I clench my jaw and set my eyes on him, watching as he absently paces back and forth. I’ve never been in a fight like this, but I know that if I ever want to see my father or Nikolas and Matvei again, I’m going to have to do something to make sure I leave this place alive.
I refuse to die in this house.
27
Matvei
I'm tooling up with weapons at our armory warehouse as Timofei fills me in via cell phone videoconference on what he and our men have turned up so far.
“The CPS agent credentials we picked up from the video screenshots are real,” he informs me. “They belong to a guy named Jeffrey Alexander Rogers, who’s been missing for about six weeks, presumed dead. Brahim probably took him out as soon as he saw the connection to you, and he’s been waiting to use the badge as an alias to get in the house.”
I nod soberly. That checks out. Murdering an innocent civilian and impersonating him just to get close to my home is exactly the kind of thing a depraved lunatic like Brahim would do.
“As far as Brahim himself, he hasn’t been seen since your run-in with him. It all adds up, Matvei. He’s been planning this. It’s all his doing. The Justice Killer, Rogers, Brahim… one huge, elaborate plan just to get back at you. We don’t know why—not yet. All we know is that he has Victoria.”
I tighten my grip around the butt of the pistol in my hand. I haven’t been able to hear it and not tense up since the moment she was taken. Every mention of her reminds me that at this very moment, she could be dead, her body tossed into the trash, courtesy of the same bastard who killed my brother.
I don’t want to believe that she’s dead. For Nikolas’s sake, I can’t accept that. She’s the only other woman in his life that he’s loved who’s loved him back, and I refuse to let her be harmed like Brianne.
But this bastard is good.
He’s been skating right under my nose for months now. I just wish I knew the reason. Like Timofei said, we don’t know why he’s doing this or what he wants with Victoria, but I know that this is somehow tied to me and my family.
It’s always been about us.
There’s no possible way that he isn’t the vigilante. From the way he walked away with Victoria, I saw the limp in his movement. His leg was wounded, like I suspected it would be. But other questions persist.
Has he been watching us? Does he know about our relationship?
Without answers, this remains a nightmare. Timofei and my other men have worked tirelessly, but so far, we’ve made such little progress. I’m on the verge of melting down in fury.
Timofei tells me he’s assigned more men to keep searching. Someone has to have information on the Albanian—his hideouts, his aliases, his allies. Someone must know more about him.
Like, most importantly, where I can find him.
Timofei falls silent.
“What?” I ask. He clearly has something to get off his chest.
“I’m worried that you’re putting too much energy into this.”
As useful as Timofei is, it takes all my strength not to curse up a blue streak. Instead, I squeeze the pistol harder, until it makes my fingers ache. “Why do you say that?”
Timofei clears his throat. “If you’ll excuse my bluntness, what does Victoria matter? She’s just some woman. If he kills her, you can have her replaced. Nikolas will bond with the next one.”
I load a clip and tuck a pistol into my waistband. I still want to wring his throat. But this is what I hired him for, I remind myself again and again. He’s pragmatic. He keeps me level. In check. On any other occasion, I would appreciate his emotionless view.
But this is Victoria. This is the woman that I’ve only just realized I love.
“Victoria isn’t just some woman,” I say through gritted teeth. “Victoria matters more than you could ever imagine. To Nikolas. To me. And I suggest that, if you want to walk out of this room with your teeth right where they belong, you should watch your mouth and do your job. Find where this fucker took her. We’re going to bring her back, and I don’t want to ever hear you question me about this again. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” he says, his hard gaze never leaving mine. He doesn’t waver or flinch. No,