Page 46 of Sinful Union

Vlad whips his head toward Piotr. “What the fuck?”

Piotr leans back in his chair, completely at ease. “When Pavel’s dead, you can have your daughter back.”

Rage floods through me. I lunge across the desk. I don’t care about the consequences, don’t care about anything except ripping him apart. Vlad grabs me, holding me back.

I snarl at Piotr. “You promised me time!”

Piotr shrugs, rolling his eyes as if he’s bored. “You’ve had enough time.”

My blood runs cold. “This is kidnapping.”

“Perhaps. But who are you going to tell?”

My chest tightens, a mixture of fear and fury taking over. My heart screams at me to do something, to protect my daughter. “If anything happens to Ana, I’ll kill you myself,” I hiss.

Piotr leans forward. “If you’re so willing to kill your own brother, you should have no problem killing your husband.”

The smug dismissal in his tone causes something in me to snap. I start screaming as Piotr waves a hand through the air and two men appear. They grab me and drag me toward the door.

I fight—kicking and twisting, punching one in the stomach—but that only causes their grips to tighten. I scream louder, doing all I can to break free of their grasp. Vlad yells at them to let me go. One of them grabs his arm and twists it high behind his back, rendering him helpless. The other one pulls me downstairs and roughly pushes me into the living room. Vlad is right behind us, the other goon shoving him hard.

“You’re not to go upstairs,” one of them says, “neither of you.” Without another word, the guards leave the room. I watch as they take position in front of the staircase, forming an impenetrable wall.

I whirl toward Vlad. A long moment stretches between us, heavy and suffocating. My stomach twists, paranoia sinking its claws into me. I take a step back, my hands trembling. “You knew, didn’t you?” I snarl. “You knew Piotr was going to do this.”

His eyes widen, his nostrils flaring. “What?”

“You’re working with him,” I yell, rage and betrayal twisting in my chest. “You—”

Vlad’s expression turns to stone, pain shadowing his eyes. “You really think I’d do that?”

I cross my arms, desperate to steady myself. “Piotr took mydaughter.”

“Myniece,” Vlad adds, stepping closer. “How could you think I would help him use her as a fucking pawn?”

I pause, trying to catch my breath, trying to wrap my mind around this new reality.

Vlad shakes his head, exhaling sharply. “You’re losing it, Kat. I can understand how desperate you must feel right now, but I would never do that. Never. And you know it.”

My throat tightens, my heart aches. He’s right. Vlad might be a lot of things, but he isn’t anything like Piotr. I inhale slowly, trying to force oxygen into my lungs. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to think right now.”

Vlad nods. “I get it. But I promise you, I had no idea about any of this.” He steps forward, gripping my shoulders. “We’re going to find her. Together.”

I close my eyes, willing myself to believe him. Then I open them, meeting his gaze head-on, and say, “I need to go.”

“No, Kat, not in this condition. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t be,” I snap. “I’ll be in touch.” With that, I grab my keys and storm out before he can say anything else, tears burning my eyes at the thought of my missing girl. But I’ll get her back.

No matter what it takes.

Chapter 21

Kat

The moment I step outside, the sharp winter air cuts through me, but I barely feel it. My pulse is a constant roar in my ears, my breath coming fast and shallow.

Don’t cry. Not here. Not where he can see.

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