“I can’t just leave, not right now.”
I grab her shoulders and give them a squeeze. “You can. Right now, Anya.” I look around us to make sure no eyes are on us. “Now. You have to go now.”
“But –”
I give her a little shove toward the cars. “Now!” I hiss.
She takes a step toward the cars, keeping her eyes on me, and then another, and she’s looking at the party. She doesn’t say a word as she fully pivots and makes a brisk walk toward the parking lot. And then she’s out of sight, and I’m praying to God that she gets to Miles and my people before anyone else here notices she’s gone. I can’t have them looking for her. It won’t end well for her or for me.
I stand there for a moment, gathering my thoughts and what exactly I just did. Nix is going to be so mad that I’ll be lucky if I survive him by the end of the night.
I swivel and make my way back to the boathouse, eyes straight ahead but seeing nothing but Anya running in my mind. Nix will just have to deal with it. I’ll never live it down, but at least Anya and her family will be safe. I hope.
I almost miss it, that familiar gate, the cologne, that disheveled hair from the person walking by me, wearing a mask. Too lost in my thoughts, I dismiss it immediately because what my subconscious is trying to tell me can’t be true.
My strides slow as my brain tries to force something on me, and just as I’m about to turn around to finally listen to the organ, something slams on top of my head. Pain sears me, reverberating down my spine. I crumple to the ground, seeing grass and a pair of nice black leather shoes before all goes dark.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Feenix Blaylock
For the past half hour, I’ve been pulled away from doing what I’ve really wanted to do: Go to Charlie and tell her what she’s doing is a terrible idea. I know exactly what she’s doing. She is trying to convince the Russian woman to let her help her. But every time I make my way toward the door to do just that, I’m pulled away by some matter or another.
I growl under my breath as I take care of another problem, all of which Andre should be doing, but Andre has been MIA for the past twenty minutes. I know exactly what he’s doing too. He does it at every event, takes a woman or a man into some dark place and fucks them whether they want it or not. Like his minions, he takes what he wants.
I finish the task and stride toward the door with purpose, glancing once out the window. And then my heart stops, and I pause in my reach for the knob.
Charlie isn’t standing there.
There’s no curvy, curled-haired woman standing there, and there certainly is no red-headed Russian. There’s only the waves pushing against the dock.
No one is standing there.
I growl under my breath as I grab the knob and yank it open. She’s going to be in deep shit when I find her. Not only did she promise me she’d stay in sight, but she just couldn’t help herself but find a way for Anya to get out; because that’s exactly what she’s doing. I know it down to my bones.
I stride across the dock, past the point where Charlie said she’d be, and out onto land. I stop and survey the people around the fires, but when I find that she isn’t there, a terrible feeling settles in my gut.
Where the fuck is she?
Panic rises in my throat because, if she’s not here, she would have to be inside, and she would have connected with me again. I’d been all over that boathouse, doing Andre’s bullshit, and not once did I run into her.
She would have found me. I know she would have. She would have at least tried to stick to our rules in some fashion or another, even if she did get Anya out undetected.
Undetected.
Fuck. My eyes widen despite trying to keep outwardly calm. What if she got caught sneaking her off to freedom?
I run a hand through my hair. No, that couldn’t be it. It would have been brought to my attention. But someone has her. She isn’t roaming around on her own, schmoozing with the party members. I could see the fear about doing so when we talked about it, when we settled on not talking to anyone unless spoken to.
No, I know down to every last lit nerve in my body thatshe’s in trouble. And I also know the one man who would know exactly where she is because the bastard has his hand in everything.
I pivot and stride back inside, unable to hide my intentions from my expression. As soon as I’m inside, the party folds back around me, and I push through the groups of clients, making my way to the bedrooms up the stairs.
I shove open the first room and find it to be an immaculate office and completely empty of anyone. The second one has two masked couples who shout at me before I close the door. When I approach the third room, I hear sobbing within, and I know I’ve found the right place.
Heart thundering in my chest, I take a step back, lift my foot, and kick the door open.
And then I take in the scene before me.
