My heart drops to the pit of my stomach, and my throat tightens.
Be careful with your words, Joe.
“Your sister is here with us, yes,” I say cautiously.
“I got back from my trip, and she was just gone. No one knew where. The house was empty, and she wasn’t answering her phone. What the fuck kind of game are you playing with me? What the hell do you want with her?” he snarls.
“Misha, I believe we can resolve the misunderstanding if you…”
“This isn’t a misunderstanding. This is kidnapping!” he shouts, aggravated. I realize that nothing I say right now is going to calm him down.
“Did she marry four of you?” he demands.
“Yes,” I admit quietly.
“Is Artur one of those four?” he says, his voice constricted with anxiety.
He didn’t even seem bothered about her being the wife of four Pakhans. His main concern here is that one of them is Artur. Why would that be the most important aspect of all of this?
Kidnapping, forced marriage, four husbands…and he’s more worried about Artur being near his sister.
“Yes, Artur is one of us,” I say slowly.
“Joseph, you need to listen to me very carefully. That man cannot be near my sister,” he pleads.
There is something so much bigger going on here. Something Artur has been keeping from us. It might also explain his dark moods and persistent difficult attitude toward everyone. It might explain why he’s so cold and aloof and so fucking stubborn.
“What did Artur do?” I ask, getting right to the point of my concern.
Misha sighs heavily, letting the breath slowly push from his lungs.
“Just give me my sister back, Joseph,” he demands.
“Can we meet?” I ask. Because I want to know what’s going on. I want to get to the bottom of this.
“Yes, when?” he answers quickly.
“Give me a few days to sort some things out, and I will call you back. I have your number.”
“Please, let Maria call me. This is my new number. I texted it to her when I got it, but obviously she had already lost her phone at that point,” he says.
“Okay,” I answer, unsure about whether or not I will be able to allow her to call her brother. “She’s safe here, Misha. No one will let anything happen to her,” I reassure him.
“With Artur around, you can’t make that promise.”
“I am making that promise. I will make sure he does nothing to her,” I say.
After the call, I stand alone in the kitchen again. Sipping my coffee, I think about what he said and how tense he was about Artur. I don’t like the guy, either, but my gut is telling me there is a lot more to the story. In fact, I know nothing at this point. But just because Misha hasn’t aggravated me face to face doesn’t mean that he’s the one in the right here. There are always two sides to every story. Perhaps three. His,his,and the truth.
That’s why I asked for a few days before I meet up with Misha. I want to look into him. He might be hiding things, too.
After the call, my adrenaline has spiked, and I’m much more awake when the phone rings a second time.
“Yes,” I answer. It’s my warehouse floor manager.
“Sir, there was some feedback on the attack we had two days ago. We have some evidence pointing to a suspect,” he updates me.
“Go ahead, send me the info, or better yet, tell me now,” I demand.
