Once I told my uncle that I was committed to finding Natalie and Maisie, and that I intended to keep them, he acknowledged that I could use all the Orlov resources that were available to locate her as soon as possible.
Andre was already on it. He’d been on it while I was still out with George—who had killed the Popovs and returned to assist in finding Natalie and Maisie. But Andre’s help kept me in check, preventing me from losing it. He and I had grown up together, so close in age, and he was more than a cousin. More than a fellow Orlov man. At times, he was my closest confidante and best friend. His presence at this rough time allowed me to count on him like I could no other. He’d be right there with me so I could succeed in finding my woman.
And to find Maisie too. If I allowed myself to imagine that young girl afraid or harmed, that rage would take over me.
Maintaining a level head was my best chance to help them at all, and Andre was my partner to rein me in. Roman, too. My younger brother didn’t hesitate to step in and lead another crew to look for them.
We checked her apartment first. That was a no-brainer, but she wasn’t there. Roman followed up with the babysitter, tracking her down closer to campus to question her without freaking her out.
Andre and I headed out to the streets. All night long, until dawn crept close, we painted the night with blood. Capturing Popovs and even the capos for Roberto Giovanni, we questioned soldiers and leaders. We struck ruthlessly and interrogated them without mercy.
No one owned up to knowing about Natalie, which was a lie.
No one confessed to knowing of any capture of her, which also had to be a false answer.
She couldn’t have anywhere to go to hide this well. Not even with that bartender she’d worked with—we looked.
No one pointed a finger at any criminal organization to lay blame, and that was the least hopeful part of it all. Usually, someone would rat another out and it would be a clue.
But it ended up being a pure stroke of luck for us to finally drive in the direction of where Natalie and Maisie were held.
One of our men listening in to the police dispatch line alerted us to a 911 call. An older woman, one of those bored, lonely, cat-loving busybodies who lived near Little Italy, had called ina concern about a woman with a young girl screaming on the sidewalk. From her window, she witnessed a woman and girl be abducted, and she swore on her life that the men snatched them away into a van. Since she was such a true crime documentary viewer and an avid fan of murder mysteries, she knew to pen the plate number down. It tracked to the location of a Popov operator, and we were on our way there.
Andre and I had been riding together all night, but now Roman joined us in the kitted-out SUV.
“We can go in first for you,” my brother suggested.
“The fuck you will.” I was itching to see Natalie again. Alive. Unharmed. Maisie, too.
“You don’t want a careless mistake to cost you,” Roman said.
I glared at him.
“He’s right,” Andre said.
“You’ve been at this all night,” Roman said. “You’re running on fumes.”
“So are you. You’ve been on this all night too and you’re just as exhausted.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m the night owl. I’m fine.”
“I’ll be fucking fine when we get there and get them back,” I snapped.
Andre shook his head this time. “He’s right. You’re too close to this. Thinking emotionally instead of logically. Your reaction time isn’t what it should be.”
I grunted a weak laugh. “Shut the fuck up. Come in with me. Becausenothingis going to stop me from going to get Natalie and Maisie and see that they’re safe again.”
Andre and Roman shared a glance.
“What?” I barked. “What is it?”
“She might not want to see you,” Andre said bluntly. “If she heard those guards talking about your being connected to her husband’s death, she might not be as receptive to you as you might think she will be. Even if you’re coming to save her, don’t get your hopes up that she’ll be happy to see you.”
I didn’t want that negativity in my mind, but he had a point. Of course, he had a fucking point. In a life-or-death situation like this, I couldn’t be scared about that.
“She can hate me all she fucking wants,” I said as I got my gun out of its holster as we pulled up to the building. “Just as long as she’s alive to be angry with me.” I looked them dead in the eye, daring them to argue with me. “I’d rather her hate me and be alive than dead.”
With that final statement, we rushed out of the SUV and stormed the building. Numerous men came with us as backup. They screeched to a halt at the curb and filed in.
