Page 48 of The Bratva's Forced Kidnapped Bride
“Who wants to know?”
“This is Daniil Fokin.”
Now there was an edge of irritation in his voice. What the actual fuck? For a brief moment, the sun came back out into my world. Maybe it wasn’t the Collective who had grabbed Masha, but her own family taking her back. That meant she was safe. I tried to recall who this one was. Daniil—Oh yes, a brother of the one she worked for up in Silicon Valley. I wanted to shout at him to tell me where my wife was, but I remained calm and aloof.
“How did you get this number?” Just like nothing was wrong at all, and I was merely curious.
There was a long, exhausted sigh on Daniil’s end. “Stop wasting both our time,” he snapped. “I just got off a very interesting call with your uncle. I know all about Enzo’s murder, and I know it was my hotheaded cousin who did it.”
Now it was my turn to sigh, which was better than letting loose with a stream of curses that Daniil might take as aimed at him. So my own family had gone behind my back to cut a deal with the Fokins the moment there was no longer any chance of aligning with the Collective. It had to be Leonid, going behind Miron’s back. Now that I knew Masha was safe, I had the mental capacity to be pissed off until I heard Daniil’s next sharply spoken words.
“Where the hell is Masha?”
They didn’t have her? She wasn’t safe? Suddenly, which uncle was more traitorous didn’t matter. Nothing mattered if Masha was still in danger.
“We only want her back unharmed,” he continued in a more conciliatory tone when I remained silent, lost in thoughts I didn’t want to be having. “We’re willing to let you go on your way after that.”
I almost laughed, but my throat was tight with new fear, the same old fear, but brought back to life after a brief respite. He continued with a mix of cajoling and threats, and I finally cut him off.
“Shut up and listen for ten seconds, Fokin,” I snapped, realizing how ludicrous it was to have such a conversation in a place that was one level shy of being a theme park. Dropping some cash on the table, I swept up my laptop and stalked toward the door, heading for the quiet of my car. “I don’t actually have your cousin. Believe it or not, I want to know where she is as badly as you do.” More. So much more, but he’d never believe that.
What had started as an obsession to get revenge against Masha had turned into something even I couldn’t quite comprehend. That woman was mine, deep in my heart, my blood and bones. None of the pain she caused me in the past would ever stand up against the pain of losing her for good. That would kill me.
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” he asked.
Did I put my trust in a Fokin? I’d already given my heart to one, though she didn’t know it. After a brief, combative back-and-forth, I finally admitted that the Collective had her.
“And they know,” I said. “They think it was either her or me who shot Enzo, so they’re not exactly keen on keeping her alive.”
“She should just tell them you did it,” he said. “Turn your ass over.”
I nodded. She should do that. Anything to stay alive long enough until I found her, but at that point, I figured they’d just as happily accept a two-for-one bargain and kill her even if she turned on me. That wasn’t Masha, though. I knew that in my guts.
“I suspect they haven’t taken her too far,” I said. “I’m monitoring several of them, but nothing that could track to her yet.”
“Why the hell do you care about finding her?” he asked, loathing dripping from his voice. “Can’t have someone else taking your fun away?”
I silently promised to punch him in his face if I ever saw him, but put it at the bottom of the priority list. “She’s my wife,” I said. “She’s mine, so I want her back. Iwillget her back.”
That shut him up for half a second. Then he spoke again, voice trembling with rage.
“Listen up, Ovinko. I swear to everything I hold dear that I’m going to tear your head off as soon as Masha’s safe—”
“Likewise,” I interrupted, about to end the call if he wasn’t going to offer any solid solutions.
“But,” he said hurriedly. “You seem to be closer and could get to her faster.”
“You have a lead on a position?”
Oh, I could tell he was struggling. Should he take a chance and trust that I wouldn’t disappear with her once she was safe? That was exactly what I planned to do, but I kept silent, riding out my impatience.
“We’ve been infiltrating them for a while, and yes, I think there are a couple of viable options in your area. I’ve already sent teams to some of the places here in town, but…”
He trailed off, not able to admit that my new information was helpful. “Send them to me,” I said. He remained silent too long. “She’s in trouble,” I told him. “We can’t screw around here because we hate each other’s guts. Tear my head off when she’s safe, remember?”
I didn’t mean for so much desperation to sound in my voice, but that was all I was at that point. Pure desperation.
“I’ll send them,” he said. “But you have to hold back until my team gets there. I swear I won’t kill you until Masha is safe, but you said yourself we can’t screw around. You have to wait for backup.”
