Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 95627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
"Solovyov is selling our guns to the Colombians. He's trying to isolate us from other families."
"Of course he is," Gregor said before turning to Mikhail. "Get the women to safety. Keep them together. Marina too."
Kostya gave him a nod of appreciation.
"We are going to war. It will be brutal and bloody, but this shit ends now."
If Gregor was finally going to step up, my takeover was going to be a lot more difficult.
"This is still my problem to solve," I argued. "Solovyov will be handled by me."
"Fine," Gregor snapped. "You have twenty-four hours. But until then, I need to make sure the Colombians don't smell blood in the water and come for our women."
Our women. That phrase echoed in my head a few times. I needed to know Viktoria was safe.
While the others organized arrangements and called their wives, I called the security I had on Viktoria. They all reported that no one had come or gone, but I needed to be sure.
I sent Ivan to knock on the door. He texted back minutes later, telling me there was no answer.
Maybe she was asleep, or just didn't answer the door for people she didn't know. If it hadn't been for the worry pulsing through me, I might have been proud.
Instead, I pulled up the app and checked the cameras, which I had my men return to their proper positions while we were at dinner.
I couldn't find her.
I ordered Ivan to break down the door if he had to and find her. Watching the camera feed, I saw him walk into every room, open every closet, and check both bathrooms before he called me back.
"She's gone."
CHAPTER 25
VIKTORIA
This was perhaps the stupidest thing I had ever done, or the smartest. I wasn't sure.
Either way, I needed to keep my head down and make sure no one saw me. I needed to be invisible. Not even another face in the crowd, just a nameless, faceless person who left someone's mind as soon as they left their sight.
Thankfully, with it being such a chilly night, everyone around me had their heads down, covered with a hat or a hood. The baseball cap I wore not only kept my hair hidden but cast my face in shadow. No one looked at me twice.
It didn't stop me from jumping at every little sound, or my heart from racing like a caged animal whenever someone walked in my direction. Not even passing the turnstiles with my ticket crushed in my sweaty fist helped calm my nerves.
Getting out of the apartment building was surprisingly easy.
I waited a few hours to make sure Artem was gone, or at the very least far from my apartment, and then I searched for train times. There was a late night, ten pm train from Union Station to the William H. Gray station in Philadelphia.
Perfect.
I knew Ivan was down at the front desk, but I thought he would be it.
I should've known better. Artem was smarter than that.
He had stationed another one of his men in my hallway, who was sound asleep. He snored loud enough to wake the dead. I had no idea how I didn't hear it in the apartment.
I crept away from him, each step feeling like I was walking a tightrope.
I guessed money bought you thick walls. A luxury I wouldn't have again for some time if my plan worked. God, I needed this to work. If I didn't get out now, I never would.
Instead of creeping past the sleeping guard to the elevator and heading down to the lobby and praying that Ivan was also passed out, I took a calculated risk.
Artem wasn't stupid, but that didn't mean he thought of everything. At the end of the hall was an emergency exit and a freight elevator. Perfect for moving in furniture and appliances, and for moving out young women looking to make a quick escape.
We were so close to DC I doubted I was the only girl to sneak out the back like this, but I would bet I was the only one running away from the promise of a life of luxury even if that luxury was bought with violence.
There was no one in the loading area.
Just the dumpsters, and one orange cat sleeping on a piece of cardboard, waiting for a rat to scurry by. Still, I stayed in the shadows, pressing my body to the cold brick, pausing to avoid bringing attention to myself in case anyone was around.
I was sure Ivan, or the sound sleeper, would come for me. It was only a matter of time, but I had to be sure no one was around who could rat me out.
Maybe Ivan was checking the camera feeds in my apartment. Maybe there was an alarm on the back door or in the stairwell. My mouth was dry as cotton as I waited, my heart threatening to burst through my ribs, sure I would be caught.