We are all unprotected.
I drag a hand down my face and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to think. I have to find Molly, but I have to keep Theo safe, too. I can’t leave him undefended.
George.
I pull out my phone and call George. He answers on the second ring.
“I need your help,” I say, talking faster than my brain can keep up. “Molly is gone, and everything has gone to shit. I can’t trust Theo with anyone else but you. Can you do it?”
“I can do it,” he says without hesitation. “I’m on my way now.”
I silently thank God for one loyal friend and am about to turn inside when I look up and see Sasha walking towards me. He is one of the newest recruits the Bratva has. I barely know him beyond a few short conversations. He is holding a tall coffee in one hand, and he doesn’t meet my eyes as he approaches.
“I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“Me too,” he admits with a shrug. Then, he lifts his coffee. “I figure there won’t be anyone coming to relieve me anytime soon, so I’ll need the caffeine.”
The man looks so young, and I’m tempted to tell him to run and hide with the rest of my men. I want to be angry with them, but I’ve given them no reason to trust me. Time and time again, I chose Molly over them, and while I wouldn’t change anything about that, I understand their reluctance to die in this war for me.
Still, I’m so grateful to see Sasha, to know that one other person will be here to look after Theo, that I pat him on the shoulder and walk him back inside the house.
Theo is finishing up breakfast, and he runs to me, wrapping his arms around my legs. “Where is my momma?”
I scoop him up with one arm and nuzzle my face in his small neck. “I’m going to go find her right now.”
“Really?” he asks, excited. “Can I come with you?”
“You can’t. I’m sorry.” He starts to pout, and I pinch his lower lip playfully between my fingers until he smiles. “But I’ll be back soon. And George is coming to stay with you for a while.”
The nanny meets my eyes over Theo’s head and nods, her silent confirmation that she’ll stay with Theo as long as it takes.
I kiss Theo on the forehead and send him off to play before I leave to bring his mom home. I hope for both of our sakes I can keep my promise.
Sasha rallies a few Bratva men who are still loyal, and they follow me to Seamus and Niamh’s house. Seamus meets me at his front door, eyes wide.
“I should have called,” I admit. “But I was afraid you’d say no if I called first.”
He studies me for a moment. “I wouldn’t have. And if I did, Niamh would kill me. She is beside herself with the news.”
“How far has it spread?” I ask.
“Fedor isn’t keeping it quiet,” Seamus says, ushering me inside. “This is a big victory for him.”
“I assume you know Molly and I aren’t really married.”
He nods, his mouth twisting to the side. “I know, but I don’t care. Do you really love her?”
“With all my heart.”
He shrugs. “Then that’s all I need to know. You did what you did to protect her, and I understand that. I’d do anything to protect Niamh.”
I lean back against the wall in their entryway. “You are more understanding than my men. Most of them deserted me because of the swearing-in ceremony. I polluted a Bratva ritual.”
Seamus snorts. “Bullshit. Those cowards were looking for an excuse to escape a sinking ship and they found one. Forgive me for being so blunt, but I think you’re aware that your Bratva is in a precarious position.”
“Too aware,” I groan. “But if you help me now, the newly solidified Bratva I form on the other side of this shit storm will be an ally of the Irish for life. No questions asked.”
Seamus extends his hand, and we shake. “I’m on your side now and always, friend.”
We are barely into the sitting room before Niamh lunges from the couch and throws herself at us, desperate for information. Her eyes are red-rimmed, and her nose is. It is the least put together I’ve ever seen her.
“Do you have any word yet?” she asks, sniffling.
I share an overview of the conversation I had with Fedor. “Beyond that, I have nothing. No idea at all where he could be or where he is holding her.”
Niamh worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “Where is Theo? How is he? He can come here if you’d like.”
“He’s at home with a nanny and a few guards.”
“Is the house really safe for him?” Seamus asks. “We have top-of-the-line security here. He is more than welcome to stay here until everything blows over.”
I hadn’t realized how worried I still was about Theo until that offer presented itself. Immediately, I call George and tell him to bring Theo over.
“George is welcome to stay with Theo while he is here,” Niamh says. “Our home is your home for as long as you need it.”
She offers her hand, and I grab it, holding it tightly, silently thanking her for her friendship to both me and Molly.
Seamus interrupts us by wrapping his arm around Niamh and pulling her into his side. “Viktor and I have to go to the office and then I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”
The two of them share a private moment, no doubt planning for the devastation Fedor could wreak if he wins this war, and then they part with a kiss.
When Seamus and I leave, Niamh is wearing a fake smile and pulling out paper and snacks in preparation for Theo’s arrival.
I haven’t eaten anything since dinner the night before, so Seamus buys a drive-thru breakfast sandwich for me on our way to his office. I finish it just as we pull into the lot.
“So, you trust Petr?” he asks as he parks the car.
I nod. “The only thing he seems to be guilty of is sleeping with the enemy, and I can’t execute him for that. Honestly, I can’t afford to. I’m pretty short on loyal men these days, and Petr is close with the men. If anyone can convince my men to return, it will be Petr.”
“Do you think he’ll work for you again after you kidnapped him?”
I roll my neck on my shoulders, stretching out my tense muscles. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Petr was chained to a chair in the basement of the building the last time I saw him, but Seamus had him moved upstairs to a “cell.”
I imagined it would be a cement room with a thin mattress and a toilet, but from what I can see through the window in the door, it is actually a smaller version of a hotel room.
There is a twin-sized bed with three pillows, a small table with a half-eaten sandwich on it, and a chair with a shelf of at least twenty books behind it.
Petr is lying across the bed with a book open on his chest. He must have been sleeping because when I knock on the door, he starts, dropping the book on the floor, and jumps to his feet. He smooths down his hair and then stills when he sees me.
“Can I come in?” I have the key to the door and it only opens from the outside, but I still want to ask. I want Petr to know his opinion matters. I want him to know this isn’t an interrogation.
He nods, and I walk inside. I leave the door halfway open behind me so he knows he can leave at any time.