Luca's POV
I squeezed my eyes shut, my pulse rattling in my veins as Grigori continued
The suspicion had been quiet but persistent and finally it had been confirmed.
"It appears that he had raised her for a while but according to the records, it was before she was registered as an orphan."
As he talked, I clicked through the mountain of evidence he had saved on the drive and finally landed on the picture.
That's him alright. Emilio Lombardi.
The man looked to be in his mid forties. The face was familiar-not because I recognized it from Grigori's extensive research. I had seen a similar photograph before, tucked carefully inside Cara's wallet when I'd slipped some cash into it.
It wasn't the exact same picture, but it was unmistakably the same man.
I should have looked into him sooner. She was right here under our noses.
I closed my eyes shut as this confirmation gave birth to a whole new string of possibilities.
Cara believed her birth father had been murdered in cold blood but evidence now proved that the man she believed to be her father was actually her fucking kidnapper.
Cara was most probably the girl that Emilio had kidnapped.
The child the Russians believed to be dead had survived. She was right here under our noses.
Emilio had told my father that he had sold the child to the Columbians who claimed she died from the fever but that had turned out to be a fucking lie.
The idea made my head spin, but it made too much sense to ignore.
If I could fucking resurrect that bastard and kill him myself, I would.
"Cazzo," I cursed.
"Don, if I may speak," Grigori cleared his throat and I gave him a nod to continue, my eyes narrowing.
"If signorina Cara is who we both think she is, it would be a good idea to inform the young pakhan."
"No." My reply was swift.
Was there a possibility that it could stop the war? Of course. But was there also an even bigger possibility that he wouldn't believe us until it was too late and he had gotten his revenge? Also yes.
There was also the fact that we could be deadass wrong about the whole thing.
Cara was too precious to me to even consider bringing her into this and giving it up to chance… not again. Not after I almost lost her the last time.
"This stays between us for the meantime. Do you understand, soldier?"
He didn't like it but he nodded stiffly and turned around, taking his leave. He had almost reached the door when his phone vibrated with a call. He paused to answer it, his entire body tight with tension.
He turned around slowly to look at me, something I could only describe as horror washed over his face.
"What is it?" I asked tensely.
"I- it's Alexei Mikhalov."
I stood up so fast, my swivel chair toppled over. "Give it to me."
I pressed the phone to my ear and squeezed my eyes shut as Alexei's dark chuckle flittered into my ear.
"Fucking bastard."
"Always a pleasure to hear from you, Luca Salvatore."
"Can't say the same for you," I growled, my muscles tightening.
"Ah, you wound me."
"What do you want, Mikhalov?"
"I'd think we were already on a first name basis after all our interactions together."
"Too bad I can't return the sentiment."
I motioned at Grigori to get to work and begin tracking the exact location of the motherfucker, I just had to keep him on the phone long enough.
"I've grown bored of our little dance," he kept talking leisurely. "This was supposed to be easy and straightforward; your father in exchange for your stepsister turned lover. No one had to get hurt. You broke the terms of our agreement, like you Italians seem to be fond of doing, it seemed only fair that your father paid the price for your deception."
"Get to the point, Mikhalov."
"My point is; I'm willing to give you a chance to correct your mistakes. And all you have to do is look the other way."
My jaw ticked and I looked at Grigori for any confirmation on the bastard's location. He shook his head. Negative.
"I gave you the chance to come to me and we both saw how that turned out." He sighed like he had been on the receiving end of an embarrassing defeat. Like he had been the one that suffered a great loss. "This time, I'm going to be doing things a little different, Luca Salvatore. I know you have your informer trying to decipher my location, I can promise you that you won't be able to find that out until I wish to be found."
"Succhiami il cazzo," I hissed.
The sound of him chuckling before I ended the call hung in the air like a dark cloud.
The door suddenly creaked open and I had my glock out and trained on the bastard before he came into full view.
Dominic raised his hands, confused. "Did the meeting get called off?"
No. Quite the contrary.
I shoved my gun back in my holster, my mind racing with thoughts as I replayed my conversation with Alexei.
"Grigori-"
"I have not found his location, boss."
"Forget about that for now. I know where the asshole is heading. And we'll be ready for him when he comes."
I gave you the chance to come to me, he had said. It was a dead giveaway to what his intentions were. He was coming. And he expected me to just look the other way while he stormed our home.
The russian scum must be on drugs or something.
I turned to Dominic. "Round up every soldier we have in this city. Tell them to meet us at the courtyard in the next thirty minutes."
"You think Mikhalov would show up here?" Dominic asked skeptically.
"I'm counting on it."
Dominic nodded and left to carry out the instruction. I called Sergio and he answered immediately.
"Boss?"
"Where is Cara right now?"
"She… er… convinced Martha to help with tonight's dinner."
The thought of her fussing over tonight's meal brought a smile to my lips. "I need you to take her right now to the underground bunker and keep her there until I tell you otherwise."
The underground bunker was the only saving grace the mansion possessed when it came to ensuring security. It's existence was only known by my immediate family and a select few of our security detail. It was the only place on earth that I could ensure Cara's safety until this whole thing blows over.
"Of course, boss."
Alexei enjoyed mind games as much as the chase and the capture. Fine. I'll play his game and I'll win it this time.