Chapter 29

Avgust~

"S eriously, Pakhan," Maksim drawled out. "Just go get her already."

Maksim and I were both at Lullaby's, and we'd lost our asses at blackjack because neither of us had been able to concentrate on cards when Nikel Ovchinnikov was on his mind, and Samara was on mine. Despite how we'd left things, Samara Andreev was still the only woman that I had ever loved, and she was also the only person that could tie me up in knots like this.

I eyed Maksim over my glass of vodka. "I thought that you didn't like her?"

"I don't," he answered honestly. "At least, I do not like what she did to you fifteen years ago, nor do I care for what she's doing to you now."

"While your loyalty is much appreciated, I am the one that let her go both times," I pointed out.

Maksim arched a brow. "And how are those decisions working out for you?" he asked flippantly, his insolence shining bright.

I couldn't stop the smirk on my lips. "You know, it is your fault that I am in this mess. She overheard you talking about my non-existent wife and children."

Maksim rolled his eyes at that. "I'm not the one that said he wasn't going to marry her," he shot back.

"I only said that because I knew that there was no way in hell that she'd ever marry me," I retorted. "At least, not as long as I was holding her captive."

"Did you explain that to her?"

"No, I didn't," I retorted. "She was too busy chaining herself to a cage to get away from me, remember?"

Maksim leaned back in his seat, the entire room laid out before us, our eyes always on the door. "Just go get her," he repeated. "While she might not be my most favorite person, I still know what she means to you."

"She'll hate me if I go get her," I pointed out.

"She already hates you," he fired back. "What does it matter?"

"Right now, I don't have to see that hate in her eyes every day," I explained. "If I go get her, then that's what I'll be signing up for each morning. You'd know the difference if you'd ever been in love."

Maksim looked horrified by the very idea, and it was enough to make me grin. "Please, do not wish such things on me."

Before we could get more into our feelings like a couple of old biddies, my phone rang, and when I pulled it out of my pocket, I saw that it was Viktor. Before I had assigned him to Samara, he hadn't had direct access to me, but that all changed when I had put him in charge of the most valuable thing in my life.

"Yes?" I said, answering the phone.

"I followed her to an abandoned building on Westchester, but that was over two hours ago, Pakhan," he said, foregoing any salutations.

When I had allowed Samara to go back home, it hadn't been the hardship that she might have believed it to be. By then, I'd already known about the relationship between Masha and Gosha, so I'd known that she'd be safe at home. I had also placed a GPS tracker on their car when I had paid for the repairs, deciding against selling it, and though I had originally done so to make sure that Masha was safe, it had worked to my advantage when I had sent Samara home. So, I had instructed Viktor to always track her, then follow her whenever the car was in motion. No matter what Viktor might be engaged in, he was to drop everything the second that the app on his phone activated with movement of the vehicle.

"What's the problem?" I asked, straightening, knowing that Viktor wouldn't be calling me if he wasn't generally concerned.

"She was dressed very nicely, like she was job searching," he went on. "When she arrived, she was met outside by a man in his mid to late thirties, and while he wasn't dressed in a suit, he was dressed presentable enough. They shook hands, and then went inside the building, and while job interviews can take some time, not two hours. She's a waitress by trade, so what in the hell would she be interviewing for an industrial position?"

"People will apply for jobs that they're not qualified for if they're desperate enough," I pointed out. "I know for a fact that she is unhappy with the current living arrangement at her place, so she's stubborn enough to work anywhere to free herself from that uncomfortable situation."

"Perhaps," he conceded. "However, as I started to feel uneasy about the situation, I decided to drive around the area to see what else I could make of the place, and there are no other cars in the area, Pakhan."

My blood immediately ran cold.

"What do you wish me to do?"

"Get inside that fucking building," I ordered. "I'm on my way."

"It's 1465 North Westchester, the industrial side of the street," he replied before hanging up.

Maksim was already on his feet, publicly checking his gun as if we did not live in the US. "What's going on?"

"I am not sure yet," I answered honestly. "That was Viktor, and it is possible that Samara may be in trouble."

"Ublyudok," he hissed, telling me that he didn't dislike Samara as much as his old grudge might suggest.

Dropping a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the table, we left the Lullaby, taking separate cars because it was always the wisest course of action in case one of the vehicles became inoperable. It wouldn't do to become stranded, especially if Samara had been taken somewhere else.

I wasn't sure how long I was on the road before my phone rang again, and since it automatically synced to my vehicle, I only had to push a button to answer. I also wasn't worried about informing the others of what was going on because I knew that Maksim would handle that part of things.

"Yes?"

"She's not here," Viktor announced, confirming my worst fears. "Her purse was left behind as well as her car, but I searched the entire place, and there's no sign of either of them."

My hands tightened on the steering wheel, and it was all I could do not to lose my shit. "Anything else?"

"There was a black briefcase on a table next to her purse, but it was empty," he went on. "So, I am imagining that it was a prop of some sort."

"What else?"

"I found a tent and makeshift living area, which indicates that someone has been living here recently," he answered. "Though there's nothing personal with any of the items, there's no doubt that someone was using this empty building as a shelter."

A million thoughts raced through my head, and though there were so many theories that could be created, the facts were still simple. "So, someone lured her to Westchester with the promise of a job interview, but there was never a job," I surmised. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Not with absolute certainty," he admitted. "That's just what it looks like from the way that she'd been dressed, their interactions, and the empty briefcase. There is nothing else clerical in the building that would suggest a place to conduct a real interview."

"Keep looking," I ordered. "I will be there in fifteen minutes."

"Of course, Pakhan," he replied before hanging up.

As soon as we disconnected, I called my brother. "Bogdan?"

"Maksim already told us what's going on," he replied evenly.

"I need everything that you can find on the building," I told him. "1465 North Westchester."

"Not a problem," he promised. "However, what if there isn't anything on the surface?'

"Do what you can," I instructed as calmly as I could. "If you cannot find anything substantial, then I'll call Sartori and see if we cannot borrow Morocco Carrisi again."

"Of course."

With that, he hung up, and I knew deep in my gut that he wasn't going to find anything significant on the building. If a homeless person was taking up residence there, then it had to belong to a corporation that didn't care about its value anymore. While the Sartoris, O'Briens, and us owned a lot of property in the state and most of Port Townsend, we didn't own everything. So, if a transient had made the place their home, then it was probably safe to say that it was a building long ago forgotten and neglected. Plus, since brick and stone buildings weren't subjected to the vulnerabilities of wooden structures, they didn't need to be checked on as much.

When I finally pulled into the parking lot, dusk was hitting the sky, and it wasn't lost on me that it might be harder to find Samara once it got dark. However, I had no doubt that we would find her. The alternative wasn't acceptable to me.