I looked beyond the blocked diesel. A massive cloud of dust and smoke hovered over the restaurant’s demise. Further off in the distance, I saw more buildings dressed in a blaze of horror. Only in this area, the sky had darkened from bright blue to black. Flames danced all over the neighborhood.
I thought about what Kazimir had told me long ago.
“I would destroy the world, if it would calm you.”
Almost every car on this block had been set on fire. They were no longer vehicles. The paint had darkened. The windows burst and shattered. They were black metal skeletons glowing in bright orange bonfires.
People screamed and ran on the sidewalks.
Huge trucks barreled down the streets.
Several fire trucks raced by.
One headed to the restaurant.
Another turned right.
The other veered left.
Several police cars arrived and stopped in front of us.
Louis got off the phone. “We’re going.”
Two police cars surrounded us as the limo sped away.
Fuck. So close. So goddamn close.
Chapter 3
Kazimir
Misha had hired a man named the Devil to get my codes back from Celina. Somehow, the codes had fallen into Celina’s, niece’s hands. Her name was Eden, and she was the same niece that Jean-Pierre had stalked and fallen in love with.
I didn’t know how he’d gotten Celina’s niece. Even odder was how the codes ended up with Eden. None of it mattered. Misha discovered the codes were stolen. The camera’s in Uncle Igor’s castle showed Celina stupidly taking them, along with jewelry and a suitcase of gold bars. Apparently, she didn’t think Igor would be leaving her anything in his will.
She was right.
Igor’s men told Misha about the theft. Misha hired the Devil to get them back.
It was all a domino effect of idiots. And somehow it landed in my bedroom last night.
The Devil had no problem finding the codes. Misha had personally put new tracking devices on them.
The Devil took Eden—the unlucky niece with the codes. Jean-Pierre’s obsession. The Devil retrieved the codes but decided that he didn’t want to return Eden. Jean-Pierre had become such a popular man that even the Devil despised him.
Misha had flown to Paris to deal with the Devil.
Jean-Pierre was smart. Had he not involved Emily, Misha would’ve killed the Devil and Eden with ease. There would have been no reason to keep her alive. She had been involved as soon as the Devil kidnapped her. He would have thought she knew too much.
Misha’s fuck up, caused as much trouble as Jean-Pierre. They’ll both pay as soon as Emily is back with me.
Misha would not feel physical pain. I couldn’t do that to my cousin. But I would torture him some way. There had to be a price to pay. Misha had caused the deaths of innocents in America, and now in Paris. Had I been involved; this would’ve been dealt with quickly. And not one woman would’ve needed to be taken.
The least he could have done was get the Devil’s address.
Misha had tracked him fast. Hacked into all of our phones, and delivered the address.
But where are you, Misha? Hiding behind your computer in some room in Paris?
Although the engine hummed, silence hit the jeep. Everyone had their guns out. I held two in my hand. I was ready to shoot anybody. Ready to kill anyone to get Emily back.
Here we go.
The jeep entered a peaceful neighborhood. The kind that families chose to raise their kids. Several big houses outlined the roads. All buildings appeared to hold at least three to four bedrooms. Not high end architecture. Very middle class.
Lots of families here. How did my codes get here?
If only the neighborhood knew the danger around them. Such a nice peaceful place that could balloon into chaos within seconds. We had heavy weapons with us. I was confident that Jean-Pierre had his own artillery waiting within the shadows.
I’ll try to keep these families safe, but. . .
Families. That word made me think of Emily. We were supposed to be finding out if she was pregnant. We had been considering starting our own family.
Don’t think about this. If you do, you won’t be able to focus.
I tightened my hold on both guns.
A minute later, we stopped in front of the house.
A red sedan pulled up and parked behind us .
I glanced over my shoulder. “Who’s that?”
“A black guy,” Pavel said. “I don’t know. Perhaps, more of the mouse’s men.”
I squinted and gained a better look.
Maxwell stepped out of the sedan, wearing a black suit. Dread covered his face. Dark brown skin and hazel eyes, he looked the same, besides the black ring around his right eye.
Who punched him in the eye?
For some reason, my spirit brightened for the first time. I hadn’t realized how alone I felt. And looking at Maxwell’s broken face, I could tell he was just as miserable as me.
It gave me some comfort that someone else was missing Emily as much as me.