Page 118 of The Pakhan’s Accidental Bride

I pick up the phone from the nightstand and look at the screen. The caller ID shows Unknown.

My finger hovers over the decline button. It's probably a spam call. Or a wrong number. But something makes me answer it anyway. Some instinct I can't explain.

"Hello?" I say, pressing the phone to my ear.

There's a pause, just long enough to make me think no one is there. Then a male voice speaks, low and distorted like it's being run through some kind of filter.

"You need to meet me within the hour, or one of your brothers will die."

46

EMIL

The hot tub jets pulse against my back, the heated water working at the tension that's been building in my shoulders all day. Steam rises around me in the dim lighting of my private pool room, and for the first time since this morning, I feel like I can actually breathe. The glass walls surrounding the space are dark, reflecting only the soft glow of the underwater lights and the city skyline beyond.

I lean my head back against the edge of the tub, closing my eyes. The water laps at my chest, and I let myself sink deeper into the heat. My mind drifts to Kiera, as it always does these days. The way she looked at me earlier when she found those surveillance folders. The anger in her eyes. The betrayal.

I should feel guilty about invading her privacy and the privacy of everyone she cares about. But I don't. I can't afford to. In my world, information is survival. Knowing who poses a threat, who can be leveraged, and who needs to be watched, that's not optional. It's necessary.

Still, the look on her face haunts me. The way she held up that folder like it was evidence of some unforgivable crime. Maybe to her, it is. Maybe in her world, where people trust each other and don't constantly look over their shoulders, what I did crosses a line that can't be uncrossed.

I'm just starting to let the tension drain from my muscles when I hear it. Frantic knocking on my door. Hard, desperate pounding that echoes through the pool room.

"Emil!" Kiera's voice cuts through the sound of the jets, high and frightened. "Emil, please! I need you!"

The fear in her voice sends adrenaline spiking through my system. I'm out of the hot tub before I consciously decide to move, water streaming off my naked body as I stride across the tile floor. My feet leave wet prints on the marble as I cross the room in long strides, not bothering to grab a towel or robe.

I jerk the door open, and Kiera nearly falls into the room. Her eyes are wide, her face pale, and she's clutching her phone in one hand like it's a lifeline. If she notices that I'm completely naked, water still dripping down my chest and legs, she doesn't show it. Her gaze is locked on my face, and the terror I see there makes my chest tighten.

"What happened?" I demand, reaching out to steady her with one hand on her shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

"Someone called me." Her voice shakes, and she holds up her phone with a trembling hand. "They said I have to meet them within the hour or one of my brothers will die."

Ice floods my veins, cold and sharp despite the heat still radiating from my skin. I take the phone from her hand and look at the screen. Unknown caller. Of course.

"What exactly did they say?" I ask, keeping my voice calm and controlled even as my mind races through possibilities and threats. "Word for word."

"Just that. 'You need to meet me within the hour, or one of your brothers will die.'" She wraps her arms around herself, and I can see her whole body shaking. "Emil, what do I do? I can't let anything happen to them. I can't…"

"You're not going anywhere," I say firmly. I pull her into the room and close the door, then grab my phone from the table near the hot tub. "And neither are your brothers. Not until we know what we're dealing with."

I hit Luca's number, not caring that it's past eleven at night. He answers on the second ring, his voice alert despite the late hour.

"Pakhan?"

"We have a situation." I keep one hand on Kiera's shoulder, feeling the tremors running through her. "Someone called Kiera and threatened her brothers. I need you to send four captains immediately. One to each brother's location. They're to stay with them and bring them here to the estate. No exceptions."

"Understood. I'll dispatch them now."

"And Luca? Tell them to be careful. This could be a setup."

"Yes, Pakhan."

I end the call and turn to Kiera, who's watching me with those wide blue eyes." Call your brothers," I tell her, handing back her phone. "All of them. If you get through, tell them to stay exactly where they are. Someone will be there to pick them up within twenty minutes. Under no circumstances are they to try and drive anywhere by themselves. Do you understand?"

She nods, her fingers fumbling with the phone. "What if they don't answer? What if something's already happened?"

"Then my men will find them." I move past her to grab a towel from the rack near the door, wrapping it around my waist. Water still drips from my hair, running down my back, but I ignore it. "Start with Kevin. He's the most likely to answer."