Page 48 of Claimed By my Ex’s Uncle

"As soon as you have something, tell me," I grunt before I make my way swiftly to her room. I need to see it empty with my own two eyes to really believe that she’s gone. I guess a part of me needs to believe that she would not walk out on me like this, especially in the midst of all this craziness.

But it’s empty when I open the door, and rage surges through me, this wave so intense that it nearly catches me off-guard. There’s a dress laying on the bed, and it looks to be one of the maternity ones I asked Marsha to purchase for her. Did it all hit home for Rose when she was looking at it, that she realized that she was going to have my child? Or is this something else? Something to do with Sergei? Something I haven’t pieced together yet?

I pick up the dress, squeezing it in my fists as though I can summon her back here through sheer force of will, as ridiculous as I know that is. Closing my eyes for a moment, I picture her, the way she looked at me when I asked her to stay. How could she gaze into my eyes like that and then just walk away? Like she didn’t care, like she never cared? I can’t make sense of it, and honestly, I don’t know if I’m supposed to. When it comes to her, there is so much I don’t understand. So much I’m getting the feeling I never will understand.

I cast the dress aside. If she thinks that I won’t find her, she’ll know better soon enough. I turn to leave, but just as I do, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

I snatch it out at once, half-expecting it to be her. But instead, it’s a number I don’t recognize. I lift the phone to my ear, answering at once.

"What is it?" I demand.

"That woman, she’s back at the apartment building again!”

It takes me a second to place the voice, but then I realize it's Rose’s old landlord, the one I paid off to make sure she wouldn’t be able to return to her previous home. My heart clenches in my chest. What the fuck are you doing back there, Rose?

"What do you mean?" I demand, making my way quickly back towards my office. "When did you see her?"

"I saw that old roommate of hers going up with some man," he adds, sounding irritated. "She must still have her key because I haven’t changed the locks yet. But about twenty minutes ago, I saw that girl arrive—you know, the one you told me to keep an eye out for, the one you didn’t want coming back here."

"With a man?" Sergei? How could he have managed to find out who her old roommate was? Unless… shit, did he follow us to the store, where we had that confrontation with Lisa?

"And I don’t know for sure, but it looked like he had some kind of weapon," he continues, dropping his voice to a dramatic stage whisper.

My throat tightens. No way this doesn’t have something to do with me. Why else would someone with a goddamn gun be walking around an apartment block that could pass for any other in the city?

"I’m going to call the cops," he continues. "It’s just not safe for someone to⁠—"

"Don’t call anyone," I tell him sharply. "You were right to reach out to me first. I’m on my way. Is she still in the apartment now?"

"Yeah, her and this guy," he replies. "But if I don’t see some movement soon, I’m going to⁠—"

"You put in a call to anyone other than me, and you’re going to pay for it,” I snarl at him before I can stop myself.

That seems to catch him off-guard, and he falls silent for a moment. "I—I understand," he mutters. "But I⁠—"

"That’s all that matters," I tell him. "Anything happens, you call me, you hear? Other than that, don’t call anyone, don’t text anyone, don’t breathe a fucking word of this."

I hang up the phone, tossing it into my pocket as I make for the door.

"Maxim," I bark. "Pull the car around. You armed?"

He nods, resting his hand briefly on the gun beneath his jacket.

"Bring a vehicle of your own and come with me," I reply. "I want at least three cars, six men, all ready to fight if it comes to it. That clear?"

He nods again, knowing better than to argue with me. The tension in the mansion is thick; every one of my men knows goddamn well how much trouble they’ll be in if I don’t get Rose back in one piece. I don’t know what the fuck Sergei wants her for, but I am not going to hand her over to him.

Outside, I climb into the car Maxim has drawn up for me and watch in the rearview mirror as my men leap into action. They are all trained to within an inch of their lives, prepared for just about any eventuality. I have no idea if they have pieced together any part of what is happening here, but that’s not a problem I’ll dwell on. All that matters is that they follow my orders and do as they’re told. And if that involves bringing down the man I thought I could trust with my life in the process, so be it.

Nobody gets away with lying to me. And whatever secrets Sergei has been keeping, by the end of the day, I am going to drag them out into the light.

Whether he likes it or not.

Chapter 26

Rose

"Sergei, please, just listen to me," I plead with him, doing my best to coax some kind of understanding from this man. But as he stares back at me, I know it’s already a lost cause. He has made up his mind about what he wants from me, and he’s unwilling to settle for anything less. The most I can hope for is that I get out of here alive, but with every passing second, that’s looking less and less likely.