With This Secret

Former attorney general of New York to reveal

shady dealings with Russian conglomerate!

The reporter went on to explain that Sarah Dale, called for the meeting an hour earlier, to answer a claim that she had been in bed with the Ivankov conglomerate and how the company had through this tie, avoided prosecution from the authorities.

My heart dropped into my stomach. Now things were beginning to fall in place. I turned away from the TV screen. “I need to borrow your phone extremely urgently please,” I said, my eyes no doubt filled with panic, but I tried to keep my voice even.

The redhead turned to me with a scowl. “Look,” he began sternly.

I didn’t let him continue, “Please, please,” I begged. “I need to contact someone immediately. It’s a matter of life and death. I promise you’ll be saving someone’s life.”

With a long-suffering sigh, he unlocked his device and passed it over.

I took the phone gratefully. “Thank you so much.”

He stared at me curiously. “Go on then. Make that life and death call of yours.”

The only person’s phone number I had off the top of my head was Aldie’s and my dad’s. Levan’s I had no clue of, and definitely not Bogdan’s. The frustration was all-encompassing. I looked at him. “I might have to make two calls, but they are both very important.”

Before he could say anything, I quickly dialed Aldie’s number. I don’t know what I expected, but I felt pain when I reached her dead number. I glanced up at the redhead.

He still sat, looking at me with a disappointed expression.

“Just one more number,” I said and dialed my father’s number. To my shock, it rang. For the first time since he had last sold me off, his phone was on.

I waited, digging my nails into my palm and praying to every God there was, that he would pick up.

He did, his voice extremely cautious as he said, “Hello.”

“Dad?”

“Bee?” he asked surprised. The relief in his voice was colossal.

“Dad,” I called. “Where are you?”

“I—uh … I-I can’t tell you that right now, baby, I’m so sorry. Actually, I can’t even stay on the phone long. I just switched it on to get a contact.”

I was suddenly filled with crippling disappointment and fury towards this man and all the damage he had caused me. Everyone else other than him was fighting for me. I looked at the television and saw the one person who didn’t owe me anything in the world about to be ruined, and all because of me. I was certain that somehow, Bogdan had contributed to this.

“I want Bogdan’s phone number,” I said sadly.

“What?”

“Don’t ask me any questions. Just send it to me. Right now!”

“You’re not with him? What’s going on?”

“Just please send it! He’s about to fucking kill Aldie!” My voice ended on a sob.

I never cursed, especially not at him, so at the rage … he immediately complied. “Alright.”

I ended the call, took a deep breath, then I turned towards the boy.

His eyes were as huge as saucers now.

“Just one more call,” I said.

He nodded speechlessly.

His phone pinged and I handed it to him so he could retrieve Bogdan’s phone number for me.

A few seconds later and I was on the call to the beast.

He answered in Russian aggressively, and impatiently.

“Bogdan, this is Bianca,” I said expressionlessly. “Come pick me up. And if you lay your hands in anyway on my best friend I will find a way to kill you myself.

29

Levan

I sat alone in the car park of the hospital, my head resting on the steering wheel. Soon, it would be dawn.

I had needed the time to think, to resolve the current dilemma that my life was about to shatter and crumble beneath me.

A sob choked my throat as I thought of her. Bogdan couldn’t get to her before I did … he just couldn’t. He fucking couldn’t. I couldn’t allow it. I felt as if I’d been stripped of everything. Nothing mattered anymore except finding her, saving her.

I pounded on the steering wheel in fury.

It startled the men who were waiting outside. One of them walked up to the car window.

I didn’t bother rolling down the window or acknowledging him. With a flick of my hand, I waved him away and turned to pick up my phone to call Maxim. He would know what to do … he had to. I wasn’t equipped to deal with psychopaths like Bogdan. My first instinct was to play fair, but Maxim had been dealing with men like Bogdan from the time he was seventeen.

He picked up on the second ring.

“Maxim,” I said, and my voice sounded distraught and inconsolable. “I need to find her before he does. If he does, I won’t be okay. I won’t be able to move past this.”

He was silent for a while.

“Please, Max. I’ll owe you big time. I’ll do anything.”