Misha followed Joey inside while I waited for Vasily and River. But River shook his head and motioned for us to go first. "I'd feel better knowing my chain has Tanner's back. No offense to Danger here or your ability to protect him, but I'd feel better if you'd allow me this favor."
Damned brat. River knew just what to say to get me to agree. By making it a favor, it would be rude for me to turn it down. Especially when River was fully capable of protecting us—even without Vasily at his side.
Tanner opened his mouth as if to start chattering but he closed it again when I gave my head a quick shake and held a finger to my lips. Normally I would never stop him but right now I needed to be fully on alert until I knew what we were walking into.
Turned out, there were only a handful of people nursing drinks and a few men shooting pool. The patrons were far outnumbered by our men. George and Leo were standing at the end of the bar, talking to the bartender, while the two had what looked like the bar’s bouncer locked between them.
I could smell the thick tension in the air, but aside from the expected nerves from us bustin' our way in, I wasn't picking up on anything hinky. We strode right over and I stepped aside to allow Vasily to take charge as was his place, given that he was our father's right hand.
River slowly swung his chin back and forth while Vas made a show of pocketing his gun before holding a hand out to the bartender. "Forgive us for interrupting your evening. I am Vasily Novak. My men and I are here to retrieve someone that was stolen from our Don's protection earlier today. Or yesterday, at this point." He chuckled genially with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "If you could just answer a few questions and release our friend, then we will be on our way with no harm done."
The bartender held out his palms. "No worries, Mr. Novak. I know exactly who you are, but I swear I don't know anything about anyone being held here. My name is Mike Sawyers and this is my place. You're welcome to search, but as far as I know you won't find anything. I run a clean place here. I have a policy of not getting involved in keeping people or things that don't belong to me."
Vasily's nostrils flared as he discreetly scented the air, easily able to tell right off that the man spoke nothing but truth. The acrid scent of fear coming off the bouncer was another matter entirely. Next to anyone but my family and our men, the bouncer might've looked intimidating. Except for the fact that his thick body owed more to cheeseburgers than lifting weights. Not only did his shaved head barely come up to George and Leo's shoulders, he didn't smell like anything other than human which was another disadvantage in and of itself.
Vas tilted his head toward the bouncer, his eyes never leaving Mike's face. "I believe you, buddy. Trouble is, your man here is sweating bullets which tells me he's been up to no good behind the boss man's back. If you'd be so kind, I'll take you up on that offer to look around. When I'm done, perhaps there's a more private area where I might question your employee? Even if—when—I find the man I'm looking for, I'm still going to have questions as to how he came to be here in the first place. You know how it is, right?"
I was impressed by the way Mike wasn't trembling in fear but merely shrugged. "If Jake here had anything to do with what brought you here, then you're welcome to use my office at the end of the hall."
The bouncer—Jake—looked like he was about to crap his pants. "I don't know nothin' about nobody being held here, I swear."
Mike was already backing away, shaking his head at Jake. "Sorry, dude. If you did something to upset these gentlemen, that's on you. I'm not getting involved or covering for you." Wise man. He shook his head again. "I told you when I gave you the job that I run a clean place and didn't want any trouble. If you talk your way out of this one, you can pick up your pay on the way out because I don't give second chances when it comes to my livelihood or the safety of my customers."
Vasily echoed my thoughts. "You're a wise man, Mike Sawyers. Don't worry, we won't make a mess of your office. And I'll do my best to keep the noise down so your customers aren't bothered any further by our presence. Now if you'll excuse us, I believe your friend Jake and I need to have that private conversation." He motioned for George and Leo to take Jake down the hall toward the office Mike had mentioned.
Tanner tugged on my hand. I leaned over so he could whisper in my ear. "The storeroom where your friend is being held is right down there."
"Thanks, Facts. I don't suppose I can talk you into waiting outside with one of the men? I'm certain my brother Joey would be willing to keep you company." Not to mention was more than capable of protecting him.
"No, thank you. You still need me to show you where Pavlo is anyway." Tanner spoke firmly, despite the sweet smile on his face. As much as I wanted to worry, I was proud of how Tanner stood his ground, even with me.
"Very well. Then please show us to this place where they are keeping our friend." I kept hold of his hand as he led us to a storeroom. Pavlo's wolf scent was easily detected before we even reached the door.
Vasily reached for the knob, but it was locked. Misha held out his gun. "Want me to fix that problem?"
"Not when the proprietor was so respectful, no." Vasily turned to where George and Leo stood with a trembling Jake outside a door a few feet further down the hall. "Yo, Jake. You got a key to this door? You'll find I'm more likely to be lenient if you show yourself helpful. If not, one of the guys can go get a key from Mike."
"P-p-pocket! Right side. Keys there." Jake was so scared by now he could barely speak. George matter-of-factly jerked the key ring off Mike's belt loop and tossed it when Vas held his hand out.
“Take him into the office and wait for me there. I don’t want Pavlo scarred by this piece of shit.” Vas spoke calmly despite the fire in his eyes before turning back to the door.
Thankfully, the keys were labeled or Vas might've lost his temper. Tanner slipped out of my grasp and easily darted past Vas when my brother opened it, flipping on the light and holding his arm out toward Pavlo like a magician's assistant revealing a big finale. "See? Just like I told you! Here he is. Safe and sound."
River was laughing under his breath when he saw the dumbfounded look on my face. "I've gotta say, Ivan. I'm really liking this Danger dude. He's got style, don't you think?"
Vasily looked around the room while River and Joey looked Pavlo over. Tanner was right, he didn't look any worse for the wear. Honestly, he looked like he'd just been sitting here waiting for a ride. When I said as much, Pavlo shuddered.
"It was so scary, Ivan. If Tanner hadn't been here, I don't know what I would've done. I hated waiting in the dark while he went to get you, but I was afraid to turn on the lights. I didn't know what family owns this place or who was behind taking me."
Joey shook his head, his eyes on Vasily. "This place is in neutral territory, it's not tied to any of the families. I googled it while you were talking to Mike."
Vasily nodded slowly, his eyes thoughtful as he studied Pavlo. "What do you remember? Tell me everything."
Pavlo shrugged. "I don't remember anything after I was taken. Hey, do you know what happened to Harmony? She was a nice girl, you know? One minute I was playing frisbee with a new friend and the next I was being shoved into that car. Do you know if she's okay? We must have been separated because I didn't see or hear her after I was taken. They shoved a bag over my head before I was halfway in the car, so I don't even know if she's okay. I thought maybe I smelled her on the ride here, but it was hard to tell because of the smelly sack covering my face."