Something inside me loosened. Just a fraction.
“I have some intel that they are planning another one in two days,” Avgust announced.
“Intel or sure news?” Fyodor asked.
“Sure news.”
Fyodor swore under his breath.
“We need to stop it from happening and take these men down in the process,” I said immediately.
“No,” both men said at once.
“Yes,” I shot back. “And I know exactly how to do it.”
“No, Ilana,” Avgust replied. “These auctions are impossible to stop. They happen from time to time, and even if we do manage to stop this one, they will come back again with the next. Flesh trade is common in our world, and even if some families are against it, it doesn’t mean it can ever stop.”
“Avgust, have you forgotten the reason you bought me in that auction? You said I looked helpless and scared, and you wanted to make sure I was alright. Every single woman in the auction is exactly that: helpless and scared. You obviously cannot go and buy all of them, but what you can do is end the auctions and save all of them together.”
“It’s too risky, Ilana,” Fyodor chimed in.
“Not if we plan strategically,” I smiled. “I can go back. They are already on my tail, and I can let them catch me. That way, I can give you guys all the necessary information, and both the Chernykhs and Romanovs will have a motive to attack the action. Me.”
“No,” Avgust said, voice steel. “Absolutely not.”
Fyodor shook his head. “You have lost your mind.”
“You both need to understand the situation. These men are powerful but not as powerful as the Chernykhs and the Chernykh’s allies, and yet you have never been able to stop these auctions from happening, Avgust,” I reasoned, turning to look at Fyodor. “And you, Fyodor, you came to this city to establish your place and power, and pulling down an auction is exactly the way to do it. It gives you leverage and identity.”
Both of them hesitated, still unsure about the whole thing.
“I can’t allow you to risk your life like that, Ilana,” Avgust said, looking at me.
“I will be fine, Avgust. I know you will come looking for me and save me once again.” I took his hands in mine.
“What if I cannot reach you in time?”
“I am sure you will. Please let me do this. For all of us.”
Both Avgust and Fyodor turned to look at one another, a decision forming in their eyes.
“Fine,” they said in unison.
It took only a few seconds for them to leave me all alone in the warehouse. It was empty and cold, but I lay down on the concrete floor, arms limp, breath shallow, filled with pretense. I waited, knowing fully well they would find me eventually. Footsteps echoed on the concrete floor, and someone laughed. Hands grabbed me, and I didn’t move. I had to bring them down. No other woman would ever suffer the way I had. I was going to make sure of it.
Chapter 24 - Avgust
We moved before the city had time to breathe.
That was the only way to take something like this down. We needed to be quiet, fast, and brutal enough so no one left standing would even know what hit them. The warehouse sat at the edge of the docks, a concrete carcass pretending to be abandoned. There were no lights outside and no guards in plain sight. It was too clean. Too silent. Exactly the kind of place that screamed money and arrogance. The auctioneers were smart enough to change the auction location each time, but I was smarter. I had always known people. People who would tell me anything for the right price or the right threat.
And then we had Ilana’s location from the hidden phone she was carrying.
I crouched behind a stack of rusted containers, Lukyan to my left, Timofey to my right. Fyodor stood a few meters behind us, speaking into a burner phone in clipped, efficient Russian. He possessed Romanov efficiency and confidence, which was exactly what I had seen in Ilana as well.
“You sure this is it?” Timofey asked.
Fyodor ended the call and slid the phone into his pocket. “Auction starts in twenty minutes. The buyers are already inside.”
