“When I first saw that man try to take you, I figured he was just some schmuck hoping for a big payday.Someone who thought he could grab Victor Kane’s wife and cash out.”I shook my head.“But after I ran his prints and face through every database and corner of the internet yet still came up empty, I knew it was bigger than that.Deeper.This man was a ghost.You don’t hire a ghost for a routine snatch and grab, so to speak.And then…”
“Yes?”she pressed, urging me to continue.
“Then I went back through her videos.The last one was from Santa Monica right before she’d died.I’ve seen it hundreds of times.Thousands maybe.”I paused, pushing down my frustration over everything.“But this time, I noticed something I’d missed before.A man walking in the background.”I lifted my eyes to hers.“He only looked at the camera for a split second and he kept to the shadows, but it was him.The same man who tried to abduct you.”
“It could have been a coincidence,” she suggested.
“I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Her throat worked around a hard swallow.
“Sarah died shortly after that video,” I went on, forcing out the words that were still hard to come to terms with.“A few months later, the same man who appeared in Sarah’s last video tried to take you.A ghost with no record.The second I saw him in the background, I knew Victor had to be behind it.I couldn’t prove it yet, but I could feel it in my gut.Which I was able to confirm last night.”
“How?”
“After I took care of the men the Bratva sent, one of their phones rang.I answered.Victor was on the other end.Demanded to know what was taking so long.Reminded them he’d paid good money.”
“Maybe he hired them to find me.”Her voice practically pleaded with me to consider the alternative.But there wasn’t one.Not with everything I now knew about Victor Kane.
“We know the man who tried to abduct you was working for the Bratva.What are the chances Victoralsohired the Bratva to find you?Plus, I uncovered these photos from the gala.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket, swiped through the photos Blake sent me, and handed it to her.
“Do you know this man?”
Her brow furrowed.“That’s Maxim Covell.One of Victor’s lawyers.”
“He’s the one who pulled him away at the gala, correct?Before you disappeared into the exhibit where we spoke.”
“Yes.”
“Swipe to the next photo and tell me if you know whothatis.”
She did, her brows furrowing as she studied it.“I’ve never seen him before.Not that I can recall.Who is it?”
“That’s Nikolai Volkov.The Obshchak of the Miami Bratva.”
Her head jerked up.
“And the man you know as Maxim Covell,” I continued, “was born Maksim Kolokov.He’s essentially the Bratva’s front man.Handles their legitimate dealings while Volkov is in charge of theirless thanlegitimate business.Laundering.Bribes.Trafficking.Drugs.Guns.Stuff like that.”
She stared at the phone for several long moments.“So the night before a man broke into your home to take you when your husband was conveniently out of town, Victor was pulled out of a public event to talk to a known criminal.This was planned, Ariana.And Victor’s involved.”
Her eyes fluttered shut.A single tear cut a clean path down her bruised cheek, glistening under the low light, catching on the shadowed curve of her face.My chest ached watching it.For a heartbeat she looked fragile.Like she was about to shatter into a million pieces.Then steel slammed back into place, her expression hardening, her despair replaced with anger.
“Why?Why go through all this?It doesn’t make any sense.If he wanted me dead, he’s had plenty of chances over the years.I’ve lost count of the number of times I was confident he was seconds away from finally killing me.Or is this his way of keeping his hands clean?Allow him to act the part of a grieving husband instead of a murderer?”
“I considered that possibility, too.But I don’t think he wants you dead.That man who tried to abduct you?He could have easily killed you.Same with the team they sent to Maine.Hell, one of them had a hitman tattoo inked across his neck.They were all capable of ending you in seconds.But they didn’t.You saw the messages on the phone.What did they call you?”
Her jaw tightened.“Merchandise.”
Rage burned through me at the reminder, but I forced it down.She needed calm.Logic.Not my fury.
“Exactly,” I said tightly.“There’s another reason.Something else they want you for.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.But I’m going to figure it out,” I promised her, my voice steadier than I felt with all the uncertainties swirling in my head.“Is there anything you noticed about Victor’s behavior in the days leading up to that man taking you?No matter how small or insignificant it may seem, it could help.”
