As the SUV moved, Everly closed her eyes and prayed. She wasn’t sure what to pray for exactly because she knew freedom would not be hers again for a long time. The best she could hope for at this point was for someone to save her, because saving herself wasn’t in the cards.
Presentday.
Cristian stood in front of the massive board hanging in their office. The faces of twenty women stared back at him. Their eyes filled with a hollowness that threatened to consume them. So far, he and Katya had located many of the women Dmitri Ivanov had trafficked out of the United States—all but these twenty. They had turned over several of the cases that were outside of South America to Interpol. They knew it was too dangerous for them to get involved with anything beyond the ocean. Cristian’s gut churned. He knew the longer it took to find the remaining women, the more likely they would be dead when he did. So far, they had been lucky and the women they had found were alive—messed up, but alive.
His eyes panned back to her. His nights had been filled with restless sleep, dreaming of her image. Anyone else would call him crazy for being so consumed with her, but he didn’t care. Each woman was important, but she was the reason hecontinued to push so hard. He pressed his palm to the colored photo and sighed.
“I promise I’ll find you.”
“Talking to her again?” Katya handed him a cup of coffee as she plopped down on the edge of the desk.
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
“No. I don’t. The moment I saw Matias, my world stopped. And even though I fought my feelings, deep down, my heart knew.”
“Knew what?” Cristian tilted his head at her in question.
“That he was mine, and I was his. Sometimes you have to listen to your heart because your head gets in the way. I’m glad he kept pushing. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
“You think my heart is trying to tell me something about her?”
Katya pressed her hand to Cristian’s chest. “Close your eyes and just listen.”
Cristian did as she said and grew still. The sound of his blood rushing through his veins filled his ears. His heartbeat was a steady rhythm that gave him a sense of peace. As he listened, his mind conjured her face. He could see her clear as day, running along a beach. Her dark hair flowed in the wind as she laughed and smiled.
“What the hell are you doing?” Matias growly voice broke the trance he was under.
Cristian opened his eyes and caught his brother’s glare. He opened his mouth to speak, but Katya cut him off.
“I’m helping him listen to his heart.” She hopped off the desk and greeted him with a kiss. “Now. What brings you to our office?”
“We have a problem.”
Cristian ran his fingers through his dark hair and cringed. “What now?”
“Someone sent this.” Matias handed him a folded paper.
Cristian opened the parchment and read the words. “Are they serious?”
“Yep. Looks like you’ve poked a hornet's nest, Brother. Someone on that board is worth that threat. What are you going to do about it?”
Cristian looked back at the paper before crumpling it up in his palm. “I will not stop because of this petty threat. Whoever sent this doesn’t have the balls to come here and tell us themselves. Nothing will sway me until every girl is found—dead or alive. Their families have a right to know what happened to their daughters, wives, or sisters. And if I have to bet.” He walked over to the board and pulled the photo off the wall. “She is the reason for this threat.”
Matias held the photo, inspecting it before looking at Cristian. “What makes you say that?”
“She’s the only female on the list that has a certain quality men will go mad for. Her value is off the charts and my bet is, whoever this Darby person is…” Cristian hung her photo back on the board and turned. “He doesn’t want us to find her. Not until he's had his money’s worth from her.”
“Then she needs to be top priority. Get Benji to dig harder. We need to make friends with someone who can run her photo through missing persons without raising suspicion at Interpol.”
“I know. Where’s Bastian?”
“Dealing with the vineyard. That place was in such disarray, it’s going to have him busy for a while. The fucking property has over a hundred acres. I don’t even know if he’s inspected all of it.” Matias ran a hand down Katya’s back. “You focus on this. I’ll take care of the mines and that side of things. Katya can help you. I know this is personal for her too.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I’m headed to the warehouse. Call my phone if you need me.”
“Where should we start?” Katya pulled out a chair and sat down.
“I don’t know.” Cristian flipped open the notebook and read over his notes again. “This name… Darby. It’s the key we need.”
“Where was she taken from?”
