SWNOVELS Chapter 41
Right after takeoff, I’m pacing the aisles and calling Viktor for an update. I’m desperate to scream, rage, and drown my sorrows in vodka, but instead I force myself to push aside my emotions like I do before a fight, and focus on my next move. The decisions I make now are critical in the search for Kira.
“What the fuck is going on?” I growl the moment Viktor answers.
My head of security was monitoring the Black Company mission from a control center off-site. But since the early morning hours when it was discovered Kira was missing, he’s been relentlessly trying to piece together what happened.
“It’s not good,” Viktor starts, his tone grim. ‘Just past midnight, an explosion was heard on the east side of the property. When the guards went to look into it, they discovered all the camera feeds were down. Believing it was a counter-attack by the Black Company, they secured the property and focused on eliminating the threat. Except … there was no threat. We’ve scoured the property, and there’s no sign of an outside breach. I was able to get the cameras back up and running this morning—that’s when we discovered Kira missing. No sign of forced entry or struggle. It’s like she vanished into thin air.’
My grip on the phone tightens as panic sets in, a cold fear twisting my gut. ‘She didn’t vanish. Get every available man searching. I want eyes on every inch of footage before the blackout. Someone saw something.’
Viktor is quick to respond, military precision in his voice. ‘Already on it. I’ve put a team together, and we’re doing everything we can.”
“Update me as soon as you have something.’ I end the call, the silence left behind louder than a bomb.
How the fuck could this happen? Did someone take her? Did she leave on her own? I think back to every face, every ally and enemy. The staff, the guards—could I have missed a traitor among us? Was Kira’s disappearance part of a larger scheme against me, the work of the Black Company or another enemy?
Questions gnaw at me, but the one that burns the hottest, the one that feels like acid in my veins, is simple.
Is she still alive?
I don’t allow myself to consider the alternative, the grim possibilities that try to intrude. There’s only one thing I’m sure of—I’ll tear through heaven and hell, leaving only ashes behind if that’s what it takes to find her.
Four hours later, I slam through the mansion’s entrance, all raw energy and frantic urgency. My boots echo against the marble as I make a beeline for the security office, with Roman and Pavel flanking me.
As we turn the corner, Nadya steps in front of me, throwing herself into my arms. “I’m so sorry, Maxim. I can’t believe it.” Her eyes are swimming with tears, her usual composure shattered. ‘She must have planned this for days.”
“Planned what?” I freeze in place as she shoves two plastic strips into my hands. ‘What’s this?’ I question, my tone rising with agitation.
“I found these in your bathroom. Two positive pregnancy tests.”
The ground seems to shift beneath me. The word “pregnant” echoes in my head, a thunderclap that drowns out all else. My thoughts race, trying to grapple with the reality of what Nadya is saying.
I clench the tests in my fist, feeling the plastic crack under my palm. “Kira’s pregnant?”
She nods. “It’s why she ran away.”
Panic takes hold. Kira is pregnant with my child and she’s left me?
Beside me, Roman’s voice is hard and unyielding. “Kira wouldn’t run. It’s not who she is.”
“Do we really know who she is?” Nadya sighs, shaking her head. “There’s no sign of forced entry or abduction. She probably cut the cameras and orchestrated the explosion.” She grabs my hand, her sad eyes meeting mine. ‘She’s so young. She probably doesn’t want a child, but she knew an honorable man like you would never let her go if she carried his heir.”
Dread floods through me, solidifying in my veins. The tests slip through my grip, onto the floor. Nadya has it wrong.
Kira didn’t run because she doesn’t want a child. She ran because I don’t.
I grab the nearest thing I can find—a crystal decanter, its weight cold and solid in my grip—and launch it at the wall where it shatters, fragmenting like the fucking heart in my chest.
Hearing the commotion, Viktor bursts out of his office.
“Is this true?” I bark at him. “She wasn’t abducted? She left me? Fucking escaped from her own husband?!”
“We can’t rule out anything,” he answers cautiously. “But I recently installed drone security, to keep an eye on—”
“That’s ridiculous,” Nadya snaps. “You don’t need to confirm what’s as clear as day. If we want to find her, we should be focusing on the train and bus station. Even the airport.”
Viktor glowers at Nadya. “I won’t rule out any possibilities. It’s possible that this is Lai King’s final ‘fuck you’ to us. He could have orchestrated everything before his death.” He shakes his head. “But the evidence isn’t adding up.”
Nadya huffs and crosses her arms in front of her. “It’s a waste of time to focus our energies in the wrong place.”
“I’ll decide what’s a waste of energy and what’s not,” I snap.
“Maxim, I only wanted to help—”
“I understand,” I say, forcing a softer tone. It’s no secret that Nadya isn’t a fan of Kira’s, and right now, her help feels more like interference. “If you’d like to help, take Pavel to the medic. He needs to get stitched up.”
Pavel steps forwards and nods at me, a conversation taking place in our silent exchange. Roman managed a decent field dressing, but Pavel does need stitches. More than that, I need him to keep Nadya busy while we sort out what the fuck actually happened.
Nadya gives me a final pleading look, but she doesn’t push the issue.
Roman and I follow Viktor into his office. The click of the latch is a sharp note as he closes the door behind us.
“Tell me about the drones,” I demand, pacing the small space.
‘I launched them after New York. It’s still in the final testing phase, but they cover every blind spot we have. If anyone approached the house or left unexpectedly, the drones would’ve caught it. The feed isn’t live-streaming to our servers yet, only recording locally.” Viktor’s expression tightens with frustration. “Which means we’ll need to manually retrieve the footage from each drone, which could take hours.”
“Do it now,” I instruct. “Roman will help. Until we know who to trust, this stays between us three and Pavel. Let me know when you have something.”
As I turn to leave the room, Roman falls in step behind me, a silent shadow in the dimly lit hallway. I know better than to ignore him—he’s a dog with a bone when he’s got something to say.
I spin to face him. “Out with it.” I cross my arms in front of my chest.
“Tell me you don’t really believe Kira orchestrated all of this to escape you? Can’t you fucking see how she feels? She loves you. She wouldn’t—”
“What? Leave me?” I let out a bitter laugh. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
“You know I’m not. Stop being a pussy, and admit that what you two have is as real as it gets.”
Self-hate consumes me. Roman has no idea how I failed Kira, how I have no one but myself to blame for her running.
“Fuck you!” I explode, gathering the front of Roman’s shirt in my hand and pushing him up against the wall. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” My breath comes out in a ragged huff. “I told her about Ilya. Told her I’d never have another kid, all while she’s pregnant with my baby. And a day later … fuck … she goes missing. Nadya got it wrong. Kira didn’t run because she doesn’t want a baby but because she doesn’t want one with a broken man like me.”
“Says who?!” Roman yells.
We continue to grapple, crashing into a side table, sending it toppling over.
“You don’t know if she ran—she could have been taken. Forced.” Roman shakes his head and looks at me like I’m losing my grip. “Tell me what you know to be true, right here.” He pounds on my chest, just above my heart.
I shake my head in disgust. “The only thing I know to be true is that if I were Kira, I would’ve run from me as well. Pregnant by a man too damaged to tell her how he really feels.” She’s probably on her way to New York right now, needing to put as much distance between us as possible.
Roman’s grunt is laced with annoyance, his arms crossed tightly. “I don’t know if you’re buying your own bullshit, but let me lay it out for you. That woman is in love with you. I’ve seen how Kira lights up around you—she’s genuinely happy. And so are you, whether you admit it or not. Wake the fuck up and face the truth already, so we can get serious about finding her.”
His words sink deep into my soul. Does he see something I don’t? I know I love her, but does Kira love me?
Memories flood my mind. The way she snuggles into my chest as if it’s her safe haven. Her beaming face after she broke Leung. The way she held me when I told her about Ilya, her eyes full of tenderness and free of judgment.
Am I a fucking idiot for not seeing what’s in front of me? Roman clearly thinks so. I’m no expert on the matter, but somewhere in the depths of my heart, I know it’s true. She loves me as fiercely as I love her.
This revelation changes everything. Every instinct to protect Kira and our baby claws to the surface. Even though she deserves a better man than me, I won’t let her go. Not now or ever. She bears my name and wears my ring, and she is mine. Body and soul.
‘She wouldn’t leave on her own,’ I say, my mind whirling with the stark clarity of the truth. “This was planned. Someone timed it perfectly and covered their tracks.” But they underestimated one thing—my resolve to get Kira back, no matter what. I’ll move heaven and earth to find her.
Roman pounds me on the back. “Thank fuck you came to your senses, or I would have had to punch you out.”
“And then I’d have to shoot you.” I smirk at Roman, my chest filled with appreciation for the stubborn bastard. “Now, go hunt down some drones. I have a wife to find.”