With This Secret

“I’ll find her …” he said and ended the call.

I was about to fling the phone to the passenger seat when it began to ring again and at the sight of the caller, my blood froze over.

His deep, grating laughter filled the air … boisterous and glad, and for the first time — it filled me with fear.

“My Prince. You will never guess the gift I have just received.”

I felt my heart collapse. My free hand fisted and swung, striking the window so hard, my wrist popped, and the glass cracked.

One of the men rushed up to me and I pointed at the phone. He nodded in agreement and immediately hastened to contact headquarters.

I needed to keep him on the line.

Somehow, I got my mouth to move. “Where is she? Can I speak to her?” There was no need for him to allow me to speak to her, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to gloat. ‘

“She’s safe with my men. Hold on and one of them will call you.’’ His voice boomed triumphantly and the call ended suddenly.

A few moments later, my phone rang, and I heard her voice.

“Levan?” She sounded small and frightened.

“Have they hurt you?”

“No,” she replied.

“Okay, just stay on the line with me for a while …” I said to her.

“Levan, I saw that …”

“Don’t say a word,” I urged. “Just know, everything is going to be fine.”

Before she could answer the phone was torn from her hold and the call went dead. I hardened my heart and waited. I knew he couldn’t resist one last gloat. My phone rang and I was back with Bogdan.

“Thanks for this gift, my Prince … oh, and about the press conference … it’s too late to halt that now. Moreover, that bitch needs to work to get her grandson back just as we all have to, to get what we want.” He ended the call with a laugh.

I immediately looked to the guys beyond the windshield, my gaze widened with the question.

Yuri was listening in on the call. Soon, he put the phone away and came up to me. “They couldn’t track her, boss, the call ended too quickly.”

I went still and he knew to walk away. It felt as though the life had been zapped out of me.

I looked ahead but saw absolutely nothing. My phone began to ring again and I picked it up.

It was Maxim. “Levan,” he said. “She’s on Levison Avenue, South River. I’ll send you the full address.”

I started the engine. “I’m heading over there right now.” I didn’t think at all, I just put the vehicle into motion and zoomed off into the darkness. In the rearview mirror, I could see my men throwing their hands up in confusion but I knew they would soon track me.

I beat every traffic light I came across and thirty minutes later, I was approaching the cul-de-sac of an average income neighborhood, when I received another call from Maxim.

“Is there a problem?” I asked. “Has he moved from there?”

“Have you lost your fucking mind, Levan?” His voice snapped over the phone. “You left without backup.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’ve truly lost it if you think you’ll be fine walking into Bogdan’s turf with nothing but your rage to steal back something he’s shown he’s prepared to fight to the death to keep.” He cut the call.

I knew he was right. However, now it was too late for afterthoughts. I was here and kept on going past the address. A few houses down, I cut the engine and made a quick call to Maxim. “How close are your guys?”

“Luckily for you, five minutes away,” he said crisply.

“I’ll survey the surroundings. Get here fast and quietly.”

“Yes, of course.”

Bogdan’s temporary hiding hole was in a modest, split-level house. The same as a simple family of four would be living in, the same as the entire uneventful neighborhood for that matter.

The perfect camouflage.

No movement could be detected in the house. There were a few lights on inside, but nothing could be seen from where I stood with the shrubbery that lined the property. I nearly held my breath as my whole body was throbbing with impatience to go in.

Suddenly, there was movement.

The door opened as a couple of men and a woman I would recognize anywhere, came out. They were on the move.

I unholstered my gun and cocked it.

30

Bianca

“Where are we going?” I asked for the umpteenth time, but there was no response.

I stopped for a moment, but was pushed from behind. I wasn’t expecting it and I stumbled onto the stone driveway.

One of them stopped and knelt beside me. “Get up bitch! You show us up here and that little friend of yours gets a bullet in her head, but not before all of us gang rape her,” he growled softly.