Page 85 of Deadly Vows

“It’s Romelo,” he says.

I take the phone from him, making my way out of the warehouse to my waiting car as I answer.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I think I found something that could lead us to her,” Romelo says.

For the first time in weeks, relief floods over me. “What?” I ask.

“There’s a pawnshop in the next state over that has her wedding ring,” he says.

My anger rises, but I force myself to keep a level head.

“She ran away?” I ask.

“Not likely. The owner said an older woman brought it in to sell. She didn’t want it back. I tracked it to someone named Sophia Petrov.” Romelo pauses, waiting for me to catch on.

“Russian?” I ask.

“Yes. Followed her for a few days, and it took a while, but she’s a lackey of the Sokolov’s,” he says.

My heart dips as he reveals one of the worst possible outcomes of this.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Very. The factory she works at isn’t a factory. It’s their most popular auction house,” he says.

I lean against my car for support as the air feels like it’s been ripped from my lungs.

“Why would the Sokolov’s take Elise?” I ask in confusion.

If they are involved, they know who she is. They know the damage that comes with taking someone of my caliber’s wife. It would mean war. And seeing as I have more influence in this world than them, I can bury them alive.

“I think it goes beyond that. It goes higher than the Sokolov’s. Ivan is in deep with some higher-ups,” he says.

“Fuck,” I murmur again.

I shift my attention to Enzo as he exits the warehouse. He looks like I feel. Exhausted. He broke down when news of Elise reached us. And I know why. I remember the argument they were having just as I entered the kitchen. I’m sure he regrets leaving things like that.

“We’ll meet you at the auction house,” I say.

“Do you want me to reach out to Ivan?” Romelo asks.

“No. We’ll show him I can be worse than whoever he is in debt to.”

The Pasquinos don’t deal in human trafficking. There’s no moral high ground behind it. I am aware of how many innocent lives have been taken because of my dealings, but still, I find it disgusting as I look around the now cleared auction house. We spent the better part of the morning taking the auction house down. Now, it’s only a matter of finding this Sophia woman and waiting for Ivan to arrive.

I quietly step past the shivering women who have been rounded up. They’re dressed in little clothing with makeup slathered over them as they waited for their fates this morning. My men stand quietly around them, their eyes trained forward as they wait for my command.

“Find their homes,” I say before making my way deeper into the auction house. The silence is stifling as I pass the large auditorium, which must be where the main event happens. It takes all of my willpower to control myself as I imagine what Elise must have gone through.

I continue down the dim hallway until I reach a back room, where I hear the whimpering of more women. As I push the door open, I immediately recognize a difference between the women here and the women we set out front.

Romelo and Nicolai stand at the center of the room where an older woman sits, her eyes defiant until they recognize who has just entered the room. She tries to keep a brave face, but the closer I get, the more color drains from her features.

I study her quietly, enjoying the fear she releases without me speaking.

“Ivan will make you pay for this,” she says.

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