Chapter 66 Nikolai
I waited in the hidden passage with my gun ready. My eyes were fixed on the small opening that gave me a view of Anya's room
.
Viktor was supposed to signal me the moment anyone approached.
I waited. And waited.
Hours passed. The night stretched on endlessly.
No signal came.
Maybe the assassins knew it was a trap.
I checked my watch. It was four in the morning, almost dawn.
Still nothing.
Relief started to creep in. Maybe we had scared them off. Maybe the presence of extra guards had made them think twice.
I waited another hour. The sky outside started to lighten. Dawn was breaking.
There was no attack. No movement. Nothing.
I finally allowed myself to relax slightly. The trap had not worked, but at least Anya was safe.
I climbed out of the hidden passage, and stretched my stiff muscles. I had been crouched in that small space for over eight hours.
I walked quietly to Anya's door and opened it slowly so I would not wake her.
The room was peaceful. Morning light filtered through the curtains.
I stepped inside. "Anya, it is over. You can..."
The words died in my throat.
The bed was empty.
My heart stopped.
I ran to the bed and threw back the covers. Nothing, just rumpled sheets.
"Anya?" I called out. My voice rising. "Anya!"
I checked the bathroom. It was empty. The closet was also empty.
She was gone.
My blood turned to ice.
No. No, no, no, no.
"Anya!" I roared. I ran into the hallway. "ANYA!"
Guards came running. Mikhail appeared, half-dressed.
"What is wrong?" He asked.
"She is gone! Anya is gone!"
"What? That is impossible. We were watching all night."
"Were we?" I grabbed him by the collar. "Where is Viktor? Where is my guard captain?"
"I... I do not know. He was supposed to be with you."
"He was supposed to signal me if anyone came! He never signaled!"
Understanding dawned on Mikhail's face. "Oh God. You think Viktor..."
"Find him! Now! Search every inch of this estate!"
Men scattered, running in all directions.
I went back to Anya's room and looked more carefully this time.
The window was slightly open. I had not noticed before.
I ran to it and looked outside. I saw the set of footprints in the dirt below. One was smaller than the other.
Someone had climbed through the window, taken Anya. While I was hiding in the walls like an idiot,waiting for a signal that would never come.
Because Viktor was the traitor.
Viktor had betrayed me.
"Pakhan!" Mikhail ran back in.
"Viktor is gone. His room is empty. His belongings are gone."
I punched the wall. My knuckles split. Blood dripped down.
"How did I not see it?" I said. Voice shaking. "How did I not know?"
"Because you trusted him. We all did. He has been with you for years."
"Five million rubles. That is how much my trust is worth. Five million rubles."
My phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.
I opened it with shaking hands.
It was a photo of Anya, tied to a chair, unconscious.
And a message was below it.
I have your whore. She dies tonight at midnight. I will send you her corpse as a gift. - Viktor Morozov
The phone cracked in my grip.
Katya's father has her.
"No," I whispered. "No, please."
Mikhail looked at the photo over my shoulder. His face went white. "We will find her. We have until midnight. That is..."
He checked his watch. "Eighteen hours. We can find her in eighteen hours."
"Where would he take her? Where?"
"I do not know. Viktor Morozov has properties all over Russia. Dozens of them."
"Then we search them all!"
"Nikolai, that will take days. We do not have days."
He was right. Viktor would not take her somewhere obvious.
He would take her somewhere secure.
I sat down on Anya's bed and put my head in my hands.
This was my fault.
I had used her as bait and trusted the wrong person.
Now she was going to die. Because of me.
"Viktor Morozov will want to watch her die and see your reaction when you get her body."
"So?"
"So he will do it somewhere close. Somewhere he can watch you."
"You think he is still in Moscow?"
"I think he is close. Very close."
Hope flickered. "Call Peleg. Tell him to put out feelers and find out where Viktor Morozov is. Every place he might be."
"On it." Mikhail pulled out his phone and started making calls.
I stood up and looked around Anya's room.
I picked up her pillow and held it to my face. It still smelled like her.
Lavender and vanilla.
"I am coming for you," I whispered to the empty room. "Hold on. Please hold on. I am coming."
Dmitri burst through the door. His face was wild.
"Where is my sister?" He demanded. "The guards said she is missing. Where is Anya?"
I could not look at him.
"She was taken," I said. "During the night. By my guard captain. He betrayed us."
"You said she would be safe! You said you would protect her!"
"I know what I said!"
"Then where is she?" Dmitri grabbed me, and shook me. "Where is my sister?"
"I do not know! I do not know where she is!" My voice broke. "But I will find her. I swear to you. I will find her."
"When? Before or after Viktor Morozov kills her?"
The words were like knives.
"Before. I will find her before midnight."
"You have eighteen hours."
"I know."
"Then what are you doing standing here? Go! Find her! Bring her back!"
He was right. I could not waste time. Every second mattered.
I left Anya's room, went to my armory and started loading weapons.
Mikhail came in. "Peleg has three possible locations. All properties owned by Viktor Morozov. All within an hour of here."
"We check them all. Bring every man we have. If Viktor is there, we burn the place down with him inside."
"And Anya?"
"We get her out first. Then we burn it down."
We mobilized within minutes. Thirty men. Armed to the teeth. Ready for war.
We drove to the first location. A warehouse on the edge of the city.
We stormed in. But it was empty. The second location was heavily guarded.
We fought through the guards. Killed anyone who resisted.
There was still no Anya.
We have only one location left.
An old, abandoned factory in the industrial district.
We arrived as the sun was setting.
We have six hours until midnight. Until Viktor killed Anya. The factory was dark and quiet. But there were fresh tire tracks in the dirt.
Someone was here recently.
"Spread out," I ordered. "Search everything. And if you find Viktor Morozov, bring him to me alive. I want to kill him myself."
The men moved in.
I went in through the main entrance.
The factory was massive. Full of old machinery.
"Anya!" I called out. My voice echoed. "Anya, if you can hear me, make a sound!"
Nothing.
I moved deeper into the factory, checking every room, every corridor. Then I heard a faint sound. Like crying.
"Anya!" I ran towards the sound. The door was locked. I shot the lock and kicked it open.
Inside, a lady was tied to a chair. Her head was down. She was unconscious.
"Anya!" I ran to her and pulled her head up.
It was not Anya.
It was a trap.
I heard the click of a gun behind me.
"Looking for someone?" A cold voice said.
I turned slowly.
Viktor Morozov stood there smiling with a gun pointed at my head.
"Where is she?" I demanded. "Where is Anya?"
"Somewhere you will never find her.”
"Tell me where she is or I will kill you right now."
"Go ahead. Kill me. And you will never know where she is. She will die alone in pain."
My finger tightened on the trigger.
But I could not shoot. Because he was right. If I killed him, I would never find Anya.
"What do you want?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"I want you to suffer. The way you made my daughter suffer. The way you humiliated my family."
"This is not about Katya. She left willingly."
"You think I care what she understood?" Viktor stepped closer. "You rejected her. Made her look weak. And for that, you will pay with everything you love."
"Please. Just tell me where she is. I will do anything."
"Anything?"
"Yes."
"Then kneel like a dog and beg me."
I stared at him. Then I dropped to my knees.
"Please," I said. "Please tell me where she is. I am begging you. Take everything from me. But please, let her go."
Viktor laughed. "Pathetic. The great Nikolai Markov. On his knees, begging."
He pulled out his phone and took a photo.
"This will make a wonderful memory. The day I broke you completely."
"Where. Is. She."
"You really want to know?"
"Yes!"
He smiled coldly. "She is already dead."