“The man who seems to be behind it all is a guy who lives some distance from us, so it doesn’t make sense. Anyway, his name is Misha Baburin. What’s odd is that he didn’t even really try to hide his identity that much,” the manager explains.
“Dammit,” I growl under my breath.
“Sir?” he says.
“Thank you. Is everything cleaned up and back to normal?”
“Yes, sir. It’s all sorted, and we’re back up and running.”
“Let me know if anything else comes up,” I say.
“Yes, sir.”
The second call only serves to stir up more confusion on the matter. He obviously knew we had her a few days ago, but chose to only call now.
What the hell is going on?
Abandoning my coffee on the counter, I run upstairs to change and then head right out the front door to go for a jog on the beach. There is too much going on in my thoughts, and I have to clear them before I make the wrong choice in how to proceed with this mess.
Running barefoot along the edge of the lake with the sand beneath my feet and the fresh air invading my lungs, I can finally breathe easier.
Slowly, my thoughts clear, and I can piece all the ideas together into something usable.
No matter which direction I approach this puzzle from, it’s Artur at the center of it. He’s the bad apple.
He took Maria for a reason, and that reason may or may not be valid, but the point is that he kidnapped her, and Misha has every right to be protective of his sister. And furious about it.
Artur is the reason my warehouse got attacked this week, and he’s the reason for every bit of animosity in the mansion at the moment.
The longer I run, the clearer it becomes. Artur has to give us answers. He can’t keep us in the dark if he wants to be a part of this alliance. My business got attacked. Whatever secret he’s keeping is going to start affecting all of us. It already has.
But one thing I know for sure…if Artur chooses to leave instead of telling us what’s going on, there is no way in hell I’m letting him take her.
She stays with us.
And along that line of thought…I don’t want to give her back to her brother, either. It’s selfish and unreasonable, but there it is. The raw truth. Possibly a truth I was avoiding and unwilling to accept.
I’m drawn to that girl. I don’t know if her brother is able to keep her safe, or if Artur has good or bad intentions with her. All I know is that I can keep her safe. And I intend to. I won’t let anyone jeopardize that.
She is mine to keep. She’s my wife. Regardless of everything, I have a right to her.
I run until my lungs are burning, then I head back home.
By the time I get home, I have to sit on the bench outside the mansion gates, right at the edge of our private beach.
It takes me a while to catch my breath and cool down.
When I do, I go inside with one thought on my mind: finding Artur and forcing him to tell me what the hell is going on.
I want answers.
And he’s going to give them to me no matter what it takes.
I burst through the front door. I’m hot and sweaty, my shirt pasted to the front of my body.
“Artur!” I shout into the mansion as I enter.
“Joe?” Benedikt answers me in fright. He’s standing in the foyer surrounded by other people. People I recognize.
