An Obsession with Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 3) (36 page)

“What do you want? Why am I here?” he asked.

“Don’t worry. When your mother gets here to save you, I won’t have any need to keep you anymore, and that’s when I’ll kill you. And she’s gonna watch. That’ll teach her one of a few lessons. Her education will be extensive by the time I’m done with her.” As the mean-looking bastard turned away, he unscrewed the top off a vial he’d taken out of his pocket and snorted what had to be coke. He did both nostrils as he walked out, slamming that thick, heavy door behind him.

“Hey! Come back! Hey!”

Andrew couldn’t hear a thing. Not even the echo of his own voice. He looked around frantically and stepped closer to the bars; then he noticed the thick gray sponge on the walls. He started to shake. Soundproofed. Daniel’s cousin in New Jersey had done his garage with the same stuff so his band could practice without pissing off the neighbors. Realizing what it was, Andrew knew no one would hear him no matter how loudly he shouted.

He turned around in a full circle and felt the warmth of his blood drip down over his lips to his chin when he didn’t wipe it. The room was windowless and had just a small table and a single metal bed. Real tears burned his eyes.

He was trapped and had no way of warning his mom what was waiting for her.

CHAPTER 23

Maks tapped his thumb on the wheel and looked over to check out the shoes his Aussie was wearing. Again. Fuck he loved heels on a woman. Especially this woman. He hadn’t seen her wear them in a week, whereas before he’d never seen her without the added four inches. Same with makeup. She was done up today. He eyed the double-breasted three-quarter-length black trench coat. When he’d seen her walk out of her bedroom, he’d been captivated. Her sleeveless lime-green dress had reached that perfect length at the knee and had a patent-leather belt cinched at her tiny waist. Belt matched the strappy heels; dress matched the green Coach bag now sitting at her feet. Great sense of style.

“Where did you get the clothes?” He cleared his throat.

She looked over at him, leg bobbing. “Bottom of my bag. Why?”

“You packed work clothes?”

She shrugged and offered him a smile. “Pays to be prepared. Now I don’t have to have lunch dressed in yoga pants or leggings.”

Eva was meeting her father for lunch and had invited Sydney and Maksim to join them at a new Chinese restaurant not far from TarMor’s head office. When Maks had seen those amethyst eyes light up, there had been no way he could have refused. He remembered Sydney mentioning a craving for Chinese the night they’d gone to Apetito, and he’d never gotten it for her. He was remedying that today. And giving her a shot of normal while he was at it.

And
giving her some good news. Judging by the way she kept nibbling on the corner of her lip, she needed it.

“Don’t get too excited,” he said, “But I found an address last night.”

“For what?”

“Eleanor Erica Grant, grade seven student at—”

She grabbed his thigh. “No! You did not,” her voice was instantly all about emotion. “You did not. Really? You found her?”

“I said not to get excited. I have to confirm it’s her, but unless there are two twelve-year-olds with the same name and they look remarkably alike, then, yes, I found her. It wasn’t hard once I had her photo and date of birth.”

“Where did you get those?” She was blinking rapidly as she dug out her phone and pulled up a photo of Eleanor and Andy together, flashing it at him as though he needed it to confirm.

He nodded. “Andy gave me the info. So, what’s your plan? You going to go to the house to see her or to her school?” He rushed on with the question so he wouldn’t have to admit to having stolen information from her kid’s phone.

“I don’t know.” She sat back, smiling, eyes shimmering. “I never thought this far ahead. I didn’t expect . . . Thank you, Maksim.” She leaned over and kissed the edge of his jaw. Twice. “Thank you so much for this. Andrew is going to go
crazy
.”

He allowed her to settle into some happy thoughts as he drove and avoided Micha’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Rather, his gaze went back to her shoes once he stopped at another red light. Because he was who he was, he took his phone out and texted, since he wouldn’t disrespect either of his passengers by voicing what was on his mind.

“It’s so fluffy—I’m gonna die!”

Micha jerked upright in the backseat, his head coming into view between them. “What the fuck is that?” he demanded.

Sydney laughed and turned back to wave her phone. “Text tone.
Despicable Me.
Have you seen it?” she asked, tongue-in-cheek.

“Buddy’s life story?” the idiot questioned, nodding at Maks as he disappeared again. “No. Can’t say that I have.”

“Just for that, I’m going to make you watch it,” Sydney muttered under her breath as she opened the text Maks had sent.

I want you in nothing but the shoes.

Her lips curved, and she lifted a leg to twirl her slim ankle, showing off the strappy black heel. “I like them, too. Oh! Can you pull over, please?” She pointed to the Starbucks just ahead. “I never did grab the gift cards I need.”

He slowed, giving her a strange look. “Gift cards for who?”

“You and all your friends. For helping me,” she said dryly. “For Andrew’s teachers, silly. Look. It even has a walk-up window. I won’t even have to go in.”

After swinging out of traffic, he pulled up so that all she had to do was get out and walk across the sidewalk. There were two people ahead of her. One guy, one girl. The guy did a double take that Sydney didn’t even notice because she was digging her wallet out of her bag.

“Gift cards for teachers and finding long-lost loved ones? You’re one scary motherfucker,” Micha drawled.

Maks ignored him and looked at Sydney’s phone as it started to ring. She’d left it in the console. Seeing the name of Andy’s school on the display, figuring the kid had forgotten something, he overstepped and answered.

“Hey, kid, what do you need?”

“Oh, um, I think I must have the wrong number.”

“No,” Maks said quickly before the guy could hang up. A guy that wasn’t Andy. “Who’s this?”

He gave his name and identified himself as the principal of the school. “And you are?”

Maks ignored the question. “Are you calling about Andy? Andrew,” he corrected, doubting the faculty would shorten the kids’ names.

“Is Sydney with you?”

Getting annoyed and concerned, Maks snapped, “Yes. She is. Where is Andrew? Is he okay?”

“I need to speak with her immediately, sir. Time is of the essence.”

Those words hammered at him, and, seeing Sydney crossing the sidewalk, he told the guy on the phone to hold tight. Before she made it to the door, he quickly reached out and snapped open the glove box to grab a small black bag that he threw into the backseat. “Get one ready,” he told Micha, who cursed the minute he recognized what had come flying at him.

The second she hopped into the SUV, he handed Sydney her phone and then gunned the engine so he could pull farther up the sidewalk, away from a newly forming line for coffee. His jerky actions as he threw it into Park and the expression on his face killed her smile. “What?” She all but tossed her purse at her feet.

“Something’s happened,” he said, covering the mouthpiece. “Be careful what you say. It’s Andy’s principal.”

She pushed the phone to her ear. “Dale? It’s Sydney. Is Andrew okay?
What? When?
Who was he?
” Her expression was suddenly wild, her chest pumping up and down alarmingly fast, her face chalk white.

“Tell him to hold on. Tell him!” Maks whispered fiercely.

“Just a s-second, Dale.”

He reached over himself and muted her phone. “What is it?”

“A m-man in a blue Lincoln t-took Andrew. Longish b-b-black hair, olive skin tone. Maksim? My son, Maksim,” she choked out.

“Ready, Micha?” he aimed behind him before grabbing Sydney by the shoulders and giving her a slight shake to jar her into paying attention. “You have to tell Dale that it was Andy’s uncle and you forgot he was coming for him.”

“But I wouldn’t forget something like that.”

Jesus Christ.
“I know, baby. But you have to pretend. They can’t involve the cops. We’re fucked if they involve the cops. It was Andy’s uncle, and you forgot he was coming for him.”

“But we don’t have anyone,” she said, shaking now. “No uncles. The school knows we’re alone. It’s just me and Andrew.”

Having to clear the thickness that jammed in his throat at that, he forced his voice to whip out like a slap. “Sydney! Listen to me! You were supposed to call the school but forgot. Are you hearing me? Tell Dale you arranged for your
boyfriend
to pick Andy up to go to a ball game. Tell him the kid will be taking the day tomorrow, as well, but don’t say why. Be vague and get it done.” He cupped her cheek and held her steady, his stare boring into her overflowing eyes. He hardened his breaking fucking heart and repeated what she had to say a few more times before hitting the button so the principal could hear her again. Maks helped her put the phone to her ear, holding it when she couldn’t, and mouthed the words once more.

“Dale? I’m sorry. I’m so f-forgetful lately. I meant to call and let you know about the pickup. My b-boyfriend wanted to take Andrew to a ball game and the s-soonest one was during school hours. Sorry for that. Yes. Dark hair, falling in his eyes, right?” she all but wailed, making Maksim grind his teeth. She was no actress. “I’m fine. You caught me during my morning run through the park and I just got hit by a sprinkler. Sorry. We’re all good. They’ll no doubt get in late so I’m going to keep Andrew home tomorrow. We’ll see you Wednesday, Dale. Have a good day.”

Maksim hung up the phone and had never felt as helpless as he did watching her fall apart quietly rather than losing her shit. She wrapped her arms around her middle. “Not my baby,” she whispered through chattering teeth as she rocked back and forth.

He placed his hand on her back, patting lightly in an attempt to gain her attention. “Sydney.” She didn’t give it. “We’ll get him back,” he said anyway, as he glanced at his phone when it rang.
Vasily.
He’d get back to him.

She didn’t seem to hear him. “Please. Not my boy. I need my boy. It’s just us. It’s always been just us. I can’t be without him.”

“Micha.”

She didn’t even flinch when Micha pushed the needle into her upper arm right through her thin coat and depressed the plunger to administer the sedative.

“I can’t lose my Andrew,” she whimpered as she pushed her knuckles to her mouth. “Oh, God, baby, what have I done to you?” She mumbled a few more unintelligible things while she weaved, and Maks caught her when she went under. He helped Micha get her into the backseat. As his friend strapped her in, Maks’s purpose became fixed.

His heart rate settled, emotions leveled off, and cold as ice was all he knew. His breathing became nice and calm and he dialed his Pakhan.

“Eberto wasn’t on the flight,” Vasily said on answering.

“He has Andy.”

“Oh, fuck no,” Vasily whispered after a heavy pause. “Oh, fuck.”

Maks knew what was going through his head. The same thing that had gone through his own a few seconds ago. Those packages. The ones a member of the Baikov family had unceremoniously dropped at the foot of Sergei’s driveway last year. He and the boys had opened them, and found but parts that would have made up Sergei’s wife and fifteen-year-old boy, had they been able to reassemble them.

“Where’s Sydney?” Vasily asked carefully.

“Sedated. I’m dropping her at her club because it’s closest and then heading out. Are you around? Will you come sit with her so she’s not alone when she comes to? She needs someone familiar.”

“Of course. We’ll meet you there.”

Maks hung up and put the SUV into gear. As he drove, he refused to think of anything but an acceptable conclusion to this development. Last night, tucked into the corner of the sofa in the basement, watching TV with Sydney pressed against his ribs, she’d mentioned how much Andrew would love to see the shooting range. Knowing it was smart for a kid to learn about guns in a controlled forum, Maks had promised to take them this weekend. So now he pictured Sydney and Andy standing in front of him. Both of them wearing headphones and safety glasses. Both wearing smiles. Both of them with their arms straight out in front of them, doing what he’d promised they’d do.

He kept that image in his mind’s eye until he pulled up in the alley behind Sydney’s club and saw a couple of vehicles already there.

Everyone who’d been planning on joining them for lunch had gathered to offer their support.

Looked like his Aussie wasn’t alone, after all, he thought as he got out of the Hummer.

They walked into Apetito in a V formation. Maksim led, then Micha and Alek, then Vincente and Jak. All of them knew where their attention should be, and it never wavered, guaranteeing every back was covered. Quan could be seen ghosting up the far side of the room.

Six more Tarasov soldiers would be gaining control of any heavies stationed in the back of the restaurant at that moment. Pausing, and paying little attention to the diners enjoying their lunch, or the few already scrambling for the door, Maks met and held Morales’s eyes where he sat with two men at a large booth.

Micha checked his phone that had just gone off. “All clear out back,” he murmured in Russian.

Perfect.
Maks continued forward, keeping to his course. He halted at the table Luiz was now standing beside. They were both fully aware there were probably a handful of iPhones pointed their way and recording in that moment.

“Lead the way to somewhere very private, or I’ll give the word to have the apartment you’ve stashed your wife and son in breeched. You have one chance.” He held up his phone and didn’t have to wait even a moment before Morales was striding for an exit.

Their group followed and went through the steamy kitchen, which held more than a dozen fearful staff members. They came to a large prep area that cleared of workers within seconds.

The minute they were alone, Maksim acted. He grabbed Luiz by his pricey Armani lapels and swung him around to slam the guy’s back twice into a board filled with schedules, and then a third time, wishing he could rip the fucker’s throat out like the crazed dog he felt like right then.

“Where’s the kid?” His voice was eerily calm.