Blake: A Romantic Suspense (V Mafia Series Book 1) Page 15

  Meanwhile, Dr. Silian had already reached out and offered an enormous amount of support. As crazy as it sounded, there was a reason I was going back. It was like a family there, and I never should’ve left.

  Blake was coming over with takeout to celebrate my last day at work. He’d actually wanted to take me out to dinner, but I wasn’t up to it. Even though I knew whatever this was between us needed to end, I certainly didn’t think it would be very kind to cut ties as his hired security sat outside my home.

  I knew Blake couldn’t help who his family was, and I appreciated his ability to see the good in his brothers, but I really couldn’t wrap my head around what all they were responsible for.

  Or at least that was what I told myself today. Yesterday’s view was different, and tomorrow’s would probably change too, which was exactly why I couldn’t drag him into my world. I wasn’t relationship material.

  I saw the Porsche pull up behind the other SUV, and Blake climbed out. He was holding a plastic bag with a paper bag balanced on top as he kicked the door closed and glanced at the hired security before making his way to my home. I shot up from the couch and glanced at myself in the mirror in the entry. I looked a little more rested than the day before, but that wasn’t saying much. Light circles shadowed my eyes, and I looked even paler than usual.

  Not bothering to wait for him to knock, I opened the door just as he made it to the last step.

  Seeing him immediately brightened my night. He smiled and held up the bags.

  I both hated and loved that all it took was for Blake to show up at my doorstep to have my belly feel like a swarm of drunken butterflies were running into each other.

  “Hope you like Italian.” His brows rose, and I nodded excitedly.

  “How could anyone not?” I reached for the paper sack, but he maneuvered both bags to the side and snuck in for a kiss, which literally shot electricity through me.

  I glanced at the men sitting in the SUV, and they seemed more interested in their surroundings than our little show. Blake stepped inside, and I closed the door behind him. He looked around and smiled.

  “This is so you.”

  “How so?” I motioned for him to follow me down the hall.

  “Everything in its place.”

  “So I’m rigid.”

  He ignored me. “Feminine touches everywhere, but strong pieces in between to shift the space slightly.”

  Blake set the bags on the kitchen table.

  “Maybe you should be the psychiatrist.” I grinned and he took a step forward. The look in his eyes intensified and I took a deep breath.

  “How are you holding up?” He tilted his head, and my heart felt like it did a somersault.

  I went to answer but no words came out. It made no sense. All day, I answered questions about what happened. I made up responses about how I was doing fine and there was no need to worry. Yet, when he asked me, I couldn’t give him any of my canned answers.

  All I could do was shake my head.

  “That’s what I thought.” His voice lowered. “You’ve been doing your best to avoid me.”

  My eyes moved to his. “Not true. I’ve just been trying to get everything in order before I change jobs.”

  Blake didn’t attempt to argue or prove me wrong, and that was one of the many things I appreciated about him. He just continued on without getting sidetracked.

  “Those men will be here as long as you need them.”

  “Maybe just a day or two.”

  “Are they that close to finding Alfred?” he asked.

  “No.” A flush ran up my cheeks. Everything spinning through my head prior to his arrival sounded logical, but now that he was here, all of my reasoning about dismissing them went out the window.

  “Then why wouldn’t you want those guys?” His brow arched.

  “It’s too generous of a gift, and I wouldn’t feel right if—”

  He touched my chin, turning my attention back to him. “Keeping you safe isn’t a gift. It’s a necessity.”

  The determination in his eyes took me aback, and I nodded.

  “Are they any closer than when Alfred made himself at home?” he asked.

  I shook my head slowly and walked over to the kitchen cupboard to grab a couple of plates while he pulled the cartons of food out of the bag.

  “And they have no idea how he got in here?” he questioned.

  A lump formed in the back of my throat. “No ideas at all. They’re chalking it up to me forgetting to lock the door or that I left a window open, but I know that’s impossible.”

  “There’s got to be another way,” Blake agreed.

  “You’re the only person who thinks that,” I told him, putting the plates on the kitchen table. “Even my dad feels I just didn’t lock my door.”

  “You wouldn’t forget something like that.” He pressed his lips together and his gaze fell to the floor. “Especially not that night. Alfred was on top of mind for you.”

  “Thank you. That’s exactly what I said.” It felt like a weight had been lifted. At least one person in Manhattan realized I take my safety seriously.

  “Have you ever had to get work done here, like plumbing or electrical?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing major, no.”

  “Does this house have a crawl space?” he asked.

  “Not that I’ve ever been in. I mean, I know there’s something connecting . . .” My voice trailed off. How did I not think about that?

  “A lot of these old brownstones are connected to one another through the crawlspace. Where’s the entrance?” His expression hardened.

  “Closet,” I nearly whispered, feeling my blood turn icy.

  “Mind showing me?” He slid his hand along my back, and I felt numb with fear. Was that how Alfred entered? Could he be there now? I felt the gentle push from Blake as we walked down the hall to the closet.

  My hand trembled as I reached for the knob.

  “It’s gonna be okay.” He pulled out his phone and sent a text. “I just let the guys out front know our suspicions. They’ll be coming up to the door.”

  I nodded, feeling in a daze as I handed Blake a flashlight.

  Had Alfred been closer than I realized all this time?

  Even though I was expecting them, another shiver ran through me as a knock sounded at the front door. Blake was already inside the closet, removing the crawlspace cover, when I let Paul and Adam inside.

  I quickly made my way back to the closet and saw a pistol in Blake’s hand. My pulse accelerated as I watched him carefully make his way through the opening.

  Mustiness immediately swooped through the room as Adam stood by the front door and Paul climbed into the crawlspace after Blake.

  I heard mumbled voices travel farther away until I couldn’t hear anything more.

  I glanced at Paul, who wore the same cold expression he always had, and I wondered how a person came to work at a private security firm. What felt like hours, but was probably fewer than five minutes, went by until Blake returned through the opening.

  The look on his face said it all. I took a step back and leaned against the wall in an attempt to prop myself up.

  “We need to get the police back.” He glanced at Paul as Adam came behind Blake. “He wasn’t in there now, but he’s definitely made his home there off and on for quite some time.”

  “Are you serious?” My voice was hoarse and my heart felt like it was in my throat.

  “Yeah. There’s all kinds of trash he’s left there.” He shook his head. “And who knows when he’ll come back. We need to notify your neighbor and seal off whatever entry Alfred has been able to use, but the police need to take a look at it.”

  “I need to call my dad,” I nearly whispered, and Blake nodded in agreement.

  It didn’t take ten minutes before several squad cars pulled up and converged on my home. My dad had just walked into my home, searching the house for me. He was surprised by the three men standing directly behind me.


  “Who are these people?” my dad asked, but the moment his eyes landed on Blake, I saw his jaw clench.

  “Paul and Adam have been watching my house. Well, more me than my house.”

  My dad’s stern expression stayed on Blake.

  “And where did you find them?” my dad asked, still not taking his eyes off Blake.

  “Through Blake.”

  My dad took in a deep breath and looked around the kitchen at his officers, who were busily removing items from the crawlspace and bagging them.

  “I appreciate that you found the entry into my daughter’s home.” My dad changed from glaring at Blake to glaring at me.

  “Absolutely, sir. I thought you would want to know as soon as we found the items he left behind.” There were very few men who could go toe-to-toe with my father, and watching Blake not back down showed me he was one of them.

  “Indeed.” My father turned and walked over to his men.

  I glimpsed a few photographs in detectives’ hands, and my breath caught when I registered what I was seeing.

  Each photograph was of a different woman in the familiar poses I’d seen so many times before from Alfred’s previous victims.

  I heard my father talking to one of the officers and realized one of the women was an actress who’d gone missing about two weeks ago. Her picture had been posted on all the news outlets, and then I didn’t hear anything more.

  It felt like the room was spinning as I realized what I was seeing. Blake must have sensed the emotion threatening to take me out. He came over immediately, helping me to a chair and kneeling in front of me.

  “They’re going to catch him,” he whispered.

  “Those women.”

  “It might not be what we think. We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.” Blake held my hand in his. “He’s made a mistake.”

  “Alfred doesn’t make mistakes. He leaves clues. It’s a game to him.”

  My father’s eyes caught mine and he came right over.

  “Ava, you don’t need to be here for this. Why don’t you go back to my place? Try to get some rest.” My father wasn’t asking, he was telling, but I didn’t want to be anywhere but in my home.

  “I’m probably safer here than there. At least here, it’s crawling with men in blue.”

  Blake stood up and stepped to the side.

  “Don’t make this difficult.” My father’s gaze was severe. Most of the usual softness escaped his expression.

  “I’m not trying to make anything difficult. I’m trying to wrap my head around what’s going on here.” I pursed my lips together and watched two more officers leave my closet with what looked like trash, but I knew they’d be processing every piece as if it were gold. “Alfred knows he has the advantage.”

  “Alfred does not have the advantage.”

  “At the moment, he does, and if I don’t recognize that, I’ll fall right into his trap. He wants me to flee. He wants me to make myself vulnerable by displacing what’s familiar to me.”

  “Ava, sometimes the world isn’t rigged into one large puzzle that needs solving.” My father shot Blake a warning look. “Sometimes, there are just evil men who do evil things.”

  “I’m not disputing that.” I stood up. “But I’ve studied men like Alfred long enough to know when to hold my ground. If he wants me, he’ll have to come get me.”

  “My worry is that’s precisely what he’ll do.” A vein pulsed near my father’s temple. I felt bad for putting him through this, but I couldn’t just do what he wanted. Not this time.

  “If you need me, I’ll be upstairs. Blake already called a contractor and contacted the next-door neighbor. They’ll be locking the exterior entrance.” I squeezed my dad’s arm. “I know you think you know what’s best, but this time you need to trust me. If I let him chase me away from my home, it will signal the weakness he’s been trying to pull out of me.”

  My dad’s nostrils flared slightly before he closed his eyes.

  “If anything happens to you . . .”

  “Nothing will happen to me.”

  My dad opened his eyes, but he didn’t look at me. Instead, he glared at Blake. “I want these men on my daughter at all times. I don’t care what it costs. I’ll pay whatever.”

  “It’s all been taken care of.” Blake didn’t blink an eye.

  “We won’t take anything from the Volkovs. We will pay whatever it costs.”

  I knew my father meant what he was saying, even if that meant draining his 401k, and that killed me.

  “This isn’t coming from the Volkovs. The service is being provided by Fletcher.”

  “Luke Fletcher?” My dad’s brows shot up.

  “Yes, sir.”

  My dad’s gaze flashed to mine, and I did my best not to give away a thing. I didn’t know why having someone named Luke Fletcher involved would change things, but I’d take whatever I could get.

  My dad glanced at the untouched food on the table. “Have you eaten?”

  “Lost my appetite,” I informed him.

  “You need your strength.”

  I shook my head, trying to hold in a chuckle. No matter what, we always circled back to this conversation.

  “Make sure you take some of that upstairs with you.”

  I nodded and watched my father march off to his men.

  “Well, that went well,” Blake said.

  I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not so I smiled. “It went better than I expected.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Blake

  I’d expected to step off the plane in Miami and go to a hotel. Instead, two of our employees were waiting at the airport and drove us directly out of the city to an industrial park.

  “We’ve managed to pull some pretty interesting information out of our friend,” Peter said, parking the SUV in front of a pale blue concrete warehouse. “I don’t think he expected to be found, at least not yet.”

  “Took him by surprise, huh?” Devin asked.

  “Indeed we did.” Peter grinned and slid his key out of the ignition. “This is T.J.’s first job where he took the lead, and he’s done a great job.”

  T.J. was the other guy who met us at the airport. I’d never been introduced to him before. I knew Peter from a few years back and was familiar with some of the business deals he’d been involved in.

  “George and Will are inside with Max,” Peter continued. “He maintains that his family has nothing to do with what he’d ordered on you.” Peter turned around in his seat and looked at me. “He seems proud that this is his own endeavor, but he only wanted to talk to Blake.”

  “I believe it,” Devin agreed. “No one wants to invite that kind of trouble to their family. We’ve heard the Sokolovs didn’t bless it, so now we need to find out why this guy went rogue.”

  “That’s where it gets interesting.” Peter glanced at T.J. “He says he’s working with the Petrovs.”

  “The Petrovs?” I asked in disbelief.

  I’d been out of the game for years, but even I knew of the rivalry between the two families. Growing up, I’d heard horror stories and knew to stay away from them.

  “Yup.” Peter glanced at Devin. “I don’t think this guy is right in the head.”

  “Only thing I can come up with,” T.J. agreed.

  “Let’s get the show on the road,” I muttered under my breath, and Devin nodded.

  “Let’s do it.”

  I opened the door and climbed out of the car. The warm, damp air was stifling after sitting in air conditioning for so long. I took in a deep breath and glanced at the brilliant blue sky. I wanted to get this over with and get back to New York.

  Ever since I left Ava, all I wanted was to get back to her. But this needed to be taken care of. We needed to know what was going on with Max, and the sooner the better for everyone involved. We didn’t need any other surprise attacks.

  I unbuttoned the top button of my shirt and glanced at my brother, who was securing a holster he’d gotten from Peter.


  “Ready?” he asked, and I nodded, following the men into the building.

  What would have been the reception area was empty. The carpet had been removed from the room, exposing cracked concrete, and the metal door leading into the back room was off its hinges and leaning against the wall. I craned my neck slightly and saw Max sitting in the middle of the room, his wrists and ankles bound, his head hanging low as we made our way into the room.

  George walked over to us, a stern expression coating his features. “He’s a real piece of work.” George had been with the family since I was a kid. He’d only recently moved down to Miami to oversee our holdings in Florida. He called it retirement, but in this business there was no such thing. His buzz cut was so short I could see the sweat glistening on his scalp.

  “Has he said why he ordered the attack on Blake?” my brother asked.

  “Not yet.” George cracked his knuckles. “But we’ll get it out of him. If it’s there to get.”

  “How so?” I questioned.

  “He doesn’t seem to be wrapped too tight.”

  I studied the man in the chair, and a pulse of fury ran through my blood. I wanted to make him pay for what he took away from me. Even in our profession, people didn’t go around destroying people’s livelihoods just for the fun of it. I resisted the urge to go over and beat the shit out of him. The others could have handled it if that was all that needed to be done.

  We were here to get answers and leave the dirty work to George, Will, and the others.

  Devin slowly walked over to Max, who didn’t move in the slightest. His eyes were closed, but he was still breathing. He wasn’t sleeping. People didn’t sleep in times like these.

  My brother kicked the chair and Max stayed slumped in his chair.

  “You playin’ dead?” Devin taunted him.

  Max ignored him.

  “You’ve messed with the wrong family, but you already know that, and your dead cousins certainly learned that.”