“Of course not. He’ll take it out on you.”

“But Kolya said Adrian suspects you and thinks you got shot as a ploy.”

“He has no proof to go with it and he doesn’t act without that. I’ll be fine. Just focus on yourself.”

“Thank you. I’m so glad I have you.”

“Me too. Or else my cause of death would’ve been boredom.”

I smile, then peek at him. “Can you do me one more favor?”

“Now what?”

I suck in a deep breath. “Tell me all about the time I was Winter.”

Becoming whole depends on me and me alone. Only when I put all the pieces of my life together will I be able to take the next step.

Whether it will build or destroy us, I have no clue.

9

Adrian

The overstimulation of my mind stops me from processing anything.

Or perhaps I’m processing so much that my brain cells are burning faster than I can form thoughts.

Ever since I witnessed Lia kissing her lover, I’ve been seeing a mist of red. Dark fucking red.

Rage red.

And I couldn’t blow it by killing the fucker because she was protecting him.

Again.

She just regained her memories and stopped asking me to call her by another woman’s name, but the first person she went to was him. Her lover.

Fucking again.

I slam my fist against the table and revel in the shock that reverberates through my arm. At least the pain distracts me from murderous thoughts about her.

About him.

About everyone.

It’s temporary, but it’s better than nothing.

The fact that she got on her knees for the first time, told me to fuck her mouth for the first time, made things even worse.

While I enjoyed the feel of her hands on me and the way I used her mouth to the point of eruption, the gratification ended at that very moment. Because now, all I keep thinking about is how she only did that to shield him. To distract me from following after him.

I knew that at the time, I did, but I had to take her mouth, had to punish her.

And the need for more is still pulsing through my veins.

Maybe this was her plan all along—seducing me so she can distract me.

“Do you want to call it a night, Boss?” Kolya asks from his position on the sofa.

Leaving the surveillance monitors, I stand up and stride to the window, releasing a heavy breath as I stare at the dark garden outside. “I want his location, Kolya.”

“Yes, but watching hours upon hours of public surveillance will probably be a waste of time. He knows how to cover his tracks and always wears a mask and a hat. We only got his profile and it’s impossible to get a facial identification from that.”

I tap my finger against my thigh, then halt as the dots start connecting in my head. When I turn to face Kolya again, the idea forms clearly. “Black leather jacket, mask, and hat…just like the kidnapper from Igor’s birthday party a week ago.”

“You think it’s the same person?”

“I’m almost sure of it.” I stride toward him and sit by his side. “Pull up both feeds.”

After a few clicks, Kolya retrieves a still image of the person who kidnapped Lia and shot Yan, then puts it side by side with the footage we hacked from the public surveillance cameras today.

The clothes are similar, but they’re standard, so anyone can wear them. It’s his build that gives him away. He has the same profile and the same height and broadness.

I tap the screen. “It’s the same fucker.”

“It is.” Kolya’s brows bunch. “Why would he kidnap Mrs. Volkov, though?”

“Because he couldn’t find a way to talk to her. We were keeping a close eye on her, even when she was Winter, and he couldn’t get close, so he had to pull that stunt.”

“I still don’t understand why he needed to kidnap her, shoot Yan, and risk being caught. It couldn’t be just because he’s her lover.”

Kolya’s reasoning makes sense, but if the bastard is as crazy about her as I am, he’d risk it. Though, someone of his caliber, clearly trained and with enough skill to avoid nearly all surveillance cameras, wouldn’t have approached her at a party held by the Pakhan.

It’s like he wanted to drive home a message, a ‘fuck you’ of sorts, to tell me that he could get to me anytime he likes.

That my system isn’t bulletproof.

My system isn’t bulletproof.

The thought snaps blurred lines in my head and the only other time where my system failed rushes to the front.

The assassination attempt about a year ago. The only time I couldn’t find information on who tried to kill me.

The incident after which Lia’s depression struck harder and she admitted to cheating on me.

“Could he be the same man who participated in the hit last summer?” I ask Kolya.

He perks up. “That’s a possibility. But considering his skills, wouldn’t he have done it on his own? Why would he hire a mercenary to do it on his behalf?”

“The same reason he hired the Spetsnaz that he shot and let crash down the cliff with the car. Camouflage. He probably doesn’t want anything to link back to him.”

“Why would he want to kill you?”

“To have Lia all for himself,” I grit from between clenched teeth. “He could also be working with one of our enemies.”

“I’ll rearrange what we have thus far and look at it from the perspective that it’s the same person in all three cases.”

“He could be related to either Lazlo Luciano, the Rozettis, or one of our own.”

“Like who?”

“Vladimir or Igor. Hold on.” I retrieve my phone and dial the number I never wanted to call to ask for help.

Kirill picks up after two rings, sounding as smug as ever. “Adrian. What a lovely surprise. To what do I owe this honor?”

“What do you know?”

“Cutting straight to the chase, I see.”

“Don’t waste my time, Morozov.”

“You know, in case no one told you, when asking for a favor, you’re supposed to do it nicely.”

“My nice phase is coming to an end and so is any agreement we might reach together.”

“Jesus. You’re as grumpy as an old man.”

“What do you know?” I emphasize.

“What makes you think I know something?”

“You’ve been giving less than subtle hints.”

“So you did catch those. Here I thought I had to take my hinting game to the next level. What do you want to learn first?”

“What do you have?”

“What if I told you I know a tidbit about your wife’s past that you might not be aware of?”

I still the slow tap of my forefinger on my thigh. There’s no way in hell he knows she’s Lazlo’s daughter. The people who are aware of that information are dead. I made sure of it.

So I hold onto my cool. “What is it?”

“Did you know that she grew up with an Italian boy?”

“An Italian boy?”

“Yes. Neighbors. I didn’t think much of it at the beginning when I looked into her, but then, alarms went off in my head.”