Page 108 of Claim Me

CHAPTER 29

Kazimir

The darkness was oppressive, suffocating.

It had been a long time since I’d felt this level of rage. Anger boiled within me, making breathing all but impossible.

Sixty minutes had passed. Sixty minutes of learning nothing.

Sixty fucking minutes in which I’d been unable to do a goddamn thing.

I’d tasked Alexsey to go through the list of resort employees.

I’d directed Ryker and Simon to find out anything they could on the streets.

Mikhail had instructed two more of the remaining soldiers to track down both Vladimir’s and Rurik’s locations.

“Calm down,” Mikhail said as we pushed our way through the waning crowds still loitering around the concert hall. Police wereeverywhere, but they wouldn’t be able to help us. There was no way of knowing who was on the take.

“Who the goddam fuck is Joseph?” I barked out as I approached the group of musicians.

A few shied away, others peering at me like the madman I’d become.

“Joseph is a musician. Who is he?” I turned in a full circle, hopeful one of the fellow musicians cared enough to come to her aid. “Marissa Valentine was kidnapped.”

“What is going on?” A woman approached, her face pinched with anxiety.

“Who are you?” I stormed toward her.

“Sherry Mullins. I’m the music director. What did you say about Marissa?”

“She was kidnapped from right under your nose. Who the fuck is Joseph?”

She was befuddled, her entire face twisting. “Joseph Svetlova.”

“Where can I find him?” When she didn’t answer right away, I got in her face. “Where?”

“I’ll have to check. We can’t go back into the building right now. And I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to provide personal information.”

I could tell the woman was hiding something. At this point, I couldn’t take the time to interrogate her to find out why.

Fuck it. I moved away.

Mikhail shook his head and I sensed he’d provide the number. I had someone else to talk to.

I shoved my way through the crowd, heading to my vehicle. The longer Marissa was gone, the less likely it would be that I’d get her back.

That wasn’t going to happen.

“Slow down. Wherever the fuck you’re going, I’m going with you. Stefano and Alessandro are on their way back to Seattle.”

While I was appreciative of all the help I could get, even from the Costa family, time was still the devil to beat.

“By then it’ll be too late. We’re going to pay a visit to Detective Torres. Maybe he knows something.”

There was nothing that would stop me from finding her. Not one goddamn thing.

“Fine, but you can’t kill him. You know that,” my brother warned.