“Who's there?” I yelled out, and no one replied. I tried to remain calm when a shadow-like figure appeared on my left side. I whispered Viktor's name, hoping that I'd get a positive response. Instead, it was a man who walked around outside the warehouse.
My throat was sore, and I wanted to drink some water.
“Come save me Vik,” I said, finally lowering my head in defeat. “Come save me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Viktor’s POV.
“Where's Emilia?” My voice shot across the hall periphery and bounced back to me. My guards stood with their heads lowered in defeat. Something I'd rarely seen. Only Dimitri's head was raised high.
“They took her.” He answered. His voice was as low as a whisper.
“No, it can't be,” I said. “It can't be!”
I raised one of the chairs and smashed it on the glass table until it broke. My breath increased, my pulse raised in agitation. I never had to deal with loss this way. My guards looked surprised, not because of fear but something else.
“I told you to protect her.”
“She ran out of my hands, and the lights went off, boss.”
I sighed, laughing at his petty excuse before I took out my gun and pulled the trigger. The guard fell backwards. He had only one assignment, and he failed.
Across the distance was a groan. Senator Romano tried to stand up from the floor, but he looked weak and pitiful. A welt was on the left side of his cheek. Bruises were planted around hisbody, and his black eye was the only thing that didn't make me punch him.
I raised him up from the ground and sat him on one of the chairs. “I should've killed you when I had the chance. This is all your fault. I blame you for the abduction of your daughter. You're an irresponsible man and a disloyal father.”
Romano didn't say anything.
“Clean this place up, and make sure you bury him where it's safe.”
Romano looked at me, and I spat at him in disgust. “Stupid man.” I hissed. “Now you see the consequences of your gambling addiction. The worst part is that your daughter suffers for it.”
“Take him to the hospital. Make sure he gets good treatment and stay with him till I come. My main focus is on finding Emilia.”
“This calls for a strategic move, brother. You are full of anger right now, and we can't afford to let you throw your emotions at everything. Things like this need time and patience.”
I looked at Mikhail when he mentioned patience. Does he really think that the rivals were patient enough before they took my precious wife?
“They dared to touch what's mine, Mikhail. There's no time for patience. We have to act fast.”
“At least we need a good negotiation to know what move we'll take.”
“That's nonsense!” My voice came out in a roar I didn't expect. “No time for negotiations, Mikhail, only executions. I'm not the type to beg for what's mine, unless you underestimate me.”
“No, I don't. I trust you more than anyone else, brother. I believe your judgment.”
I turned and sighed, trying to hint at the dirty things those rivals would possibly do to my Emilia. No matter what happened, I didn't want them to touch her. If I found out that a lip so much as brushed her face, that would be the end of all my rivals. I just wanted her safety. Emilia was far more precious to me than all the money in the world, but I couldn't let her abduction ruin my countenance. It was obvious they took her because of me, and I didn't mind doing the worst possible thing.
Maybe it's because none of them saw me as a threat. Maybe, just maybe, if I unleashed the hell I had held for a while, I would become the most feared man in the state.
And that's why I loved my Papa. He never got moved by situations as such. He just let them be, and we watched everything die off like it never happened. I didn't know what kind of aura he carried, but it was one I knew I inherited as a made man of the Bratva. The true heir to the union and its fortunes.
“Strange.” Dimitri's voice came in strong. “An unknown caller.”
“Well, pick it up, let's hear what they have to say.”
He picked up the call, and I heard him groan in response. His body movements made me wonder who he talked to. I pray it's the rivals. The urge to grab the phone from Dimitri was strong, but I held back because I didn't want my emotions to get the best of me. A true leader doesn't get moved by emotions. He's moved by wisdom.
