“Of course.” Rachel takes out her phone and sends a text.
We wait for a few moments, but there’s no return text. Rachel tilts her head and stares at the screen then looks up at my brother. “It’s weird for Zoe not to answer.”
Stroviak has no reaction other than to pull his phone out and send his own text. Then he stands and hands the baby to his wife.
“I’ll see you later, Raven,” he says, then turns and walks away.
I fall in step behind him, my concern shifting. Was it just an innocent shopping trip, but now something’s gone wrong? And wrong how? Egorov?
My body tenses up. I promised to protect her. If anything has happened to her while I was sitting around talking with C Crue, I’ll be fucking furious.
By the time we reach the hall, the guys are back in the meeting room. McCann, who’s standing at the front, glances at his phone and then at the two of us. McCann looks at me rather than at my brother and says, “They’re at the movies.”
My frown deepens. “What movie? Where?”
“There’s a theater in a town nearby. Zoe went shopping. She took Natalia with her. They’re fine.”
In a movie. Phones probably off or on vibrate. That’s why no response, I tell myself. My thumping heart slows.
To McCann, I don’t say anything at first, but my scowl probably speaks for me. “Do they have someone with them? A security detail?”
C’s eyes study my face. “Yeah, there’s someone with them. Why?”
“And they’re coming back after the movie, I take it?”
“Of course.” McCann’s eyes never leave my face. I glance around and realize that, along with McCann, both my brother and Trick are watching me closely.
I retake the seat I sat in earlier.
“Is it a problem that she went somewhere without your knowing?” McCann asks.
I don’t respond.
“So, yes,” McCann says. “Why is that?”
It’s none of his business, so I just say, “I like to know where she is.”
Sasha speaks to me in Russian. “The bodyguard is only there to protect Zoe. He doesn’t have orders to stop your girl if she decides to take off. If there’s a reason to keep her from disappearing, you should tell us.”
I don’t think Natalia’s planning to run, so I shake my head and say nothing.
Sasha moves closer and lowers his voice, even though he’s speaking Russian. “What are you worried about?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to know where she was.”
“There’s that,” he says. “And something else.”
Shrewd. This is part of why they’ve been successful. They don’t leave questions, or threats, unaddressed. It might not hurt to tell him about Egorov, but I don’t trust that it wouldn’t be used to leverage to justify their taking Natalia. I still don’t know why they want her. It’s hard to believe they’re concerned about the well-being of a random girl they just met. One possibility is they know she’s acting as a pet, and they see her as a beautiful girl they’d like for their stable of prostitutes who are willing to be used for kink. The thought of another man touching her sends a river of ice through my veins, and my expression hardens to match it.
When I don’t continue the conversation, Stroviak turns and looks at Trick, then he walks over to him and McCann. They exchange a few words before Stroviak walks out.
I glance at the doorway. He could be going back to his wife, but I doubt it. Would he go after Natalia and take her somewhere else? I doubt that, too. He may go to this nearby town to make Natalia an offer without me there, but I know how that would work out. She’s willing to play my pet, barely, but this is a one-off. A girl who would rather clean houses than strip isn’t going to become a sex worker.
I want her back at Fenmore with me, so if Stroviak’s headed to the movie theater to retrieve her, there’s an upside to his mission.
My gaze goes again to the doorway. I’d like to go and get her myself, but storming into a movie theater seems a bit much when she and Zoe have a C Crue bodyguard with them.
Natalia’s phone is working, so she’ll call or text me when she gets out of the movie. When she does, I’ll know from talking to her how she is and whether I need to go and collect her.
