“It’s not on her person boss.” One of the men informed Volkov as he stood up straight and left Dominic bleeding on the ground. He was going to die. The realization hit me like a train.
“Please just call an ambulance for him,” I begged, “I’ll go with you quietly just please don't let him die here.”
“You’ll go with us regardless, my dear.” Volkov said and I felt a prick in my neck before everything went black.
42
“Son of a bitch!” I shouted and slammed my fist into the wall, the plaster cracking away and leaving a gaping hole. The sound of cars driving away and Dominic’s gasping was all that could be heard in the room as everyone stared at each other in shock.
Iknewthat this was a bad plan from the start and what the hell did Volkov mean about my mother?
“How the hell did they make us?” Collins yelled, “Sweep the house for bugs, now.” He ordered and his agents went scurrying with wands. Owen was crying but still managed to pull my fist out of the wall and wipe at the bloody scrapes with his shirt.
“Boss.” One of the agents said a few minutes later and held up a potted plant that had been sitting on a bookshelf next to the television for years, he held his wand up to it and it beeped loudly telling us that there was a bug planted inside of it.
A voice crackled through the walkie talkie that was clipped onto Collins’ belt loop, “Boss, we made it to the scene. It’s not looking good for this guy—he’s lost a ton of blood.”
Collins unclipped his walkie and responded, “Get him to the hospital. We’ve got trauma on standby.” Then he turned his attention to me.
“Who the hell could have put this in your house, Russo?” He asked, holding the pot up to me.
“The only people who come in and out of this house are us and our housekeeper.” Ric stepped in, clearly seeing that I was not quite in a state to be able to answer. “And Rita’s been with us for years.”
“Wait,” Owen spoke up as he dabbed at my knuckles, “Rita was out for like six weeks around the time Eloise came to live with us. Her daughter gave birth and she was helping to take care of the baby.”
“Uh… boss?” One of the analysts said from behind their computer.
“I need the name and number of your housekeeping service that you used to find your temporary housekeeper.” Collins pointed at Ric who immediately opened his phone before heading over to the analyst. I followed Collins over to the computer where the analyst was staring at a moving dot.
“Is that…?”
Collins nodded, “I don’t know how she pulled it off but that is one of our trackers moving towards the foothills of San Francisco.”
“That’s our girl.” I hadn’t heard Gage join us but he clapped me on the back, a determined expression on his face. “She did the hard part, so let’s do our part and go get her back.”
I nodded but continued to watch the dot with a sinking feeling, my mouth going dry. I knew exactly where they were going.
I don’t know how long I was out for. One second I was standing next to Dominic who was bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest and the next I was waking up in an unfamiliar bedroom. The room was almost completely empty except for two dirty mattresses and a bucket. On one wall was an old cat clock that no longer worked, it’s eyes pointing to the door. I decided to avoid thinking about what that bucket could be for. Whatever drug they’d dosed me with was making my limbs feel sluggish and it was nearly impossible for me to roll over and see the other side of the room.
“Do not move so much, the drug will make you throw up if you do.” A woman’s voice advised and by her thick french accent I could very easily recognize the voice as that of Dominic’s grandmother. How was I supposed to tell her that I wasn’t sure whether or not her grandson was still alive?
There was a shuffling down and a disheveled older woman in handcuffs knelt down in front of me and brushed my hair out of my eyes.
“Hellomon chérie, I am Elisabet and you must be the omega that Dominic has told me so much about.” I immediately liked this woman. I was sure that under other circumstances she would be a very put together, elegant woman. Now, however, her curly hair was wild around her head and she had several bruises blooming over her medium brown toned skin, including a black eye that looked as if it had ruptured a blood vessel in her eye and it had filled with red blood.
“Hi Elisabet.” I managed around my tongue which felt thick and rubber-like in my mouth. “How long have I been here?”
“Oh, about forty-five minutes I think? There is no working clock in here, just that creepy cat one..” She shrugged, nodding at the offending wall decoration.
As the fuzziness in my mind slowly began to fade I remembered the ring and prayed that they hadn’t thought to search my boots while I was unconscious. It only took a second until I found it. It had migrated to the front of my left boot and my toes nudged it with relief.
“Do you know where we are?” I forced myself to sit up, my head spinning as gentle hands came up behind me to steady me.
“Non. I do not. I think some kind of house? I know there are lots of trees outside and that it is situated at the top of a hill.” Elisabet shrugged and began to rub soothing circles on my back. I could understand why Dominic loved her so much.
“I…” How was I supposed to tell her?
“If you are about to tell me about my grandson, that is not necessary. That bastard Volkov already informed me of his actions.” She spit a curse in French, “My Dominic is a strong boy. He will pull through.”
