"Bit early, huh?" I say, trying to lighten the mood.
Victor doesn't answer. He just shrugs and takes a sip.
I look over at Lucian. He lifts his head and meets my eyes, then shifts his gaze to Elena, then back to me. He looks physically sick. His face is pale, jaw tight, and there's a heaviness in his expression I've never seen before.
Something's wrong.
"Okay, I'm here, brothers," I say, my voice harder now. "Talk."
Lucian exhales slowly through his nose, his fingers pressed flat against the desk like he's bracing himself.
"I think you should take a seat," he says, nodding toward the leather couch against the wall. "Both of you." He pauses, then rubs his forehead. "Fuck. Actually, maybe all of us."
Elena shoots me a look.
I don't like this.
We sit, and I shift, my injured arm throbbing in the sling. Elena stays pressed close to my side, her hand finds my thigh, squeezing once.
Victor leans against the bar cart, drink in hand. Lucian stays standing behind the desk.
There's a long silence, the kind that stretches and stretches until it feels like it's going to snap.
Lucian looks at Victor and nods, and Victor clears his throat.
"We've been digging," he says, his voice missing that smooth, diplomatic tone. "Nonstop. Into everything."
I wait.
Victor sets his glass down on the bar cart and crosses his arms.
"We confirmed Elena's theory," he says. "Cornel Lupu's private jet was logged flying to the private airstrip near the château on the exact day Elena was kidnapped."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
I turn to Elena. Her face is pale, lips parted slightly in shock.
"I knew it," she says.
I nod and put my hand over hers resting on my leg.
Lucian steps out from behind the desk, shifting his tie.
"What bothered me the most," Lucian says slowly, "what's always bothered me, was how. How could someone bypass Ionescu security to grab Elena off the streets of Bra?ov without tipping any of us off?"
Elena stiffens beside me.
"There were people watching me?" she asks, her voice small.
Lucian nods.
"Well, not under orders," he says. "But we're all watched everywhere we go. Our enemies, our allies, everyone. We've known you our whole life, so you fell under that." He pauses. "Especially since you two are, you know…"
"Together," Victor finishes, stepping forward.
Elena swallows, her fingers tightening around mine.
"Anyway," Victor continues, "as I told you, Lupu is a politician and a businessman. Not a cartel boss. Not a trafficker. So it didn't make sense that he would be even remotely involved, especially not with our connections to him."