Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 45957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Crane Westbrooke was twenty-four years old and had just recently been promoted to Captain by none other than James after much praise from his captain and Jaxon himself. On paper, the man was dedicated and loyal to the family.
Too bad it had all been a front because he was definitely a capable soldier and an asset to the family. His only other address besides his quarters here was his mother’s apartment over in Brooklyn. My phone vibrated just as I stood from my chair, ready to go pay his mother a visit. It was the most logical place to search for him first.
Men who were raised by their single mothers usually had a tie to them they couldn’t fathom breaking. And if that were true of Crane, it would be his downfall.
Slipping my phone from my pocket, I read Jaxon’s text.
Jaxon:
I ordered everyone but those I trust explicitly away from the house. There are still guards present. You just won’t see them, so long as they do their jobs correctly. But they have eyes on you.
Adrian:
Good.
I looked at Ivan. “You up for paying Crane’s mother a visit?” I asked him.
Ivan turned away from the window and smirked at me. “I get to terrorize some poor old lady? Fuck yes, kotik, I’m in.” I barked out a laugh. Grinning, he waved his hand toward the door. “Lead the way.”
Crane’s mother, Rebecca, lived in an older home that had been turned into small apartments. The floors were still that old pinewood flooring from early in the previous century, and they creaked with every step me and Ivan made. Apartment 2C was the last door on the second floor, and I swore when I knocked, I thought the damn door was just going to fall inward from how hard it rattled. I hadn’t even knocked that hard.
I doubted this building was up to code anymore.
The door opened after a moment, and a woman with warm brown eyes and curly graying hair looked up at me. Immediately, her eyes widened. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “I, uh—”
“I’m looking for your son,” I told her, cutting right to the chase. “Have you seen him?”
“I—I—”
Ivan sighed impatiently and moved around me before shoving the door open further. Rebecca almost fell over, stumbling into the wall as Ivan entered the apartment. I followed him inside without a word, taking in the seventies-style kitchen and brick walls. Ivan whistled as he prowled into the living room, linking his hands behind his back like he had all the patience in the world.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he called, a teasing note to his voice. When Crane didn’t come out, Ivan laughed softly. “You can stay hidden, little mouse. I have a kitten all too ready to tug you out of your hiding spot if you don’t come to me.”
Still nothing. Ivan cocked his head to the side the slightest bit. I came to stand beside him. Apart from Rebecca’s sharp, panicked breaths, the apartment was silent. But then, we heard it—the opening of a window.
Without wasting a beat, I spun and rushed for the door off to the side of the living room. I shoved it open, finding Crane trying to climb out the window. Reaching forward, I gripped his ankle, wrapping my fingers tight around it, damn near crushing his bones. He turned his head, looking at me with wide, panicked eyes.
“Well, the way I look at it,” I said calmly, “you go out that window, you die because you fall to your death. Or you come with me, and you still die.” I stepped closer. “But I’m letting you know now, Crane, there’s no fucking actual option here. So come down willingly, or I will force you down.”
“They threatened my mother—” he choked out.
I shrugged. “I don’t fucking care,” I growled. “You should have come to the family. We would have put protection on her. But you chose the wrong fucking road.” I yanked him down from the window. He fell with an embarrassing squeak that abruptly went silent when his head smacked against the toilet. I nudged his side with my boot, then sighed. “You’re going to be a bitch to carry out of here,” I muttered.
Ivan suddenly gripped the back of my neck and stroked his thumb over my pulse. I relaxed into his hold. “Good job, kotik,” he murmured. He pressed a kiss to my jaw. “Let’s get him out of here.”
Leaning down, I scooped Crane off the floor, then tossed him over my shoulder. Ivan flashed Rebecca a smile that was full of malice. “Say goodbye to your son, Rebecca. He turned on the Jacksons. I’m sure you know what that means for him.” He arched a brow at her when her lips trembled and tears began to fall down her cheeks. “I’m also sure you know what it means for you if you open your mouth about what happened here today, correct? Send the law after my man, and I’ll bring the entirety of Russia down on your head.”