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It’s been five days since we rescued Lace, and she’s pretty skittish around us but coming around. None of us can blame her after everything she’s been through. Thomas is stomping around the general’s office like a caged animal. He’s been standing guard outside of Lace’s hospital room since the night we brought her in. The only reason he’s here, is because General Parks wanted to speak to all of us early this morning.
“Not a clue,” I answer. “Has Benson had any luck?”
General Parks shakes his head. “Negative. There also haven’t been any more rescues. It’s as if everything went dark when Dmitri was killed.”
“He could’ve been fucking lying,” Thomas grunts.
“Why though?” Carver asks.
“Look around, genius,” Thomas fumes. “We’re sitting here holding our dicks still discussing this asshole, and he’s dead and buried. No other missing people have been reported or recovered.”
“Watch yourself, Thomas,” I warn.
Thomas hangs his head. “Sorry, Sir.”
“No apology needed,” General Parks says. “I wish I could blow it off, but until we know for sure, I have a duty to my daughter and every victim out there who has or is suffering from the Krukov family. I need to make sure they’re safe.”
“Oorah!” we say in unison.
“Tell me again what Dmitri said right before he died?” he asks.
We’ve been over this a hundred times, but I’ll keep going over it if it leads us to the head of the snake. I want to fucking sever it, once and for all.
“The Bratva is changing, and it’s not only men who are in charge anymore,” Hudson recites.
General Parks rubs his forehead. “It seems far-fetched for the Russians.”
“How so?” I ask, curious.
Bennett speaks up. “The Bratva, like any mafia organization, is very archaic. It’s hard to believe that anyone besides a man is at the helm.”
“Back to square one then?” Carver huffs.
“I’ll have Benson do some more digging in Russia,” General Parks says.
“Sir, maybe Benson’s team can grab someone associated with the Bratva and see if they’ll give up anything with a little persuasion.”
General Parks leans back in his chair. “Good idea. I’ll get in touch with him this afternoon.”
“When will Lace be released from the hospital?” Bennett asks the general.
“Today or tomorrow,” he says with a smile.
The general has been spending a lot of time at the hospital getting to know Lace. He plans for her to continue her recovery here. He’s already taken her under his wing, treating her like a daughter. Lace is still trying to get used to people being there forher and not taking anything in return. It will take time, but with Aurora, she’ll get there.
Thomas perks up. “Do you have everything you need for her arrival, Sir?”
The general laughs. “Yes, between Aurora, Willow, and Vera, Lace will have everything she needs and should be quite comfortable. My biggest worry was Lykos.”
No one needed to worry, though, because just like he did with Aurora, Lykos calmed Lace down and made another friend for life. Lykos jumped up on her bed like he belonged and would settle her when she started to have a panic attack.
“Speaking of Lykos.” I stand. “I’ll go outside and bring him in.”
“Are you taking him back up to the hospital?” General Parks asks.
“I’ll feed and water him first, then we’ll head out,” I say.
“Tell Aurora and Lace I’ll bring up dinner so they don’t have to eat the nasty hospital food.”