Dark Desires: Deliverance by Kourtney King Page B

is she
Vlad?"
    "Natasha… there
was an incident." His thoughts weren't as coherent and sharp as they
usually were. He was tired and now he had to determine what he could or
couldn't say to ensure that her friends didn't compromise Val or what they were
planning.
    Razvan came into the main house to establish exactly what was going on. He knew that
Vlad was beginning to crack under the emotional pressure of having someone you
love taken away from you. It hadn't gone unnoticed by both men that the cool
façade he usually wore had slipped and he wasn't getting much sleep if any when
he retired to his bedroom. He exchanged a few words with Andrei by the sliding,
glass doors in Romanian as Vlad talked to the women who had come to see about
their friend.
    "About a week
ago she left for school. She hadn't returned by the time I finished preparing
dinner. I got a call from a man who told me he was holding her hostage."
    "Why would they
call you? You've only known her for all of two minutes" Macy shot back,
unsatisfied with the abridged version of the tale.
    Toni sat silently
looking between the two men by the sliding doors, who spoke in hushed tones in
a foreign language, and Vlad. As carefree as she often portrayed herself to be,
she was actually about to finishing her degree in Actuarial Science. Her mind
was brilliant at piecing together information and she could surmise the
circumstances of Val's abduction. "It's him. They took her because of
him." Her eyes were on Vlad, daring him to refute her claim.
    "They need
something from me and they've promised to give her back once I get it" he
offered in reassurance.
    "What shit are you involved in? What kind of mess have you gotten
my best friend into?" Natasha questioned bitterly. He had appeared to be
nothing more than a handsome, successful businessman but looks were deceiving.
He had deceived them both and Val was paying for it.
    At that point, Razvan chose to step in. He could tell that Vlad was trying
to be civil, but he doubted he could maintain his composure much longer with
emotions running at an all-time high and accusations being thrown around. He
walked towards his brother, took a seat next to him, and lowered his voice to
address Vlad in their native tongue, "I'll take care of this. Go try and
get some sleep, you look like shit."
    "It's rude to
speak a language your guests don't understand" Macy pointed out as she looked
at the two men in front of her. She was getting very tired, very quickly with
the underlying secrecy going on around them.
    As if her words were
the last straw, Vlad got up and headed for the staircase that would lead him to
his cove of solace. Razvan focused on the black woman
who seemed to be leading the witch hunt. She had a striking face even though
her countenance gave an air of hostility. He had seen that grim set of
determination worn by Mihaela and knew that she would
not be leaving until she was given answers she deemed satisfactory. "I'm
going to need everyone to calm down. We are just here to help. Vladimir is
doing everything he can and spreading the blame around won't bring her
back." The tranquil demeanour he exuded cooled everyone down a notch.
    "Is there
anything we can do?" asked Natasha who was on the verge of tears.
    "Yes, you can
keep this quiet."
    "Quiet? Have you
called the police?" asked Macy, liking things less and less as the details
of her missing friend unravelled.
    "No, we can't call
the police," Razvan replied, keeping his voice
at a conversational level.
    "The police
wouldn't be able to do anything would they?" Toni asked. As much as the
men around her gave the impression of being polished and clean, there was
something off about all of them. It was an edge that spoke dubiously to their
character if one dared to scratch the surface.
    Andrei had had enough
of the civilities that his brothers tried so hard to preserve. "No, they
wouldn't. Who's the closest to Val here?"
    "I am" Natasha
offered as she pulled herself together.
    "I