Hypnotize me out of that shit, too—because as it turns out, it’s a big turn-on.
With everything that’s happening, I shouldn’t even be able to get hard right now. Especially not for her.
“I was hoping to run something else by you,” Nikolai says, breaking up an unwelcome parade of thoughts about licking Alyssa between her thighs while gazing up at her pregnant belly.
I rub my temples preemptively. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”
Again, Nikolai is unfazed. “Those babies need fresh air, Uri. Alyssa’s been trapped down there long enough. Give her freedom of the house, of the grounds. She’s not going to run. I’ll make sure the security around the estate is tight.”
I wave my hand in the air. “Fine. Whatever.”
“‘Fine’？ Just like that? You’re okay with it?”
He’d need a team of wild horses to drag this truth out of me, but in reality, this decision is entirely selfish on my part. Keeping her locked in the basement makes it harder for me to see her whenever I want to. It’s not like I can “accidentally” run into her down there unless I trip and fall down two flights of stairs.
And the monitor is just not cutting it anymore.
I grit my teeth and try to focus on something other than Alyssa. There may be a chance that I’m thinking way too much about this.
At this point, I can only hope she’s a hypnotist in her own right. A clever, manipulative puppet master who’s got me under her spell.
It’s easier to accept than the alternative.
That I may just be that weak.
Kruger set the meeting up three blocks from the police station. I suppose there’s something to be said for hiding in plain sight—but as a man who’s spent my whole life operating on the dark side of the law, it’s unsettling to conduct business literally in the shadow of a building filled with men who enforce it.
Well, mostly enforce it. The one I’m here to meet with today might help me bend things enough to drag Polly back through the cracks in the system.
I park just in front of a police cruiser and step out of the car. It’s an empty lot, strewn with tumbleweeds and trash, infested by rats burrowing through piles of junk in the corners. A chain-link fence plastered with placards advertising some bullshit tech company rings the perimeter.
In the shadows along one wall, I see Kruger and the Gallagher cop. When the latter man sees me coming, he stiffens and glances accusingly at Kruger.
“You didn’t tell me anyone else was coming,” he hisses just before he turns around. His eyes go wide when he catches sight of me. “Fucking hell. Are you—”
“Uri Bugrov,” I say smoothly, offering him my hand. “And you’re Tony Gallagher.”
Tony is still glaring daggers at Kruger. “Yeah. That’s me.”
I nod solemnly. “I won’t waste your time, Officer. I just need some information and I’m told you are the man to see.”
Gallagher shifts uncomfortably, his eyes darting around the lot like he’s worried we’re being watched. “Listen… I… I got a reputation to protect.”
“And it is safe with me—as long as you do what you can to give me the information I need. I hear you have connections to the rings.”
One eyelid starts twitching. It looks like the man is buffering with pure, uncut anxiety. He sighs and his chin droops to his chest. “You looking for something in particular?”
“Someone in particular.” I pull out the picture of Polly that I slipped into my jacket pocket earlier. A headshot from her school yearbook.
Gallagher stares at the picture for a long time before he drags his eyes back up to mine. “She a relation or something?” I narrow my stare and he balks. “Never mind. Don’t matter. Not my business. Let me make some calls.”
He pulls out his phone and walks away. “Blyat’，” I mutter under my breath. “He didn’t recognize her.”
Kruger stares off after Gallagher. “Is it possible that we need to expand our search? Gallagher’s got connections, but only to the local rings. What if this went bigger?”
I don’t respond because the cop’s already walking back to us. Judging from the pinch of his eyebrows, I’m not going to like what he has to say.
“No one’s seen a girl like that,” he says, confirming my worst suspicions. “But listen, it’s not so easy to locate a girl once she gets dropped into the marketplace. Oftentimes, sellers will change up their appearance to help avoid detection. Color her hair, change up her look, pierce a nose or some shit… Your girl could look completely different by now.”