Well, Anatoly could go to hell. The terror in Emma’s voice had been worse than the time I had found her with Yuri, and it completely overshadowed the fact that she was telling me she wanted to come home.
And fucking Noah. I didn’t have Noah, nor did I know who had taken him, but I was going to find out. “The plan is to find out who took him and make them pay.”
“Fuck, Artem,” Anatoly swore with a heavy sigh. “This is too deep. This isn’t our problem.”
I look over at him, my jaw clenched. “It is our problem. Emma is my wife, whether you like it or not, and this couple kept her safe while we were apart.”
He glared at me. “I know she’s your fucking wife. I helped plan your fucking wedding.”
Anatoly had been with me for years, but I was starting to think he didn’t want to see me happy. “Do I not deserve to have Emma?”
“Shit,” Anatoly finally said, resting his head against the seat. “That’s not what I mean, Artem. I want you to be happy. You’re family. But this woman is distracting you from the bratva.”
I turned away from him, not giving a shit about the bratva. It could run without me for a while. This was about me, about my fucking life, and the bratva wasn’t going to warm my bed at night.
Besides, Emma thought I had taken her friend, and though it stung, I had to prove to her that I hadn’t.
The car pulled into the drive and I looked at my watch, checking the time. I wanted to be in and out in an hour, with Emma sitting next to me. She was coming with me tonight, or I was staying at the farmhouse. Either way, I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight again.
The car stopped, and I opened the door first, avoiding the snow as I made my way to the front door. It opened on the first knock, and I felt the knot in my chest loosen just a little as I put my eyes on Emma. “I didn’t do it,” I blurted out, seeing her fear. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I know.”
Thank God. I stepped inside the doorway, turning back to ensure that Anatoly was setting up a perimeter with the men that had followed us in another car. “I need to know everything.”
She closed the door behind me. “Gertie is in the kitchen.”
I followed Emma, drinking the sight of her in as she led me to a tidy kitchen, the appliances at least thirty years old. A woman sat at the table, a bowl of soup in front of her, but she was not eating. The grief that lined her face tugged at my heart and I forced it away. I couldn’t afford the emotions, not now.
“Gertie,” Emma said softly, placing her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “This is Artem, my husband.”
Damn if that didn’t sound fucking awesome coming from her lips. I crouched down beside Gertie, catching her eye. “I didn’t take your husband.”
She eyed me. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m sure. I don’t have a grudge against you or your husband, but I promise I will find out who did, and they will pay.”
Her eyes teared up, but she blinked them away, straightening her shoulders. “Then I hope that you do. My Noah doesn’t deserve this.”
“No, he doesn’t,” I said honestly.
“Gertie, why don’t we get you to bed,” Emma said. “It’s late.”
I stepped away and watched as the woman didn’t even put up a fight as she allowed Emma to help her to the stairs. Emma turned and met my eye. “I will be back.”
I gave her a nod. “I will be right here.”
After she disappeared up the stairs, I strode to the door and opened it, finding Anatoly on the porch. “It’s fucking freezing out here,” he grumbled as he stepped inside. “What the fuck is this place?”
“What did you find?” I asked instead.
“The place is not well secured,” he said immediately, flipping into business mode. “I’ve got men along the tree line and at the corners of the house. We will put a car in the woods across the street, just in case they try to come back for more.”
“I’m not leaving Emma here again,” I growled, pacing in front of the fireplace. “And she is not going to leave until this place is secure to leave Gertie.”
Anatoly stopped my pacing by laying a hand on my shoulder. “This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”
I knew what he was saying. “Yeah,” I forced out. “It does.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “I will stay here then, with the old woman until her husband is back.”
I clasped his shoulder. “Thank you.”
My cousin eyed me. “You are starting to worry me, Artem. I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Emma appeared, and we fell silent as she eyed us. “Gertie is in her bed, but I don’t know how much sleep she’s going to get tonight.”
Clearing my throat, I clasped my hands behind my back. “Tell me what you saw.”
“I’m afraid not much,” she replied, her eyes on Anatoly. “It happened so fast.”
“Anything will help, “Anatoly added, giving her a grim smile.
Emma swallowed. “There were bikers everywhere. They knew exactly what they were planning on doing. I don’t know why they took him though. He’s not a danger to anyone.”
I didn’t know either, but I was going to find out.
“I will put some feelers out then,” Anatoly replied evenly as he pulled out his phone and walked back outside.
I waited until the door was shut before I took a step toward Emma. “I didn’t have anything to do with this, I swear.”
She searched my gaze. “Not even to bring me home?”
“Fuck, no,” I replied. “That was going to be your decision, no matter what the answer was.”
Emma looked away and I could see the indecision on her face. “I can’t leave her, not tonight.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I growled, stripping off my coat. I had done it once, and right now, we didn’t know if Noah had actually been the target.
“What are you doing?”
I draped my coat over the back of the chair. “I’m settling in. I mean it, Emma. I’m not leaving this house without you.”
Her shoulders slumped and my hands itched to pull her close. God, it was good to be in this room with her, knowing she was all right and that I could protect her. “Then let’s go upstairs, unless you need to do something with your man. I’m so tired.”