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“Potentially. With Mina and given her age,” the doctor continued, “she might bounce back, or she might fall into having serious nightmares and even acting out. They aren’t behavioral issues, but terror of being taken again. With Ms. Dayne, she not only acted as Mina’s protector, a true warrior fighting off monsters, but she also killed a man to ensure their escape. That’s a heavy load for anyone to carry and especially for someone who’s never had to deal with the kind of savages you’re used to.”
“I think what the doctor is saying is that you need to be sensitive to their wellbeing and not act out of anger.”
While Roman was simply being a concerned brother and uncle, I was incapable of shutting down my irritation. He threw up his hands in frustration.
“Just go easy, Maxsim. What they both went through no one should ever be forced to deal with. If it was my wife and child, I would be as angry as you are. But their health and mental wellbeing come first.”
“Yes, Doctor. You are absolutely correct. I will keep a close eye on both.”
“Good. I’ll be around if you need me.”
After he walked from my office, I planted my knuckles on the surface of my desk, leaning over and taking a deep breath.
“Don’t say it, Roman. I care very much about ensuring they don’t suffer needlessly.” The ache inside was only tempered by the return of rage. At least this time, I was better capable of handling the highs and lows.
“I also know you don’t want to hear this, brother, but you were a fool to go to North Carolina alone. You had no idea what you were getting in the middle of.”
Roman’s chastising tone wasn’t going to sit well with me. “Ms. Parker was acting on Isabel’s wishes and I think given everything she went through, she was smart to ask her sister to demand I come alone.”
“Do you honestly think someone from the Bratva helped these people?”
“Well, how else do you think they were able to get into the restaurant without being seen?”
Sergei took a deep breath while throwing Roman a glance. “I was wondering about that myself. While our men out back were incapacitated, that didn’t answer the question of how they managed to get Isabel and Mina from inside. I did a quick check after you called.”
“And?”
“The building had another entrance. It had been sealed off before because it led to another business location.”
“What?” I gritted out.
“The business on one side was closed for renovations after a break-in. My guess is they were lying in wait, which would also explain how Isabel and Mina were shoved into a waiting van.”
While I was furious, the news filled in several needed gaps that had bothered me for weeks. “How did you find this out?”
“Building plans. Simple building plans.”
Sergei was pleased with himself. In truth, discovering the information was helpful, but there were dozens of unanswered questions, which placed me and the entire Bratva in a weakened position. “That doesn’t answer questions about the bodies and how they got there.”
“The store next door was all but destroyed as well,” Roman reminded me. “You don’t think the medical examiner was in on the subterfuge, do you?”
“No, I do not. Especially with what Diana suggested about altering the biopsies taken. That doesn’t mean the fire inspector wasn’t. Set up a meeting with him for tomorrow.”
Sergei nodded. “Just go easy. Whoever is behind this will be running scared. They don’t know how much Isabel gleaned in information from her stay.”
“She described a man who was in charge. I’m going to question her again to see if there are any other details she remembers, but she needs to rest.” I pulled back, thinking about how best to handle her reappearance.
“Time is of the essence,” Sergei reminded me.
“I know exactly what is at stake, but I am not going to allow her first night back home to be spent being grilled about the horror she went through. In fact, it’s time for you to leave.”
Roman lifted an eyebrow. “Are you planning on keeping her prisoner here inside your house?”
“If that’s what it takes, then yes.”
“Maxsim. She’s not going to go for that.”
“She will be moving in.” That decision had been made.
