Frowning, I text back.
Melor and his team are good. Some of our best, which is why they’re assigned to my mother.
The cursor blinks at me mockingly. It should take Melor less than thirty seconds to answer.
Sixty seconds.
“Excuse me,” I say to Adam, rising from the table.
“No problem,” he says, slapping my shoulder. “Just be back for your best man’s speech.”
Father catches my movement and rises abruptly, leaving his conversation with the deputy Mayor mid-sentence.
We meet at the exit. “Mother’s team hasn’t checked in for nearly five minutes,” I say as we stride down the hall. Servers press themselves up against the wall to avoid us.
Father taps his phone. “Report.”
Silence.
Footsteps echo behind us as Roman and Alexsey catch up.
Melor's voice crackles across Father’s speaker. “Situation compromised. Daniil and Ivan are missing. Entering the bathroom.”
I hear the splinter of wood as he kicks in the door.
“Sweeping the bathroom. Mrs. Morozova is here, she’s uninjured. Two other females are bound and gagged.”
I break into a run, rounding a corner so fast that a couple in front of me let out a shriek as I race past them.
“Checking the stalls.” Melor’s emotionless voice continues. “No sign of Miss Blue.”
No. Fuck!
The splintered door is hanging by one hinge.
The ladies’ room has a blue velvet couch where Lorraine and Lula Grand are seated, zip tied, eyes wide over the duct tapecovering their mouths. My mother is against the wall by the row of gold and silver sinks. The window above her is shoved open. It's high up so they had to have dragged Ava through it.
Father pushes past me, working the tape off Mother's mouth and she draws in a deep breath. “Two men,” she gasps. “They were hiding in the supply closet.” She nods at another open door. “Daniil cleared the bathroom, but that door was locked. They took Ava out the window.”
I take her hands, “How long ago?”
“Less than three minutes,” she says.
Someone must have gotten the tape off Lula's mouth, because she lets out a scream that rattles the window. "Oh, mygodwe could have died! We could be raped and murdered-"
Hoisting myself up, I swing my legs over the sill. The alley is empty in both directions. Cursing, I drop, landing on the ground in a crouch. Roman follows me and then Alexsey.
“You two go right,” I say. “I'll go left.” We all take off, racing through the darkened alley. I have a gun in a concealed holster that my jacket covers, and my knife strapped to my calf. They’ll be enough.
This being the Ritz Carlton, it isn't the typical dismal Manhattan alleyway, populated with dumpsters and rats. It’s well-maintained with tubs of ornamental trees and a clean, paved driveway. There’s a valet stepping out of a Porsche and I slide over the car hood and grab him by the jacket.
“Two men and a woman, have they passed by you?”
He points to the left.“They went into the hotel’s private garden,” he stutters.
“Is there a public exit out of there?”
“Y- yes, but it should be locked-”
