Page 87 of His Forbidden Alliance

I opened the door, let the air in, and grabbed a napkin from my console to blow my nose. Then I headed into the building.

I knew to always be vigilant. I never took anything for granted, especially when I was on an undercover assignment. But I wasn’t thinking of anything except Rafe. I entered the building and climbed the steps to my apartment. I vaguely noted that there was a man at the top of the stairs, but I paid no attention to him. Several other people lived in the building, one of whom had people over all the time. I wasn’t really watching or listening.

Pain burst through the back of my skull. There was someone behind me—I hadn’t even known he was there. I fought against the blackness trying to consume me, jabbing my elbow back. A man groaned as I caught him in the stomach, but the man who had been at the top of the stairs rushed toward me, gun in hand.

In a Russian accent, he said, “Don’t make a sound.”

Stars danced in front of me, and my head throbbed. All I knew was that if I thought I’d fucked up before, I’d really done it now. I was never going to see Rafe again. I must’ve passed out then, because the next thing I knew, there was duct tape over my mouth, and I was bound hand and foot in the back of a car.

34

RAFE

My hands shook as I parked next to Zach’s car. What the fuck was I going to say? How was I going to know if I should believe him or not?

I didn’t know, but I had to do this. If Dante thought Zach might be telling the truth, and if I felt somewhere in my gut that I’d fucked up, I couldn’t back out now. I wasn’t going to throw whatever I had with Zach away because I refused to accept that he might have needed to lie.

Did I really refuse to believe him because I assumed everyone thought I could be tricked and used? Fuck. Enough stalling. I got out of the car and headed to the building. Someone was on their way out, and I grabbed the door before it could close.

As I did, I noticed that the lock was broken. I didn’t think much of it though. Someone must’ve lost their key and gotten fed up with it.

A few steps from the bottom, I saw a phone on the ground. Wait. Was that Zach’s phone? I bent down and picked it up. As soon as it lit up, I knew that background. How would Zach not notice he didn’t have his phone? I slid it into my pocket, but when I looked up the stairs, I saw a red stain smeared across one step—then more on the next one. Blood. I didn’t need to look any closer to know.

I ran the rest of the way to Zach’s door and knocked. No response. No point in calling him. I knocked again, harder this time, and then I picked the lock. I charged in, looking all around. He wasn’t there. There was nothing to indicate he’d ever been there tonight.

I ran back down the stairs and outside, looking for any clues—footprints, more blood. I turned on the flashlight on my phone, and I saw it: grass smashed down, a trail of blood leading all the way to the far side of the parking lot where there was no light. No one would notice if a person was forced into a car or if someone was dragging a body.

No. No, no. Zach was alive. He had to be alive, and I was going to save him. If he’d been taken by Ivanov, he wouldn’t be alive for long. And I didn’t want to think about what that man would do to him.

I called Dante and talked so fast when he answered that he couldn’t understand me. Finally, I made him get it. He told me to go to Remington’s and that he would gather the family. My phone rang a few minutes after I started driving. It was Xavier.

“Is Zach with you?”

“No, I think Ivanov has him. I mean, I know he does. There was blood and his phone and⁠—”

“Slow down,” X said. “Zach’s special agent in charge called me wanting to check in, worried because he ended a call with her superior abruptly, hadn’t checked back in, and wasn’t answering his phone.”

That was who all the missed calls were from that popped up on his screen. “I have his phone. It was on the stairs of his building. A few steps up, there are smears of blood and more blood in the parking lot leading to a dark corner, where I saw tire tracks and some oil.”

“All right, I’m on it.”

“I’m headed to Remington’s. We’re gathering there.”

“I’ll call Remington so I can consult.”

Thank God we’d have X’s help too. “Thank you.”

“We’re going to find Zach. He’s going to be okay.”

I swiped at a tear as if it rolled down my cheek. “He has to be.”

A few moments later, my phone rang again. I didn’t know the number, but I answered it anyway.

“This is Maria. I work with Zach.”

“He’s not with me.” Hadn’t X let her know?

“I know. The things he said to my supervisor… they weren’t true.”