I raise my hands, my stomach roiling with a mixture of terror and hope. “Please.” Does the man even understand English? “Please, don’t hurt us.”
Aiming the barrel at the driver’s temple, the man pulls the trigger.
32
Alex
Igor takes the front steps two at a time and stops next to me where I stand on the porch. Flanked by Dimitri and Leonid, we watch Mikhail and his entourage leave.
“Poisoning?” Leonid says. “Who would want to poison Dania Turgeneva?”
The cars clear the gates. I follow their speedy departure with a thoughtful gaze. “Whoever he is, he’s a dead man.”
“You bet.” Dimitri shakes his head. “No one messes with Mikhail’s princess. I can’t believe someone was so stupid.”
“What about the operation?” Igor asks. “Do we still move out?”
“No.” I shove my hands into my pockets. “Let’s wait until there’s news about Dania. It would be disrespectful to launch a full-blown war if Mikhail’s daughter is dying. We should wait until Mikhail knows more about the poisoning and how it happened.”
“What about Kate?” Igor’s brows pull together. “Does she have any idea what kind of poison it may be?”
“We haven’t had time to speak yet,” I say. “Keep alert and double the guards around the house. Let me know if you pick up anything on satellite. I’m going to talk to Katerina.”
The men nod in unison. I leave them in charge of the security and go back inside the house. The door clicks shut behind me, the electronic pad beeping as the lock activates. Two men guard the door. Another stands near the hallway.
“Anything?” I ask as I approach him.
“No, sir,” he says, looking straight ahead. “The downstairs rooms are clear. We’re checking upstairs as we speak.”
I have the house swept on a weekly basis and immediately after I’ve had visitors. I trust Mikhail, but it can’t hurt to be cautious. Especially in light of what has transpired.
Making my way past him, I go to the guest bathroom. A smell of bleach hangs in the air. Lena is mopping the floor. She looks up when I stop in the doorframe.
“Have you seen Katerina?” I ask.
“No, sir. Maybe she went upstairs.”
On my way to the lounge, I check the library and my study. Both rooms are deserted. The lounge is empty. I try the room Igor converted into a makeshift clinic, but when I don’t find her there either, I make my way upstairs.
The house is big. Three men are sweeping the second floor. I pass them in the hallway and open our bedroom door.
Empty.
Crossing the floor with big strides, I enter the dressing room.
No sign of her.
I knock on the bathroom door. “Katerina?”
No reply.
A bad feeling grows in the pit of my stomach. I open the door, already knowing what I’ll find.
Nothing. No one.
Fuck.
I yank my phone from my pocket and dial Igor, already running for the stairs. When he picks up, I bark out, “Katerina is gone. Search the house, the garden, and the barracks.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You,” I say, pointing at one of the men guarding the front door.
He jumps to attention.
“Did Miss Morrell leave the house after Mr. Turgenev and me?”
“No, sir.”
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, racing for the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” Tima asks when I skid to a stop in the middle of the floor.
“Is Katerina here?”
“No,” he says, frowning.
Still clutching my phone, I spear my fingers through my hair. “She’s gone.”
His face collapses, his eyes and mouth drawing down. “How long?”
“Not more than ten minutes.”
He moves a carving knife aside and leans his palms on the counter. “She could be hiding in the house.”
“I’m having the property searched.”
“If she’s not…” He looks at me from under his eyebrows.
“Then she slipped out while the emergency with Dania was unfolding.” I feel sick merely saying those words.
“She couldn’t have walked through the gates. The guards would’ve noticed.”
I grit my teeth. “They also would’ve noticed if she’d gotten into one of the cars. She must be in the house.”
He sucks air through his teeth.
“What?” I ask.
“If she’s not in the house and nobody saw her leaving, you have to assume she left with Mikhail.”
I slam a fist on the table. “Mikhail would never do that. He knows I’d kill him.”
“What about Dania?” Tima asks, his eyes narrowing into slits.
“Dania was puking out her lungs.”
“There’s something wrong with this poisoning scenario.” Straightening, he crosses his arms. “I’ve administered a few poisons in my day, and I can tell you that if Dania had been poisoned at breakfast, the symptoms she was having wouldn’t have kicked in three hours later. They would’ve manifested almost straight away.”
I still. “Are you saying she was poisoned here?”
“It couldn’t have been the cake. Lena brought four empty plates back to the kitchen, so you all ate the cake, right? What did Dania drink or eat that no one else did?”
I slide my gaze toward the drip rack where the teacups and teapot are stacked. “Herbal tea.”
The knowledge sinks into my gut like a stone. I know it instinctively as I walk to the drip rack and lift the teapot to peer inside.
“Lena washed it already,” Tima says. “She cleans the porcelain with bleach to remove the tea stains.”
“Thereby removing all traces of the contents inside,” I say slowly, uncontrollable rage unfurling in my chest.
He gives me a level look. “Exactly.”
My voice is calm, not betraying the violence flowing through my veins. “Bring her here.”
Tima rounds the counter and walks down the hallway.
I dial Igor.
He answers with, “There’s no sign of her yet.”
“Check all the passenger manifests for domestic and international flights. I want men at every station and airport in St. Petersburg. Katerina may have left with Mikhail’s entourage.”
“Fuck. I’m on it.”
Next, I dial Nelsky. “I want the satellite surveillance footage of my house from the last thirty minutes. Send it to my phone.”
I cut the call when Tima leads Lena in by her arm.
She yanks her bicep from his hold and lifts her chin. “Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Volkov?”
I walk to the counter. “How long have you worked for me, Lena?”
“Since you bought the house, sir.”
Taking the knife Tima was using, I study the blade in the light. “That makes it quite a few years.”
“Yes, sir,” she says, looking down her nose at Tima, who stands wide-legged in front of her, effectively blocking her path should she get it into her head to run.
“Are you loyal, Lena?”
She meets my gaze head-on. “Yes, sir.”