Satin Princess(18)
I smile. “I texted her earlier with Chris’s number. She gave away her location.”
“Rookie mistake.”
“She’s not used to covering her tracks.”
“So where is she?”
“England.”
There’s a pregnant pause. “Well, that explains the jet.”
“I should be landing soon.”
“And you know where to go from there?"
“Of course. She told me everything.”
“You mean she told Chris everything," he corrects.
I'm not sure if Lev is trying to piss me off or wake me up to whatever he thinks reality is, but he doesn't know shit. “Chris can’t save her. I can.”
“Save her from what?” Lev asks immediately.
The suspicion has been twisting in my gut for the last twenty-four hours now. But I can’t confirm anything until I find Jessa.
“I left in a hurry,” I say. “So I didn’t let Yulian in on my plan, either.”
“Do you even have a plan?” Lev asks incredulously.
“Always. Where is my brother?”
“Fuck if I know. Balls deep in some hooker, if I had to guess,” he says. “I’ll have him call you when he emerges.”
“Actually, tell him that I’ll contact him if I need to. I want both of you on stand-by.”
“For?”
I glance out the window and notice that we’re losing altitude. “I’ve got to go. We’re landing soon.”
“Jesus, Ant, you’re really not going to tell me—"
I hang up while he’s still mid-sentence. The stewardess approaches me with a hopeful smile, but I turn pointedly towards the window and she retreats.
The landing is smooth. I’m at the door before the jet has even come to a complete standstill.
“Get the door open,” I order.
The attendant is smart enough not to argue with me. She wrenches the door open, and I jump the two-foot distance between the jet’s door and the rolling staircase that’s been brought out just for me.
I skim down the stairs. When I’m on the tarmac, I look around for the black Aston Martin I ordered to be waiting for me on the ground when I arrived.
The driver is shifting it into park. The moment he steps out of the car, I push him to the side.
“Keys?”
“They’re in the side of the door, sir.”
I get in, slam the door shut, and press my foot down on the accelerator. The engine roars and the car rips forward.
I speed through the narrow streets, checking the directions that I’ve hastily entered into the navigation system.
Forty-five minutes to Laurel Manor. But if I really step on the gas, I can make it there in twenty.
I’m coming for you, Jessa. Get ready.
*
I’m taking the corners in the road hard when my phone starts ringing. I pick up and Yulian’s voice comes through the moment I hit the speaker button.
“Is Lev lying or just high?” he demands. “Are you really in fucking England?”
“I am.”
“Where in England, specifically?”
“Where she is.”
“That’s really specific," he growls.
“Why do I need to be?” I ask. “You can’t be here in the next ten minutes, can you?”
“Wait… you’re ten minutes away from her?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus," he hisses. "When did you even leave?”
“A while ago.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” he asks, sounding angry. “Or Lev?”
“I can deal with this on my own.”
“For fuck’s sake, Anton, you don’t always have to act like you can do every goddamn thing by yourself.”
“Why not? I can.”
“That’s ego talking.”
“No, it’s experience talking,” I snap. “I’ve been at this a lot longer than you have, Yulian.”
“Excuse me, we’re only two years apart—"
“And it might as well be two decades. You were shielded because you were the second son. I was in the trenches way before my time because Otets wanted a super soldier and a ruthless leader all rolled into one," I snarl. “And just to be clear, I don’t have to tell you or Lev anything. I am your fucking don. I choose to inform you when something concerns you. This does not.”
There’s a second or two of silence from Yulian’s end.
“I just want to be there for you,” he says reluctantly. He’s always been better at talking about feelings than I have. But I know it’s not easy for him, either. “You don’t have to do everything alone.”
I’m silent. There’s nothing to say.
“Good luck then, brother,” he sighs in a resigned tone. “Go get your woman.”
“I intend to.”
He hangs up before I do.
According to the navigation system, I’m minutes away from Laurel Manor. With every second that ticks by, I feel the heat of my suspicions grow more and more intense.
It isn’t what Chris told me.
It isn’t even what Jessa has told me.