Chapter 158 Chapter 158
Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Eight
Dimitri
Something was wrong.
I felt it in my gut.
Irina and Elena should have been back by now.
"How long have they been gone?" I asked Alexei.
He checked his watch.
"Three hours," he replied.
"Too long," I said.
"Give them time," Alexei said. "It could have taken longer to find the safe than we thought."
But I could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.
I tried calling Irina. No answer.
Tried Elena. No answer.
"That is it," I said. "I am going after them."
"Dimitri, wait," Mikhail said. "If you go now, you could be walking into a trap."
"I do not care," I replied. "That is my wife out there."
"And your son is here," Alexei said. "If something happened to Irina, he will need you more than ever."
The words hit me hard.
Because he was right.
Nikolai was sleeping in the other room. If I left and got killed, he would have no one.
No, that was not true.
He would have Alexei. His real father.
"You are right," I said to Alexei. "Nikolai needs his father. So you stay here with him. I am going to get Irina."
"That is not what I meant," Alexei protested.
"I know what you meant," I said. "But Irina is out there. Possibly in danger. And I am not leaving her."
I grabbed my gun.
"Mikhail, come with me," I ordered. "Alexei, you stay here with Nikolai."
"I should be the one going," Alexei argued. "You should stay with Nikolai."
"He is your son, biologically." I said firmly. "If something happens to me, he needs you to survive."
"Dimitri, do not say that," Alexei said.
"It is the truth," I replied. "We have been dancing around it for months. But it is time we faced it. Nikolai is your son. Not mine. And if I die tonight, you need to be here for him."
Alexei looked at me.
Then at the room where Nikolai was sleeping.
"Fine," he said quietly. "But you better come back."
"I plan to," I replied.
Mikhail and I got into the car. Drove fast toward the city. Toward the ruins of the safehouse. My mind was racing with every possible scenario.
What if the Romanos had captured Irina?
I pressed harder on the gas.
"Slow down," Mikhail warned. "We are no good to her dead."
But I could not slow down. Every second counted. We reached the safehouse in record time.
I parked a block away, got out quietly and approached on foot.
The building was dark and silent.
There was no sound of anyone.
But then I saw Elena's car. Still parked where they left it. Which meant they were still here. Or they had been taken.
"Stay alert," I whispered to Mikhail.
We moved through the shadows with our guns drawn. Ready for anything.
We reached the entrance to the ruins and slipped inside.
And that is when I heard low voices. Speaking Italian.
I could not understand the words but I recognized one voice.
Irina.
She was alive.
Relief flooded through me. But then I heard another voice. It was feminine. Cold and threatening.
We moved closer. Staying hidden in the shadows.
And that is when I saw Irina and Elena. Surrounded by five people. All armed. And standing in front of them was a woman I had never seen before. Beautiful but deadly. She had a gun pointed at Irina's head.
"Last chance," the woman said in English. "Tell me where the baby is or I kill you."
"Go to hell," Irina replied.
The woman smiled.
"Very well," she said.
She cocked the gun.
I could not wait any longer. I stepped out of the shadows, still raising my gun.
"Let her go," I ordered.
Everyone spun around.
The woman's eyes widened. "Dimitri Volkov," she said. "How nice of you to join us."
"Let my wife go," I repeated.
"Or what?" the woman asked. "You will shoot me? My men will kill you before you even pull the trigger."
She was right.
I was outnumbered. But I did not care. "Then we all die together," I said.
The woman studied me. Then smiled. "You are brave," she said. "I will give you that. But also very stupid. You should have stayed hidden. Now I have both of you. And soon I will have the child too."
"You will never find him," I said.
"Oh, I think I will," the woman replied. "You see, I know you. I know how you think. You would not leave that baby unprotected. Which means he is somewhere close."
She pulled out her phone and showed me a photo.
It was the cabin.
The one we were hiding in.
My blood turned to ice.
"How?" I whispered.
"You have a tracker on your car," the woman said. "We have been following you all night. And right now, my men are on their way to that cabin. To take the baby."
"No," I said.
I pulled out my phone and tried to call Alexei. But the woman shot the phone out of my hand.
"I cannot let you warn them," she said. "That would ruin the surprise."
I lunged at her. But her men grabbed me. One of them punched me in the stomach. I doubled over, gasping for air.
"Dimitri!" Irina screamed.
"Quiet," the woman ordered.
She walked over to me. Gabbed my chin. Forced me to look at her.
"My name is Isabella Romano," she said. "And I am going to destroy everything you love. Just like your father destroyed everything I loved."
"My father is dead," I gasped.
"But his sons are not," Isabella replied. "And they will pay for his sins. Starting with that baby."
"He is innocent," I said.
"So was my brother," Isabella shot back. "But that did not stop your father from killing him. He was only twelve years old. And your father put a bullet in his chest."
I had no words.
"I can see you did not know," Isabella said. "Your father kept many secrets. But I know them all. And now you will pay for every single one."
She turned to her men.
"Take them to the car," she ordered. "We will deal with them after we have the baby."
"No!" I shouted.
I fought against the men holding me. But they were too strong. They dragged me toward the exit. They ragged Irina too. She was crying. Begging them to stop. But they did not listen.
We were thrown into the back of a van. Our hands were tied. Our mouths were gagged. The doors slammed shut. And we drove off into the night toward the cabin.
I had to do something. I had to warn Alexei. But how? I looked around the van. There was nothing. No weapons. No phones. Nothing. Just me and Irina and Elena.
All about to watch a baby die.
Then I remembered.
Mikhail.
He had stayed behind when I was captured.
He was still free.
But would he get there in time?
The van drove for what felt like hours. Finally, it stopped. The doors opened. We were dragged out. The cabin was dark and quiet. There was no sign of anyone.
"Search it," Isabella ordered.
Her men kicked down the door and rushed inside.
I held my breath. Waiting for gunfire. Waiting for screams. But there was nothing.
Just silence.
Then one of the men came back out.
"The cabin is empty," he reported.
Isabella's face twisted with rage.
"What?" She demanded.
"There is no one here," the man confirmed. "It looks like they left in a hurry. There are still some supplies inside. But no people."
Isabella spun around to face me. "Where are they?" she demanded.
I could not answer because of the gag.
She ripped it off.
"Where is the baby?" She screamed.
I smiled.
Alexei had listened to his instincts.
He had moved Nikolai.
"I do not know," I said honestly.
And it was true.
I had no idea where Alexei had taken Nikolai.
He had not told me.
And now I was grateful for that.