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“Oh, what the hell?” she says giddily. “It’s not like you’ll be around much longer to tell anyone. My name isn’t Vera Simpson like your father thought when he met me.”
“Bullshit,” I scoff. “You never would’ve gotten past his background checks.”
Vera cackles. “My dear, do you really think the United States government is the only one who has access to make people disappear and new ones appear out of thin air?” I gasp and shake my head in denial, fearing the words I know she’s about to say. “My given name is Vera Krukov,” she says, her Russian accent slipping through. “My father, Petrov Krukov, had no sons. I was his only heir, and after he was killed, my uncles shipped me to the States with a new identity. I was tasked with setting up our pipelines and commandeering new merchandise to sell. I was lucky enough to catch the eye of a general with access to ports, which is exactly what I needed.”
“You fucking bitch!” I yell.
“Manners, dear,” she chastises. “That’s no way to speak to yourmother.”
“Fuck you,” I hiss. “You’re not my mother, you never were.”
She ignores me. “I found out you were digging around, trying to find out information about the missing women, and you stumbled upon the name Krukov and knew I had to intervene. It was easy to plant my niece as a decoy. I already had your work email so I had her reach out, and the rest is history. She messed up though, didn’t youLace?”Lace shrinks into the leather seats. “She was supposed to lead you to us that day, but instead, she got into your car and let you drive in the opposite direction. Her father wasn’t too happy with her after that, and punishments wereharsh.”
“I wanted to be free!” Lace cries.
Vera narrows her eyes. “You’ll never be free. We’ve already sold you. You’re no longer of any use to us.”
I’m going to enjoy killing this bitch.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
Her eyes narrow. “We’re not going back to Norfolk, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know all about Rivers and his team destroying my headquarters there. Fortunately for me, they don’t know about the rest of them.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Listening devices,” she says nonchalantly. “After I realized your father found you and my merchandise started disappearing, I had to act.”
She doesn’t know what we’ve been doing in our spare time though. Thank God, Jaxson hasn’t told my dad.
“Why Vera?” I ask. “Why do all this?”
“Money, you stupid fool.” She stares dead in my eyes. “Money and power. Soon, I’ll return to Russia and take my rightful place as head of the family.”
“What are you going to do with us?”
“I’ve got an auction set up for tonight.”
Lace trembles beside me, and on autopilot, I wrap my arm around her. “My dad will figure it out.”
“No, he won't,” she sing-songs. “I’ve been nothing but a loving, doting stepmother to you. I’ll be devastated when I arrive home from my weekend spa trip and find you’ve vanished again with Lace. It won’t be hard to plant the seed of doubt in his head that Lace is in the Krukov family. In fact, my men are already working on the paper trail.”
This bitch is delusional, but even I have to admit, her plan is just fucking crazy enough to work. I hope my distress call gets through.
CHAPTER 31
JAXSON
Ping.Ping. Ping
Lykos just came inside from running around in the yard. I pour his kibble into his food bowl and refill his water as my phone continues going off. I smile when I see Aurora’s name on the front of my screen, but my heart quits beating as I open my texts.
Aurora: Winchester
Aurora: Winchester
I switch to my Maps app and see that her location services have been activated. I watch the dot move further away from the base before my brain comes back online and starts functioning. Lykos must sense my change in mood because his head snaps up from his bowl, and his fur stands on end. I sprint toward the general’s office with Lykos on my heels. Laughter reaches me through the door, but it dies when I burst in and they see my expression.
“Rivers, what’s wrong?” Carver asks, rising to his feet.