Page 6 of Broken Embers

3

OLEKSI

My breath catches in my throat, and fear jolts through me at Clyde’s words. I open my mouth to press him for more information, but his phone buzzes. Elena jumps at the noise, and I feel her little heart speed up as she lets out a soft wail.

“Sh, sh, sweetheart,” I coo. “It’s okay.” Syd finds the pacifier and hands it to me. Within a few seconds, Elena settles down with a bit of a glare at all of us for having disturbed her before closing her eyes and cozying back into my chest.

My attention turns back to Clyde, who is scowling at his screen, before looking up at us. “That was my contact in Moscow who was helping me look into Lidiya Zorin and just found an address linked to a birth certificate buried under Soviet-era security protocols.”

“Where?” I demand, my heart jolting. This could be a lead that gets us closer to finding where they took Sabrina.

“A farm near the southern Russian Black Sea coast. Close to a port town called Gloubaya Bukhta.”

I know the place instantly. The memory of it comes at me hard and fast. “I know that little shithole town. It’s not far from Dragunov Village or my Uncle Dmitri’s Golden Palace.”

Syd crosses her arms, a skeptical arch to her brow. “Fuck me, do you think Dmitri’s involved?”

I exhale, long and hard. “I sure as shit hope not.” My eyes narrow thoughtfully. “We’re on better terms now that he’s not trying anymore of his shit with hostile takeovers of the Mirochin Bratva.”

“Or the world,” Ivan reminds us.

“Yeah, we had our own Doctor Evil not so long ago,” Lev snorts.

“Let’s hope it’s just a fucking coincidence this farm is located so close to both my uncle’s palace and Dragunov Village, one of our family’s loyal towns.” While I don’t want to believe Dmitri is involved, I can’t rule it out, although my uncle has never been a fan of the Russian military or government. “If not, at least we have some place to lay low while we figure things out.”

“Does this mean we’re going to investigate the farm?” Syd’s eyes light with excitement.

“Fucking damn straight we are,” I reply with vigor. “There must be some connection.”

“I’m all for it,” Lev says. “But how the fuck do you plan on getting us out of here?” Lev asks. “RMSAD is watching us. We can’t just walk out the front door and take the SUVs as they’re sure to follow us.”

I stare him down. “We’ll get out of here without them seeing us.”

Clyde taps his phone and looks me in the eye. “I know a contact who can get us out of Moscow. But I have to warn you, the ride won’t be comfortable.”

“I’d travel on the back of a fucking donkey that has a penchant to bite or buck if it means finding Sabrina. I don’t give a fuck about comfort as long as it gets us to our destination fast and undetected.”

Clyde nods, turning to his phone. “I’ll make a quick call. Get ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” he warns, and walks toward the front door that my men are currently fixing.

I barely have time to process his words when Magda appears, her eyes wide with shock at the mess my men are trying hard to get back in order.

“What is going on?” Magda asks, and Syd quickly fills her in on what happened. The color drains from Magda’s face, but she gives a quick, sure nod. “Where did they take Sabrina?” Her eyes meet mine.

“That’s what we are going to figure out,” I reply. “And the reason I’m going to need you to keep an even closer eye on Elena and don’t stray too far from any of us.” My eyes move to Lev. “Lev, you are now Magda and Elena’s shadow.”

“Right, boss,” Lev says with a nod.

“We need to pack for a trip out of town,” I tell Magda as I gently unstrap the baby sling, reluctantly handing my little niece to her while trying not to think about my other child, the one growing inside Sabrina. “

“Of course,” Magda says to Elena. “We’ll be ready in no time.”

She turns and walks upstairs, and Lev is about to follow when I stop him. “You need to get ready as well.”

“I’ll do that for him,” Ivan offers. “Right now, with these fuckers watching us, it’s best to have Elena watched at all times. We don’t know when they’ll figure out Sabrina was lying about who our little angel is.”

I hide my smile at the use of his words, our little angel, as she’s become a priority to my team now, who I know will protect her with their lives. Which, if anything happens to me, at least gives me some peace of mind.

Two hours later, we’re stuffed into the back of an old delivery truck and on our way to the south coast, which I know is going to be a brutal drive in a death trap. We haven’t even gotten to the worst part of the drive yet, and the truck feels like it’s bouncing straight off the road. Its engine is groaning at the pace the driver is pushing it.

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