was an answer, and then Denis frowned. “The boss was bitching and complaining about you when he left.”
“And that means I must have something to do with his disappearance?” Viktor snorted. “I hate to tell you, but your logic is flawed. I haven’t seen Karkoff since I left here last night. And while I’ll admit that I had a confrontation with him when I was here, when I left things were settled.”
One of Karkoff’s other oversized enforcers crowded the entry. “Sasha is gone too. I thought the boss went to settle something with him, not Viktor.”
Viktor shut his eyes, wishing he could be wrong and fearing that he was not. “Has anyone seen Sasha?”
“No.” Denis shook his head.
“Does he live nearby?”
Denis shrugged. “A few miles.”
“Has anyone thought to look for Karkoff there?” Viktor felt as though he were talking to children. Did these guys ever do anything without Karkoff’s say-so?
It was obvious from Denis’s expression that he hadn’t thought of that. He turned and barked an order to several of his men. Viktor wasn’t surprised when he heard them pulling out weapons and checking clips. Something had made these men uneasy. Viktor felt it too.
“I’ll come along if you don’t mind,” Viktor told Denis.
“And if I do mind?”
“My friend Katie is missing again,” Viktor said tersely. “Sasha claims he picked her up to hold her as insurance.”
“For what?” Denis was frowning.
“Something about that last shipment going missing,” Viktor said vaguely. “He’s afraid he’s being blamed for it, and he seems to think I know where the missing cargo is.”
“Do you?” Something in Denis’s voice suggested that he thought that was a safe bet too.
“Does it matter at this point?” Viktor waved his hand. “The cargo is long gone by now, and your boss is now the one who’s missing.”
Denis started laughing. His low chuckles would have been unnerving had Viktor not already been on high alert. It was time to get moving. Didn’t these men realize that? Katie could be hurt and Viktor might be too late. Beside him, Max was shifting restlessly as if he, too, felt the urgency.
“We told the boss you were the one who opened the van,” Denis informed Viktor. “But the boss likes you, for some reason. He doesn’t want to hear a word against you.”
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter,” Viktor insisted. “Can we hurry up and get out of here?”
Denis seemed to catch the tone of urgency just enough to get him and his men moving a little faster. They gathered out back and piled into an SUV not unlike the one Sasha had been driving.
Without waiting for an invitation, Viktor and Max jumped in along with the other men. Denis gave Max a dirty look. “That dog had better not make a mess.”
“I think that’s the least of our problems,” Viktor muttered.
Denis started the vehicle and roared off into the night. It was a surprisingly short ride to a house a few blocks away where Sasha apparently lived. Viktor realized that in all his time knowing Sasha, the man had never let slip any details about his home or personal life beyond his familial tie to Karkoff. In hindsight, it seemed a little odd.
The SUV pulled up before a very nice townhouse in an older, but still fairly expensive neighborhood. The men got out in a hurry. It was as if the SUV opened and they all just tumbled out, hitting the ground at a run.
Viktor bolted as soon as his boots touched the pavement. He couldn’t let these idiots startle Sasha into shooting the hostages. Not just Katie, but Boris Karkoff too. Beside Viktor, Max had already sprinted toward the house. The dog obviously had a lead on something the rest of them hadn’t discovered yet.
“Sasha!” Denis shouted. “Open up!” Denis shouted it again in Russian while pounding on the front door.
There was no answer. Denis started using his shoulder to ram the door. Finally he and one of his comrades managed to beat their way inside
“And that means I must have something to do with his disappearance?” Viktor snorted. “I hate to tell you, but your logic is flawed. I haven’t seen Karkoff since I left here last night. And while I’ll admit that I had a confrontation with him when I was here, when I left things were settled.”
One of Karkoff’s other oversized enforcers crowded the entry. “Sasha is gone too. I thought the boss went to settle something with him, not Viktor.”
Viktor shut his eyes, wishing he could be wrong and fearing that he was not. “Has anyone seen Sasha?”
“No.” Denis shook his head.
“Does he live nearby?”
Denis shrugged. “A few miles.”
“Has anyone thought to look for Karkoff there?” Viktor felt as though he were talking to children. Did these guys ever do anything without Karkoff’s say-so?
It was obvious from Denis’s expression that he hadn’t thought of that. He turned and barked an order to several of his men. Viktor wasn’t surprised when he heard them pulling out weapons and checking clips. Something had made these men uneasy. Viktor felt it too.
“I’ll come along if you don’t mind,” Viktor told Denis.
“And if I do mind?”
“My friend Katie is missing again,” Viktor said tersely. “Sasha claims he picked her up to hold her as insurance.”
“For what?” Denis was frowning.
“Something about that last shipment going missing,” Viktor said vaguely. “He’s afraid he’s being blamed for it, and he seems to think I know where the missing cargo is.”
“Do you?” Something in Denis’s voice suggested that he thought that was a safe bet too.
“Does it matter at this point?” Viktor waved his hand. “The cargo is long gone by now, and your boss is now the one who’s missing.”
Denis started laughing. His low chuckles would have been unnerving had Viktor not already been on high alert. It was time to get moving. Didn’t these men realize that? Katie could be hurt and Viktor might be too late. Beside him, Max was shifting restlessly as if he, too, felt the urgency.
“We told the boss you were the one who opened the van,” Denis informed Viktor. “But the boss likes you, for some reason. He doesn’t want to hear a word against you.”
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter,” Viktor insisted. “Can we hurry up and get out of here?”
Denis seemed to catch the tone of urgency just enough to get him and his men moving a little faster. They gathered out back and piled into an SUV not unlike the one Sasha had been driving.
Without waiting for an invitation, Viktor and Max jumped in along with the other men. Denis gave Max a dirty look. “That dog had better not make a mess.”
“I think that’s the least of our problems,” Viktor muttered.
Denis started the vehicle and roared off into the night. It was a surprisingly short ride to a house a few blocks away where Sasha apparently lived. Viktor realized that in all his time knowing Sasha, the man had never let slip any details about his home or personal life beyond his familial tie to Karkoff. In hindsight, it seemed a little odd.
The SUV pulled up before a very nice townhouse in an older, but still fairly expensive neighborhood. The men got out in a hurry. It was as if the SUV opened and they all just tumbled out, hitting the ground at a run.
Viktor bolted as soon as his boots touched the pavement. He couldn’t let these idiots startle Sasha into shooting the hostages. Not just Katie, but Boris Karkoff too. Beside Viktor, Max had already sprinted toward the house. The dog obviously had a lead on something the rest of them hadn’t discovered yet.
“Sasha!” Denis shouted. “Open up!” Denis shouted it again in Russian while pounding on the front door.
There was no answer. Denis started using his shoulder to ram the door. Finally he and one of his comrades managed to beat their way inside
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