was home safe. I knew why, and I stood by her all through the process. For her, I would do no less.

In the end, the press was all over the story like kids on a pile of candy. A feel-good story that also involved a police scandal? Not one of the major channels, feeds, or papers could resist that. Which was how I ended up backstage at a morning show interview, watching my woman and my girl under the hot lights being questioned by a perfectly coiffed talking head who spoke to her like they were old friends.

“So, you went almost a year waiting for the police to find your daughter, and instead they just…closed the case?”

“Suspended it,” Alissa said quietly as she cuddled Michelle on her lap. They wore matching rose-pink dresses and looked cute as hell. “I have the letter here.” She picked it up from the table and handed it over. The interviewer handed it off to an assistant so an image of it could be shown on TV. “But yes. They were less than helpful.” She offered a pained smile.

“And where did Michelle turn out to be?”

“She was in the home of one of the cousins of the people who owned the daycare. They had handed her off to them. That was why there was no security camera footage of the supposed kidnapping. But the police refused to investigate the Ivanovs even though my lawyer said I had a good case against them for negligence.” Alissa’s fingers knotted together nervously.

“And why do you think that was?”

“You would really have to ask the police why they failed us, ma’am,” Alissa said softly, but firmly. “I couldn’t tell you. All that I know is I hired a private investigator right after I got this letter and started a fundraiser to cover paying him. I got far more support and results from doing that than I ever got from the police.”

“And once you hired a private investigator, how long did it take to find your daughter?”

“Two days.”

“Two days,” the woman repeated, brown eyes full of solemn concern. “Eleven months…and two days. That’s quite a contrast.”

“Yes, it is,” Alissa said, wiping a tear.

“How do you feel about how the case was treated by the police?”

Alissa’s gaze lowered. “I don’t think I’ll ever trust them again.”

“That’s completely understandable, under the circumstances. Have they said anything to you about this? Has there been an apology?”

“No, not at all. In fact, I’ve gotten some threats.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “From the police?”

“From one officer in particular. There’s an ongoing internal affairs investigation, so I can’t name names. But he took it personally that I haven’t been quiet about how badly the police mishandled finding my baby.”

“My God.” She turned a shocked look to the camera. It was all theatrics, but I loved it anyway. It was going to drive Alan and the others completely up the wall. But they wouldn’t actually retaliate against Alissa. Not with me around.

They wouldn’t dare.

“So how is Michelle doing after all of this? You said she doesn’t talk.”

“Not much yet. She’s seeing a therapist and a speech specialist, and things are progressing. But it’s only been a week since we got her back, so it’s probably going to be a while before we really see results.”

“What happened to the Ivanovs?”

“It seems like karma got them,” Alissa replied, glancing my way for a split second. “There was a gas explosion at their house behind the daycare. It was in the news. They were home at the time.”

That part was not true. It was the story she and I had come up with to cover for the Ivanovs’ disappearance. Sergei had already found where Vasily had the remaining two holed up. I would be paying them a visit soon enough.

“Karma indeed. And what about you? How are you doing?”

This time, Alissa’s smile was stronger, and she made eye contact with me. “Better.” She looked back at her interviewer, bouncing Michelle on her knee while she giggled. “We’re both much better.”

***

We stopped at a burger place and were waiting for our order to be brought out when Alissa’s phone rang. She looked at it and frowned, then handed it over to me. Another unknown number. That only meant one thing.

I scowled as I connected the call.

“You absolute bitch!” Alan again, his voice breaking with emotion as he immediately went into full tantrum mode. “How dare you! How fucking dare you make me—us—look bad!”

“You did that to yourself,” I replied flatly.

He went dead silent, then demanded, “Who is this? Where is Alissa?”

“This is Gregor Makarov.” My voice deepened with menace. “And I told you what would happen if you caused her any more trouble. So…see you soon.”

He hung up and I handed back the phone, chuckling. “I don’t think he will be bothering you again.” Some men were such thickheaded dolts that they only listened to other men…and even then, sometimes, they had to be reminded.

She smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Gregor.” Her voice lowered. “I hope he crapped himself.”

Michelle giggled beside me, and Alissa let out an embarrassed laugh. At least if Michelle decided she’d picked up a new word, she might be inspired to start talking again sooner. And ‘crap’ was still pretty tame.

Part of me wanted to find Alan and take care of him myself. One less piece of trash on the streets, one less source of stress for my Alissa. But he was under the eye of the police now, thanks to the IA investigation. If he vanished suddenly, people would notice. Some men in my line of work were that blatant, but I wasn’t. Especially if there was any chance that the fallout would land on Alissa.

He might be stupid enough to keep calling. But now, at least, Alissa knew I was ready to run interference whenever she needed it.

We were most of the way through our meal when it was my phone’s turn to buzz in my pocket. I checked it, it was Sergei. “I should take this,” I told Alissa, who nodded, looking concerned.

I connected the call as I walked out. “Give me a second.” I went to my car and shut myself inside. “All right, go on.”

“Vasily is dead,” Sergei said solemnly.

I froze for a moment as my mind processed this. “What happened?”

“They found him ten minutes ago when Ivan was bringing his lunch. He’d hung himself with his shoelaces. He was already stiff when Ivan checked him.”

“My God.” It felt like a punch in the gut. First, he had turned out to be a monster who had misled us all, and now he had offed himself to avoid whatever consequences we would have decided on. “That damned coward.”

“Yeah.” Sergei didn’t seem to know what more to say about it either. “Maybe you should come down. The men are asking for you.”

“Asking for me? That’s new.”

“So’s the situation. How long will it take you?”

“Half an hour. I’m finishing up lunch with my girls.”

That perked him up. “How are they doing after everything?”

“Less nightmares, more smiles. Both of them.”

He chuckled a little weakly. “That’s good news. Has she spoken yet?”

“Not yet,” I said, remembering the picture she’d drawn. “But she makes what she wants known just fine.”

“Good. I’ll see you in half an hour, then.”

I hung up and went back inside to finish my meal.

Alissa gave me a worried look. “Did something happen?”

“Just some things I have to take care of after I drop you at home. I’ll talk to you about it later.” I gave a pointed look at her and glanced at Michelle, and she nodded. Some things were not to be talked about in front of our child. She had lost enough innocence already.

***

The return to Vasily’s house was strange, almost dreamlike. Last time I had been dragged there with my loved ones. Now, I drove myself, alone, and walked in the front door to a silent crowd of men. They parted for me along the hall until I reached Vasily’s office, where Sergei stood beside the desk. Vasily’s curled body lay there, hidden under a sheet.

“Hanged himself.” I lifted the sheet. The laces were still around his neck, dug into bloated flesh. His face was slightly twisted, eyelids at half-mast. I sniffed in disgust and dropped the sheet again.

“That’s what the guys on shift said,” Sergei said, almost too casually.

“Good enough.” It wasn’t, but I didn’t care. There wasn’t a man among us who wouldn’t have been tempted to do the same, and there wasn’t one whom I would have blamed for it.

“What do we do with the body?” Ivan asked. A rustle went through the crowd.

Why were they asking me? I shrugged it off and decided to step up. “Have the cleaners burn him. Scatter the ashes.”

Heads nodded in agreement all around.

“We’ll have to go through his computer and his records. We need to find out what else he was up to.”

Sergei winced. “I’m almost afraid to think of what we might find.”

“I’m not looking forward to this either.” I sighed. “But it has to be done. There could be more victims. More children, still captive. And I’m sure none of us want that going on and associated with us.”

Sergei set his jaw. “No. Of course not. I’ll get to breaking in as soon as this thing is gone.” He barely glanced at the body.

“Good. I’ll help you handle it.” I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I wasn’t going to let him face Vasily’s crimes alone.

***

It was almost dark by the time I got home, and the snow was falling again. I came through the door to smell soup cooking and heard a children’s movie playing. I put away my coat and holstered my gun, then poked my head into the living room. Feodor and Michelle were curled up together sleeping, while her mother dozed next to them. I checked the kitchen, she had used the crock pot. I turned it down and went to look down at her.

She stirred awake and smiled up at me. “Hey, you’re home. Dinner soon.”

That weird, desolate hole Vasily’s betrayal and death had left inside me faded when I looked at her. Finally, I nodded. “Think I’ll have dessert first, though.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Dessert?”

I smiled slowly, then scooped her up and carried her to what was now our bedroom, careful to close the door behind us. She let out a startled giggle as I set her down and started peeling off my clothes.

There was no comfort like the comfort of her arms, like the sweetness of her body. Vasily faded away in seconds when I entered her, leaving me alone with my love. As we moved as one, slowly thrusting toward climax, my troubles fell away, until my only worry was keeping us quiet enough not to wake our daughter.

She moaned into my mouth as her pussy fluttered around me, contractions caressing my length in ways I couldn’t resist. My mind whited out with pleasure as I bit back my groans, and then we collapsed to the bed together.

We all had darkness in our pasts, but as I lay there with Alissa nestled against my chest, my mind did not turn toward the past, but the future. An uncertain future, but bright with promise.