I sighed. Leave it to Ronan to know what I’d been referring to. “He killed my sister, Ronan.”
“And he’ll pay for that, but you won’t be anywhere near him when it happens. You’re one of the first people the cops will point the finger at.”
“They won’t make the connection,” I insisted.
“Yes, they will,” Mav said softly. “We have a source who works for Interpol. He’s confirmed that Petrov is already on their radar and that an arrest is imminent. He’s also confirmed that a body was discovered in one of Petrov’s known dumping grounds – the body matches Maggie’s description.”
I felt my heart sink. Even though I’d believed what Silver had told me about seeing Maggie die, a tiny part of me had wanted to believe he’d somehow gotten it wrong.
“You supplied DNA to the Berlin police, so they should have confirmation that it’s Maggie within a couple of days. If the time comes, I’ll go with you to claim the body,” Ronan said gently.
I managed a nod. “Petrov’s got ties to the Kremlin. We all know he won’t serve a day behind bars.”
Mav and Ronan exchanged glances. “We’ll be taking care of that. But the police will connect Maggie’s death to Petrov. You’ll be their first suspect if something happens. The plan is to use them as your alibi.”
“Who, the Berlin police?” I asked.
“You’ll be at police headquarters in Berlin answering questions about your sister when Petrov is terminated. We’ve already got someone in place. He’s just waiting for the order,” Mav explained.
“It’s the surest way to keep you with your family, Jace. Nothing, not even revenge, is worth risking losing Caleb and Willa, is it?” Ronan asked.
I automatically shook my head. He was absolutely right.
Which meant I had to rely on these men to take care of everything. To give my sister justice, to help me bring her home, to keep my new family safe, to make sure I came back to them… it was a hefty ask, but I already knew what my answer was.
“Tell me what you need me to do,” I said.
“We’ll keep you in the loop on everything, Jace,” Ronan vowed.
“The kid who saved Willa,” I began. “We need to get him out of there if he’s still alive. His name is Silver. He said Petrov wouldn’t kill him for helping Maggie, but I’m not sure if that’s true or not. But if there’s even a chance he’s alive—”
“We’ll look into it,” Ronan said. “The man who’s going to take Petrov out should be able to give us that information.”
I didn’t ask how they were going to manage any of that, because I didn’t care. I just wanted to find the young man and do for him what he’d done for me and my sister.
The sound of Baby’s nails clicking on the linoleum had me looking over my shoulder. The big dog had spotted Caleb as he was making his way toward us. That ridiculous flip-flopping sensation in my belly that always seemed to happen around him had me climbing to my feet. He walked right into my arms and I didn’t give a shit that Mav was watching as I leaned in to kiss him.
“Everything okay?” I asked, because I could feel the tension in him.
He nodded. “Willa’s asleep. Eli’s with her.” To Mav he said, “Eli wants to talk to you.”
Mav instantly stood and hurried from the room. He patted Caleb on the shoulder as he walked past.
“I need to talk to you,” Caleb said nervously. “Ask you something, really,” he murmured.
“I’ll just go call Daisy,” Ronan said as he smoothly excused himself.
“Can we go for a walk?” Caleb asked as he motioned to the back yard.
“Sure.” I took his hand in mine and led him from the house. Baby came with us. I noticed him take off toward the woods. Moments before the big dog reached the tree line, a man stepped out and knelt down to greet the dog. I smiled because I had no doubt the friendly animal had gotten in the habit of checking out all of Ronan’s men who were guarding the perimeter of the property.
I led Caleb down to the beach where I knew we’d have a littlebit of privacy. Ronan’s men would still see us, but they wouldn’t be privy to our conversation.
There was a huge bleached-out log sitting about a hundred feet up from the water, so I led Caleb to it and sat down. When he didn’t automatically sit down next to me, I assumed he was feeling stressed enough that he didn’t want to talk face to face, so I was about to offer that we sit on the sand so he could sit in front of me, but he surprised me when he stepped over my legs and settled his weight on my thighs. I automatically put my arms around him to support him.
“What is it, baby?” I asked when he remained quiet.
“I’m not fixed, Jace. I wish I was, but I’m not. No matter how many times you tell me you aren’t leaving me, my mind refuses to believe it.”
