"He's alive. Head injury. They took him to Mount Sinai. He's in surgery now."
"And Bianca, my mother?"
"Also injured. Severe but stable. Her assistant was killed. I'm sorry, sir, but we have four dead guards and significant damage to the property. Your siblings have been accounted for, but we're still assessing?—"
"I'm on my way. Keep her room secured. No one touches anything. I want every detail when I get there." I hang up.
Let go of Alexei's stare.
Turn toward the door.
My wife is gone.
Sera is gone.
Gabriel took her.
My pregnant wife. Thirty-four weeks. Vulnerable. Scared.
In the hands of her desperate, unstable brother who tried to sell her once before.
"Adrian." Alexei's voice cuts through the haze. "What happened?"
"My home was attacked. My wife is gone." The words taste like ash.
"Fuck." For the first time, Alexei looks genuinely concerned. "When?"
"I don't know. Within the last hour, maybe." I'm already moving toward the door.
Alexei grabs his jacket. "If Gabriel took her, he has a plan. He'll have taken her somewhere he feels safe."
"I don't care where he took her. I'm going to find him and I'm going to kill him."
"Yes. But first you need information. You need to know how bad the damage is. What happened. If there are any leads." He's beside me now, walking toward the elevator. "Mymen are at your disposal. My resources. Everything I offered still stands."
"Why?" I turn on him. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because Artem Orlov and Gabriel Romano both need to die. And I have a feeling we're going to find them in the same place." His eyes are cold. "You want your wife back. I want my revenge. We can help each other."
"We don't even know if Artem has Sera," I say.
"He may not," Alexei admits. "But if he does, you'll need me." His eyes flash, and I know, without a doubt, whatever happened between Artem and Alexei was personal, and a woman was involved. "He won't care about Sera. If Gabriel becomes a liability, he'll eliminate them both."
The elevator opens. We step inside.
The elevator ride down feels endless. Each floor a countdown to action.
Where would Gabriel take her? How many men does he have? Is she hurt? Is the baby okay?
I push that last thought away. Can't go there. Not yet.
Focus on finding her. Everything else is secondary.
I pull out my phone, dialing Luc.
He answers on the first ring. "Adrian?"
"Where are you?"
