I nod. “Yes. Find out where the son of a bitch ran off to.”
“I will.” He places the folder he’s holding on the table. “Here’s the report you asked for on Elena.”
“What did you find?” I ask, opening the folder.
“She’s clean,” he answers. “No ties to the mafia or any other cartels. No fishy funds in her bank account or suspicious phone records.”
I take out one of the documents and start to skim it.
“This can’t be right,” I mutter. A clean background means I have to let her go. “Are you sure this is accurate?”
It’s a dumb question, and the narrowed glare Artem gives me confirms it. “When have we ever made a mistake? Everything you need to know about her is in there. Unless there’s something else you need.”
There is. I need a reason to keep her with me, but I don’t say that. “They could’ve cleaned her background.”
“All the way to elementary school?” His brows knit. “Not possible, boss.”
It’s possible, as long as it means I can keep her. “We can’t let her go just yet. She knows about us. Releasing her might come back to bite us in the ass.”
There’s a stretch of silence between us for a moment, and as if carefully choosing his words, Artem finally speaks.
“Her parents have filled a missing person’s report,” he says. “They’re pushing for the cops to look into her whereabouts.”
I lean back in my seat. “And?”
He shrugs casually. “The police aren’t pushing hard enough. It’s almost as if they tossed her report in the old stack of unsolved cases and completely forgot about it.”
“Something’s not right.” I sit upright and press a finger to my temple thoughtfully. “Doesn’t it look all look scripted? Elena. Henry. The police not taking her disappearance seriously.”
Artem nods. “I agree. Something’s definitely not right. It looks like someone’s pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Whoever is covering up Elena’s disappearance is behind everything else. The social media posts about her where taken down too, even the one on her mother’s blog.”
“We can’t make any moves until we know for certain what’s happening and who we’re up against. We’re keeping the girl, too.”
Artem looks like he wants to argue about keeping Elena, but he simply sighs after a moment, nods, and leaves.
Aside from my greed to have my little prisoner around, letting her out of my sight would most likely put her in danger. The person behind all of this won’t simply let her go after using her as a pawn. They’ll hunt her down and probably kill her.
My chest constricts, and I hate the sudden wave of anger that crashes into me at the thought of anyone hurting Elena. I need a walk to clear my head.
Rising from my seat, I head down the hallway, but I’m only a few steps in when someone gingerly walks up behind me and throws her hands over my eyes. I know who it is when the scent of her jasmine perfume fills my nose.
Only one person would ever be gutsy enough to sneak up on me without fear of getting shot in the head.
“Tatiana.”
A giggle slices the air behind me, and then my sister uncovers my eyes and moves around to face me, her eyes glinting with mischief.
“Hey, brother,” she says with a wide smile. “Good to see you again.”
I huff and roll my eyes. “The last time we saw each other was only a couple of days ago.”
She fakes a frown and pretends she’s thinking. “Is that so?” Her voice is laced with amusement. “I thought it was at least six months ago.”
My sister’s the opposite of me—kind, caring, chatty. I’ve made sure to shield her from the bratva and everything it stands for since she was little. I might not show it often, but every time I see that innocence in her eyes and the ways she swims through life with a lack of worry, I know I’ve done something right.
Tatiana is the most important person in my life.
She’s the ray of sunshine in all of my darkness.
