Deadly Vows (Avilov Bratva #2)

25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Aleksandr

The air in my office seemed heavy and thick. My fingers traced idle patterns on the surface of the desk, the wood cold under my touch. I picked up the glass of vodka and downed it one gulp. It did nothing to quell the anger. My thoughts were consumed with Talia. The thought of her out there, lost, scared - or worse - gnawed at me, relentless and merciless. It was a constant ache, one I couldn’t ignore, not for a second.

It had been two days since Danny took her. Two days since I’d slept more than two hours. Two days since we had anything to work with except the vague knowledge that Danny, that fucking lunatic, had her. Blyat! I threw the crystal glass across the room, watching it shatter into tiny pieces.

Sandy sat on the leather chair in the corner of the room. She jumped as the glass hit the wall, her coffee cup tumbling to the floor. She’d been through hell herself, surviving Danny’s attempt to kill her.

Dimitri ran in, not surprised to see crystal shards strewn across the floor. “Everything okay, brat ?”

I grunted in response, going to the bar and pouring another glass of vodka.

Dimitri turned to Sandy, his voice calm and steady. “The kids are playing in the living room. Why don’t you go sit with them for a while?”

Sandy nodded, getting off the chair without a word. Maxim and Sasha don’t know the details of Talia’s kidnapping, but they know it happened. We shielded them from the worst about Danny, but kids always know when they’re not being told the absolute truth. Sandy’s presence has kept them calm. Maybe her being here was a way for them to feel connected to Talia.

Before Sandy exited the office, her phone pinged, and the screen lit up in her hand. She didn’t move at first, as if bracing herself for whatever new disaster was waiting to spill onto the screen. But when she did look at the phone, her reaction was instant. Her face went pale, her eyes wide, and her hands shook ever so slightly as she stared at the message.

“Aleksandr…” Her voice was barely a whisper, but it instantly caught my full attention. She turned the phone toward me, her movements slow, almost hesitant, as if what she was about to share was too much to bear. “It’s from Talia.”

For a second, I didn’t move. Time seemed to freeze as my mind struggled to catch up. I took the phone from her, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it reverberate in my ears. The message was brief, but it hit me like a sledgehammer.

The words blurred in front of me, my eyes reading them repeatedly, searching for anything that would make sense. The sharp knot in my stomach twisted, a sickening combination of dread and disbelief. It wasn’t her. It couldn’t be. The Talia I knew, the woman I loved, would never say something like this. Not about Danny. Not willingly.

It was a lie.

I could feel the room closing around me, the walls pressing tighter. This wasn’t just a message, it was a calculated move. Talia was trying to give us a clue.

I crossed the room to show Dimitri. I handed him the phone, my voice low, but the demand was clear. “Get Anton and track it. I want to know exactly where this message came from.”

He took the phone without a word, leaving the office to find Anton. Every second that passed felt like an eternity, each measured in my heart’s frantic beats.

After what felt like hours, Dimitri and Anton entered the office. Anton’s brow furrowed with frustration. “It’s not much,” he said. “The call was bounced through several cell towers, but I can narrow it down to a five-mile radius. A suburb. White house with a backyard, she said.” He handed the phone back to me, his eyes cold and calculating. “That’s all we’ve got.”

Five miles. In a city this size, that wasn’t exactly a pinpoint. It was a wide net, but at least it was something. Better than the nothing we’ve had up until now. But Danny wasn’t an idiot. He had to know we’d be looking for her, right? Is it possible she’s still in the same location?

My mind raced through the possibilities just as Denis entered the office. “ Pakhan ,“ he greeted, bowing his head slightly. “Tell me what you know so far.”

I quickly relayed the new information, and Denis listened intently. “I’ll get the police on it,” Denis said, his voice steady and calm, despite the urgency in his eyes. “We can access street cameras in that area. See if we catch anything. White houses in the suburbs aren’t exactly rare, but someone’s bound to have seen something.”

“Do it,” I said, the words barely more than a growl. My throat was tight, frustration gnawing at me. “The faster, the better.”

Denis nodded and stepped out of the room, his fingers typing a message quickly on his cell phone.

My mind was unable to stop racing through all the worst-case scenarios. A five-mile radius. That was a hell of a lot of ground to cover. We’ll go door to door if we must, but I don’t want to put Talia in even more danger. If Danny sees us coming, he could do the unthinkable and hurt her.

Anton stepped closer. “I can put more men in the area. Have them keep their eyes on the neighborhood, watching for suspicious movement. If there’s something there, we’ll catch it.”

“Yes,” I replied immediately. “But make sure they’re discreet. I don’t want to spook Danny and have him run or, worse, hurt Talia.”

He quickly nodded, pulling out his phone to make the calls. He wouldn’t rest until every inch of that five-mile radius had eyes on it. But even with all my men, there was no telling how long it would take to find her. And every minute that passed felt like a lifetime.

Sandy stood still, watching us. She hadn’t said much since the message came through, but now she spoke, her voice soft but demanding. “You have to find her. You have to get her back.” She absently rubbed the bird tattoo on her wrist. “She’s all I have, Aleksandr.” She bit her lip to keep the tears from falling.

“I will,” I promised, my voice as firm as the steel in my spine. “Whatever it takes, I’ll bring her home.”

I paced toward the window, staring at the gardens as the sun dipped lower in the sky. The horizon seemed too far away, like Talia, just out of reach.

My phone buzzed, and I got a quick text from Denis. “We’re starting the search of the camera recordings. I’ll update you in an hour.”

An hour. That was an hour too long. But at least we were moving. At least we had something to work with. Dimitri came to stand beside me, his posture as tense as mine, his gaze fixed on the skyline. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t need to.

Anton’s phone buzzed, and he looked up at me. “Our men are in position. They’ll monitor the area for any movement.”

I nodded in acknowledgment, but the knot in my chest didn’t loosen. It wouldn’t, not until Talia was back, and Danny was nothing but a memory.