Twenty Two

Twenty Two

Silver took a swig from the bottle, taking cold comfort in the liquid burning down his throat. He set it down, the glass clanking against the polished table just as Viktor began to speak.

"What do you think, Silver?" he began with a drawl, pulling back his sleeve slightly, trailing the tattoos on his wrist, his eyes drooping with apparent boredom.

"The apartment of Amy Williams has been vacated. No notice, the very day after I retrieved her picture." He looked up, his eyes meeting Silver's, an angry glint flashing across them in a way that didn't match the smoothness of his voice.

"She knew. And disappeared. I don't like it when pretty girls disappear."

Silver coughed, pushing back his chair. His fingers fiddled with the armrest uncomfortably. "You... She was probably scared."

"Scared," Viktor repeated, pulling down his sleeve.

"Y...yes," the other man managed to smile. Suddenly, the image of Viktor losing his temper was way more scary than anyone training after him in the dark.

He gave a nervous chuckle. "She probably found out someone searched her house and got scared."

Viktor rose to his feet; he rubbed his chin with a contemplative frown. He walked over to Silver, leaning down, making their faces level.

"Well, that's going to be a problem, because if she's not in her apartment, I can't track her." He scowled. "And if I can't track her, you don't get to see your daughter."

Silver's heart beat faster at the last part. "Wait," he said almost immediately.

Viktor tilted a head to one side. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" he demanded, his voice going higher.

Viktor gave a shrug, straightening up. "Maybe I could get a new lead... if you knew the name of the person you said she was married to."

"That won't be a problem," Silver sighed in relief, a hand over his chest. The thought of having to leave LA without seeing his daughter was too much for him to bear.

"Mikhail Volkov. She's married to him, the most powerful man in LA," he revealed.

"Mikhail..." Viktor muttered, the name spreading a sour taste on his lips. His jaw clenched. He stared into the night, fire flickering in his eyes.

"Of course it's you, Mikhail's," he said with a snarl.

"What...what are we going to do?" Silver rose to his feet, stepping closer.

"There is no we," Viktor held a hand in the air, cutting him off, his voice sharp.

"I will make sure you get to see your daughter as promised, but things just got personal." His voice got darker with every word. His eyes travelled to meet Silver's, the look in them chilling.

"If I were you, I would take the first flight back to Chicago and wait for your daughter to be delivered at your doorstep, or forget about her all together."

Silver started to say something, but Viktor was already tugging on his jacket, marching out of the room.

"You don't want to be caught in a crossfire, old man," he warned, glancing over his shoulder once before disappearing down the hallway.

\---

Amy woke up to the sound of banging at her door. She sat up on the bed with a frown, remembering how she had crawled back into her room after what felt like hours, when Mikhail's footsteps had receded down the hallway.

Wiping her eyes groggily, she dragged herself up to her feet, sparing a glance at her phone only to check the time.

Saturday.

She swallowed, dread settling at the pit of her stomach. That meant no work or, in uglier terms, a full day in Mikhail's mansion, trying to avoid him. Especially after what had happened last night.

The banging continued.

Amy took a deep calming breath. "I wouldn't want to lose your cool in front of the guys," she thought to herself. A nagging feeling in her gut told her that no servant would knock like that. Nevertheless, she called out, her voice loud. "If it's breakfast, you can leave it in the kitchen. And if it's Mikhail, go away," she said, spitting out the last part with more vigor than she intended.

"Oh, don't be silly, girl!" the person yelled from the other side.

"Ellie!" Amy screamed. She could recognise that voice from anywhere. She was at the door immediately, pushing across the bolts.

Outside, her best friend stood in a radiant blue gown, a bag tucked under one arm, a bright smile on her face.

Amy pulled her into a hug, wiping the moisture from her eyes with the back of her hand. "How is this possible?" she asked, stepping from the doorway, allowing Ellie to enter.

Ellie walked into the room, looking around with a gasp, exploring the room with her eyes before they came to rest on Amy again.

"This is amazing!"

Amy turned away, biting her lower lip. "Yeah, just on the surface."

"Listen," Ellie muttered softly, placing a hand on her shoulder that made her look back.

"The Bratva boss showed up in front of my house this morning. It was barely minutes past dawn. And he begged me to come and see you."

Amy stopped short, looking at Ellie, her eyes wide. "He did that?" she asked, no, whispered, her mind racing with a million questions, along with a strange feeling in her chest.

First, Mikhail didn't beg for anything.

And second, why?

"I know it's hard, girl," Ellie held her hands, giving them a light squeeze. "But you don't have to think about him today."

She pulled down the curtain blinds, her hands tugging on the ropes like she had a personal vendetta against them.

"Today is for you, Amy, and we're going out. Leave this stuffed-up mansion for once," she continued, walking over to the wardrobe and pulling it open while Amy still stood there, mind still reeling with thoughts.

"Hurry up, Amy," Ellie shuffled through the wardrobes, pulling out a peach gown with golden fringes. "You would look so pretty in this peach gown. We can finally go out, travel the city, go shopping. Do that one thing you always wanted to do."

Ellie pulled out the peach-colored gown, placing it on the bed and was about to start rummaging through the shelf for the perfect matching shoes when she turned sharply back to Amy.

"Oh dear, you're not even ready," she gave a deep sigh, wrinkling up her nose at Amy's pyjamas.

"Huh... what?" Amy snapped out of her blank look, stepping forward.

Rubbing her temples, Ellie sighed, but there was a fire in her eyes that was determined to make this work.

Half an hour later, they both stepped out of the mansion, Amy now fully dressed.

The ordered ride was parked in front of them. She glanced back at the building once.

She hadn't seen Mikhail.

Not even a glance of him that morning.

Smoothing her dress, she turned around, stepping into the car. "I'm not bothered," she thought to herself. Why would she be?

For weeks now, all she ever wanted was for him to disappear, even if it was just for a few hours.

"You good?" Ellie asked, sitting beside her, studying her profile.

Straightening, Amy folded her hands on her lap, forcing a smile. "It's perfect."

As the car pulled out of the driveway, neither of them noticed the black sedan following at a safe distance behind.

They sped down the street.

Ellie glanced at Amy, a shy smile spreading across her face.

"Actually, there's something I want to tell you," she began.

Amy turned to face her, glad for the distraction, the image of Mikhail fading from her mind.

"Spill," she said, a small smile forming on her face herself.

"Well," Ellie began, stressing the word dramatically. "I know we've not been in touch for a long time but..."

She raised her left hand, revealing the diamond ring on her finger.

Amy let out a gasp, the first genuine smile spreading across her face. "Oh my gosh, Ellie!"

"That's right," Ellie was all grins now, her cheeks going slightly red. "I have a fiancé. Can you believe it?" She squealed, the excitement seeping into her voice. "We got engaged last week."

"That's so wonderful." Amy took her hand, putting it under the light, admiring the way the diamond sparkled under the light. "I'm so happy for you, girl."

"Thank you. In fact," Ellie continued, literally bubbling with excitement now. "That's the real reason we're going out today. I need to find the perfect dress for the engagement party."

She linked a hand through Amy's, beaming all over. "And I want my best friend to help me pick it out."

The duo chattered throughout the rest of the ride, and by the time the car pulled up in front of the dress shop, Amy had pushed Mikhail to the back of her mind, his image no longer rent-free in her head. She waited in the dressing room, feeling a familiar rush of excitement as Ellie tried on the different clothes, waiting for the perfect time to stand up and yell, "That's the one!"