“I know what he is,” he says bitterly. “What the hell were you thinking, Mireille?”
“Dad, please—”
He pushes to his feet and starts to pace. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, Mireille. The Balshovs are dangerous. All of them. And if he’s anywhere near you, it’s not because he cares, it’s because he’s using you.”
The words hit like a slap.
That much is true. I heard it myself. But that doesn't make any of what you’ve done right.
“Dad…what are you going to do?”
He looks like he's about to say something, but then his phone starts to ring. He hesitates for a second, then walks away with his phone in hand.
Chapter Four
Dmitri
Something’s wrong.
The feeling starts as a flicker at the base of my spine and grows until it’s a pounding in my chest I can’t ignore. Mireille should’ve been back by now. Anya told me she went to the bathroom about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes ago, but still hasn’t returned.
I set down my drink and scan the parlor. Viktor is checking his watch—we need to leave soon if we’re going to make Anya’s curtain call. Anya herself stepped out to take a call from the opera house. Sergei is nowhere to be found.
“Have you seen Mireille?” I ask Viktor.
He shakes his head. “Not since before we met with Alexei.”
The unease in my gut sharpens into something colder.
Alexei emerges from the hallway, frowning. “We need to leave in ten minutes, or Anya will have our heads.”
“Mireille’s been gone too long,” I say. “Something’s not right.”
His expression shifts, the social mask dropping. “How long?”
“Twenty minutes. Maybe more.”
I search the guest bathroom first, but it's empty, just like all the other bathrooms in the house.
Cold dread slides through me.
I check the kitchen and terrace. Still nothing.
Viktor appears at my side. “Any luck finding Mireille?”
“She’s not here…anywhere.”
He straightens, his easy expression vanishing. “She’s missing?”
“I’ve searched everywhere…all the bathrooms. That’s where Anya says she went.”
Alexei joins us then, already reading the tension in my face. “Sergei?” he asks.
“Don’t know where he is either.”
That gets his full attention. He turns toward Viktor. “Check the garage. See if his car’s still here?”
Viktor disappears and returns seconds later, shaking his head. “No. Gone.”
