“I… tried to… protect him,” she whispered, her voice almost inaudible.
“I know you did, baby. Can you tell me anything?”
“Two men took him but there were four vehicles. Your driver…” She closed her eyes, swallowing hard. “He tried to swerve. Likely saved my life.”
I took another glance around the scene. The bastards who did this had been hiding, waiting for them. Someone had betrayed me. “Can you remember anything else?”
She sighed, blinking several times. “I didn’t recognize them. I’m so sorry.” Tears slipped past her lashes, her ugly sighs festering in my heart. “You have to get Dimitri back.”
“I will find him.”
“What do you want me to do, boss?” Maksim asked as he moved closer.
“Scour the goddamn countryside. Find Dimitri. Put out notice on the streets that anyone who has any involvement will die at my hands. If a hair is touched on my son’s head, they will die. If anyone knows of his whereabouts, I will reward them. I’m going to the hospital with Willow but leave no building unscathed and no rock unturned.” I shifted until I could face him, taking several deep breaths in an effort to control my anger. “And Maksim, hunt down Peter Church. I want him now.”
“I’ll do everything I can, boss.” Maksim shifted his eyes toward Willow, giving her a subtle smile. “We’ll find Dimitri. We will.”
I only hoped that would be the case or I would tear Peter limb from limb.
I rode with her to the hospital, my mind reeling as I attempted to figure out who the hell could have done this. The betrayal was from within, someone who I’d trusted with my business, my life and that of my son. Retribution would be swift and riddled with pain.
She reached out, finding my hand. “You think Peter has Dimitri?”
“I’m almost certain.”
“What are you going to do?”
I pulled her hand to my lips, simply holding it there, trying to garner any level of comfort for myself. “What is required.”
“If Peter has him, then he won’t stay in town.”
I gazed into her eyes. “Do you have an idea of where he might have taken Dimitri?”
“Maybe. He owns a beach house on the Jersey shore.”
“Tell me where.”
“I’m going with you. You have no choice. If that monster hurt the baby, I will…” Willow finally broke down, weeping quietly, tears streaming down her face.
I cradled her, my mind muddled with possibilities, trying to catch my breath. “You just need to rest.”
“I am going with you.”
I wanted her by my side, the woman who’d sparked my heart, giving me reason to live. I also wanted to keep her safe, but I knew in my gut that she’d never let me go alone.
“Remember, you’re a good man,” she whispered.
That’s where she was wrong. I was a cold-blooded killer and my wrath had just begun.
As she was wheeled into an examination room, my resolve kicked in. There were two people who could have told Peter the plans for getting Willow and Dimitri out of town and one I trusted completely. Jonas would never do such a thing.
I moved through the hospital, trying not to attract any attention. When I turned the corner, I waited until the various emergency personnel left the room before approaching. The room itself was dark, full of machines keeping him alive. I eased toward the side of the bed, peering down. Within seconds, Thomas opened his eyes, the terror instantaneous.
“How long?” I asked, unsure if the man could even talk. He’d miraculously survived the accident, his injuries minor. A planned event no doubt for his betrayal.
He twisted his mouth, darting his eyes back and forth in the room. “Boss, I…”
I placed my hand over his mouth and nose, shaking my head. “Maybe I don’t give a shit.” I squeezed, pushing down with enough force he immediately began to struggle. “You need to die for your sins and your betrayal. You made the wrong choice.” There was blood in my eyes, viciousness in my heart. I’d been forced to do many heinous things over the years, my conscience clear after making the decision.
Perhaps a moment of reckoning had entered my system as the faces of both Dimitri and Willow crossed in my mind. And I could hear her words.
“Remember, you’re a good man.”
Whether or not that was the truth was difficult to fathom. As Thomas continued to flail, the man far too weak to fight my actions, I bristled, finally yanking back, taking several deep breaths as he gasped for his own.
The man would die another day, but likely not by my hands.
I walked out of the room, somehow changed in several ways. What I had to do was concentrate on getting my son back.
No one was going to stop me.
“You’re certain of this,” I said casually, following the GPS coordinates as the adrenaline continued to flow.
“There’s nowhere else Peter could have taken him. Just trust me,” Willow said as she leaned forward in her seat.
She wore the scars of a battle she should never have been involved in, her face mottled with cuts and bruises, yet her resolve was unlike anything I’d ever known. We were close, only ten miles out and if she was right, Dimitri would be in my arms within thirty minutes.
I’d dispatched several of my soldiers to follow, although keeping a respectable distance. The last thing I wanted to do was to warn Peter in any manner.